A280_MailCall_ce_km_rr.qxd
6/12/07
2:48 PM
Page 20
MAIL CALL
The annual swimsuit debate: Round 1 O
h for heaven’s sake. I just received the latest edition of Triathlete (June 2007): the swimsuit edition, and after reading the publisher’s note (an apology to his more uptight readers) and the various letters responding to last month’s cover (the one with Fernanda Keller and her bike), I have to shudder. What, in heaven’s name, is wrong with people? The human body is an incredible machine and I, for one, enjoy seeing models who are truly athletes. Forget these silly little girly magazines that show in-shape models with absolutely no muscle. Hooray to Triathlete for portraying what a real athlete looks like. I enjoy seeing the human form: both male and female. And no, the site of the human body in a bikini or briefs doesn’t make me want to run out and cheat on my husband. I pulled out some of my past Triathlete magazines and, lo and behold, there are men on the cover with no shirts and very tight biking shorts. So where are all the letters fussing and fuming over such an abomination? I have a bit of advice to some of the readers of Triathlete: For all of those who just cannot bear the sight of the human form, avert your eyes when you enter the Uffizi in Italy where Botticelli’s Birth of Venus hangs in all of her glory. Throw a toga over Michelangelo’s David as you stroll the corridors of the Academy. And most certainly do not, under any circumstances, visit you local pool. For it sounds to me as though some of you will be driven into fits of uncontrollable sexual ecstasy causing irreparable damage, as such images are, in one reader’s words, “harmful to your male subscribers.” Jennie Vander Weide Missoula, Mont. I finally got to the June issue. I am amazed that there were three letters from readers scandalized by your Fernanda spread, versus one in favor of it. And I am sure you will have dozens berating you for parading beautiful athletes in skimpy suits. What amazes me is that only one reader wrote in to applaud you for celebrating a 42-year-old beauty, and it was from a man. I am a 37-year-old mother of two young children, and if you asked me to pose for 20 A U G U S T 2 0 0 7
you not only would I be thrilled, but my husband would be proud and I would not hide the magazine from my children. After all, you are showing muscles, not privates, as my 6-year-old daughter calls them. Keep up the great work! Susanne Navas Via e-mail Unlike many of your female readers, I definitely don’t object to a sexy woman on the cover of Triathlete. In fact I like it. So why am I so appalled at this month’s swimsuit edition cover? It might as well be the cover of Maxim. Could you at least try to tie in the sport of triathlon? May’s cover featuring bikini-clad Fernanda Keller leaning on her Cervelo P3 was so much hotter (and my triathlete husband agrees). That cover set you apart from the hundreds of magazines on the newsstand that have pictures of hot girls in bikinis. Give your readers something they can relate to. Maybe next year Maxine Bahns could at least be sporting a body marking (after all, she is a triathlete). Randi Geffner Via e-mail I just got my June 2007 issue in the mail and frankly I am astonished at the holierthan-thou weasels who wrote in. First are the folks that freaked because Triathlete showed Fernanda Keller in a black bikini. Oh, the horror. Get over it, folks. The people who wrote in that really kill me are those that make it sound like you are not Christian if you are not appalled or those who called it pornographic. And Charlie Yu, you, my friend, have issues. I guess Mike Reilly is a serial liar when he says, “You <insert name here> are an Ironman!” at numerous races across the nation. All I can say is that if your self-worth and self-esteem are so wrapped up in this that you are actually insulted because someone who hasn’t done Kona calls themselves an Ironman, then you need to seek professional help. George Raihala Via e-mail
a video. As far as I’m concerned, she is who our girls should be looking at as a role model and not the other options that are already too available through mass media. Women-only races. Necessary. Whether you guys would like to admit it or not, you can be pretty intimidating, especially if you’re a first-time triathlete. I did my first tri at one of the Danskin sprints to get my feet wet, and it was the best thing I could have done for myself and my self-esteem as a racer. Finally, as far as I’m concerned if you do any Ironman you deserve the title. I would like that reader to go up to any athlete who just crossed the finish line at Ironman Japan or Australia and share the view that they can’t call themselves an Ironman triathlete unless they do Hawaii. So there you have it. I’m not writing to complain about the swimsuit issue, and thank-you TJ.. Murphy for your race-year predictions (Light Read, June 2007), which put a smile back on my face after reading Mail Call this month. Erica Green Via e-mail
Did you really earn your M-Dot? I
always love the swimsuit edition. There are always some great ideas for race-season fashion, and it’s always a riot to read
When I read the letters in the June Mail Call I figured you were going for a theme. I’m not sure who to respond to first. Yes, a mostly naked Fernanda on the cover of the April issue took me back a bit as well, but if I worked as hard as she does (and I feel I already work pretty damn hard) I would do the same thing. As far as our young girls seeing this image, she is healthy, fit, positive and not a size 0 bulimic model or dancer in T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M