I opened the mailbox yesterday and it was full of magazines including a Martha Stewart Living that I never requested. Under that was the monthly Triathlete magazine which I just left on the foyer table. When Rianman got home, I tossed it over to him to tell him his new Tri Mag came. The cover finally caught my eye...it was the dreaded swimsuit issue.
This edition gets a lot of mail complaining about it and in support of it. In years past the letters to the editor in the edition that follows include comments from women in support of the issue and men who complain. I guess that's fair--you were probably expecting women complaining and men not, that happens too. Personally, I don't care if they have one but they should have some groundrules:
- Models should be triathletes pro or amateur (and doing one sprint doesn't count).
- Models should wear what they would wear in a triathlon.
- There should an equal ratio of men to women .
I'll explain each groundrule in more detail.
1. Of course the models should be triathletes...the magazine is about triathletes and triathlons. Any magazine can hire a bunch of models to wear swimsuits. I've seen models that I doubt are triathletes in Tri Mag's swimsuit issue--ugh. This isn't SI...we know those ladies aren't athletes but they aren't supposed to be. This is not a general sports enthusiasts' magazine so the models should represent the epitome of the target market. (Tri Mag did a better job of this this year.) Oh, can I say..all natural would be a plus here.
2. Tiny bikinis? Really??? I haven't seen a female triathlete run in a string bikini...the day I do is the day I think they should have them as part of the swim suit issue. Also why are the women in tiny bikinis but the men are always wearing a tri top. I see many men come out of the swim without one...Rianman is one of those men. Some male triathletes have awesome bodies...I'd like to see them without the tri top on. You can keep the shorts on though...no one wants to see more than you can already see in a spandex tri bottom.
3. I know tris are heavily dominated by men and the target audience for the magazine is men. But, as the person who actually maintains Rianman's subscription...I read it too and I would appreciate a little eye candy. I put up with a lot...throw me a bone...er...you know what I mean. Plus for all the female triathletes out there, don't they deserve more than one male model?
So...maybe you thought I would be indignant and up in arms about the issue...did I surprise you? I'm not one to cancel the subscription like people say they will, but I just think a few guidelines would minimize the annual debate and gain some fans. But maybe Tri Mag is smarter than we think...they welcome the debate. Can't hurt but sell more copies right?
