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Strollerderby
Irina Shayk: Not Necessarily a Girl’s Girl
Irina Shayk is a beautiful girl, but not one I necessarily want my little girl looking at
From year to year I can never remember if the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue comes with a cover on top of the cover to mask the nearly naked woman up front, but I know that I always flip it upside down regardless because I never want to take the chance that one of my neighbors will catch a glimpse of me carrying around a picture of someone else’s boobs.
I know it’s not porn – the women are always wearing something, even if it’s just body paint or some well-placed sand (although let’s be honest, there’s often a thin line between legitimate modeling and a sex tape distributed widely on the Internet for $29.99). And I don’t think of myself as a prude, and yet when my husband’s SI arrives this week, I think I’ll still keep the magazine hidden from my daughter.
To be sure, the human body is a beautiful thing, and the bodies in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition are certainly not an exception. This year’s cover model, Irina Shayk, is a bombshell. But raising a little girl, I wonder at what point body image issues will start to seep into her consciousness. While the jury is out (in my courtroom, at least) on whether Barbie dolls are good or bad for little girls, I’d rather that the real life, larger-than-life women she notices first in her life are doing things other than showing off their goods.
While she’s only 2 — and thinks Dora the Explorer and Cinderella both hung the moon — I guess I just know what’s ahead of her in terms of things like the SI swimsuit edition and the non-magazine issues she could very well face in terms of her own body. I know very few girls and women who have escaped childhood without an insecure moment (or scores of them). And while I’m sure Irina Shayk is a beautiful person inside, too, I just don’t see a need to expose my little one to her and the other playmates, er, models, in this week’s SI just yet.
Will you let your kids look at the SI swimsuit issue?
Image: Sports Illustrated
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Gretchen Powers commented on Feb 15 11 at 11:55 amSorry I do sense a prudish (catty?) theme in your posts. First picking on the Hooters girl, now this? I don’t see any reason why you’d need to show this to a 2 year old, NOR do I see any reason to hide it. What I *would* review, if I were you, concerning the cover model is…”Her father was a coal miner and died of complications from pneumonia when she was 14. Irina worked two jobs to support the family…Her charity work includess helping a maternity hospital in her home town, Yemanzhelinsk….” and if I had an older girl, I’d note that.
Meredith Carroll commented on Feb 15 11 at 11:59 am@Gretchen — I’m not clear what you think it catty about not wanting to show my daughter a nearly naked woman when I want to ensure that she develops a healthy body image. And while I said I’m sure Irina is beautiful inside as well, that can be a difficult message to impart unto a 2-year-old. As always, however, I’m flattered and grateful that you pay such close attention to my posts.
Gretchen Powers commented on Feb 15 11 at 12:07 pmI don’t know when one woman slams obviously attractive women every chance she gets, that seems catty to me. I think for older girls there are lots and lots of lessons they can be taught about health and body image that don’t involve shielding them from things (not everyone is and can be or should be a supermodel; most young girls, if they stay active and eat healthfully look gorgeous, anyway; for most, good looks are a byproduct of a healthy life and not the end goal, etc. etc. etc.,) and I think for a 2 year old it doesn’t matter. She looks like a healthy, happy 20-something on the beach. And, healthy, happy 20-somethings are going to be sexy. This particular photo doesn’t show anything degrading or bad, and she doesn’t even look particularly emaciated either.
Meredith Carroll commented on Feb 15 11 at 12:17 pm@Gretchen — I’m sure how you think I “slammed” the newly elected lawmaker. If you go back and read the post, what I was wrote was that I thought it was a shame that she credited her business experience to Hooters, and that even after she was elected she felt the need to distract from the positive issues she was in a position to affect, and for that reason, she’s not someone I would use as a role model for my daughter. I couldn’t tell you if she’s attractive or not; I’ve literally never seen a picture of her (contrary to the sarcasm in my lede, I don’t actually subscribe to Hooters magazine). As for Irina and her impact on older girls, I’ll let you know my opinion when my daughter is older. Right now I can only speak about raising a 2-year-old, and my choice as a parent is to skip anyone scantily clad until she’d old enough to understand something deeper than the photo.
Gretchen Powers commented on Feb 15 11 at 12:29 pmOK…I guess I misinterpreted the tenor of the posts…
Snarky Mama commented on Feb 15 11 at 2:56 pmYeah, I’ve been having the same misinterpretation problem as GP…
KellyK commented on Feb 15 11 at 3:28 pmMe too – I think it all comes down to the line “although let’s be honest, there’s often a thin line between legitimate modeling and a sex tape distributed widely on the Internet for $29.99″ – I thought or really!? Heidi and countless other would probably disagree!
michelle commented on Feb 16 11 at 12:01 pmGlad to see GP and the others fight so hard for our daughters’ right to be objectified. Someone has to, right?? Because as we all know, if someone has the temerity to point out how difficult it can be to raise a daughter in an environment that reduces women to their sexual attractiveness, then she’s just a jealous b*tch.
Linda, the original one commented on Feb 16 11 at 4:03 pmI don’t know. I tend to agree with Meredith on this and the Hooters post. I try to frame the issue in terms of “What jobs do I want my teenage daughter to consider appropriate ways to earn a living?” and I can’t say that posing naked for photographs, or wearing tight, skimpy clothing so strange men can ogle my breasts and ass while they eat bad appetizers, make the cut. It’s not an issue of prudishness (I’m most assuredly on the “not at all prude” end of that continuum) and it’s not jealously either. While I don’t think it should be illegal to do these things, I also don’t have to respect the choices of women to allow themselves to be sexually objectified in order to make money.
Meredith Carroll commented on Feb 16 11 at 4:09 pm@Michelle and @Linda — Thanks for the thoughtful comments.
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