This is surprising and disturbing to say the least! How can the LFL be expanding? How are they getting more women to joint this group? I don't think I could find one person that would sign up to play football in barely anything for free with just the hopes of making it in the entertainment field. But, then I remembered something. I was watching MTV's show "I used to be fat" where they take a teenager who wants to lose weight and pair them with a fitness trainer to get them to shed the pounds. There was one woman trainer with such a bubbly personality, who was very positive about health, and seemed to have great self confidence. I googled her to find out more information about her and her experience in sports/fitness. That's when I read that she was on an LFL team. I was shocked! She grew up with a dad who supported and helped her with sports, is a successful trainer and then got into the LFL?! I assume there is more women like the woman I saw on MTV who have lead successful lives and are in the LFL for some reason. The question becomes where this stems from? Is is a lack of self-esteem (which it does not seem to be from the outside) or is it fear of being seen as less feminine if they play football with clothes on? Well, one thing is for sure, it's not the money. It would be cool if someone was able to sit down and interview one of these women and try to understand where they are coming from or why they see this as a positive. Anyone out there know some LFLer??

Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 10:30am EDT

The most surprising aspect of it for me is that the LFL is a very athletic league that features legitimate athletes, most of which played US University or College sports. These are serious athletes. A lot of them are on twitter and I am sure would be happy to answer questions for an interview.

The Toronto Star interviewed one of the LFL athletes in its article "Lingerie Football is no Gimmick: Says Players." Here are some excerpts from the article:

"Don%u2019t be fooled by the pretty smiles and sultry glamour shots, says Torkwase Fraser. The women of the Lingerie Football League are bona fide competitors.

%u201CWhen you go and watch the sport you see serious athletes playing football,%u201D says Fraser, a Toronto native and former pro sprinter who last season played for the now-defunct San Diego Seduction.

......

Ryerson University sociology professor Nicole Neverson said the sport objectifies women, exploits its unpaid athletes and is yet another example of the %u201Csports media complex,%u201D which reinforces gender stereotypes constructed around heterosexual male desires.

The women may be athletic, Neverson said, but their athleticism is %u201Cnot the hallmark of their participation in this league.%u201D

Fraser disagrees. The 2006 Miss Diverse Canada, who is studying broadcast journalism in California, says it%u2019s her choice to show her skin and she joined the league to show off her skills to a stadium audience and challenge herself physically. Almost all the women have played at least U.S. college-level sports, she said.

%u201CThere%u2019s a lot of women football teams, but we%u2019re the only ones that get paid for it,%u201D she said, citing the travel expense coverage and fluctuating game-by-game stipend. Fraser also hopes the exposure might help her broadcast career.

As for playing in her underwear, Fraser said the get up isn%u2019t much different than the two piece sprinting garb she wore at track-and-field meets.

Except she has to deal with more clutching and grabbing, so %u201Cobviously there%u2019s going to be some wardrobe malfunctions.%u201D


Full article is available here: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/974456--lingerie-football-no-gimmick-say-players

Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 10:43am EDT

Whoa sorry do not know what happened with the formating in that message. Here is a better quality excerpt from the Star:

The Toronto Star interviewed one of the LFL athletes in its article "Lingerie Football is no Gimmick: Says Players." Here are some excerpts from the article:

"Don't be fooled by the pretty smiles and sultry glamour shots, says Torkwase Fraser. The women of the Lingerie Football League are bona fide competitors.

"When you go and watch the sport you see serious athletes playing football" says Fraser, a Toronto native and former pro sprinter who last season played for the now-defunct San Diego Seduction.

......

Ryerson University sociology professor Nicole Neverson said the sport objectifies women, exploits its unpaid athletes and is yet another example of the sports media complex, which reinforces gender stereotypes constructed around heterosexual male desires.

The women may be athletic, Neverson said, but their athleticism is not the hallmark of their participation in this league.

Fraser disagrees. The 2006 Miss Diverse Canada, who is studying broadcast journalism in California, says its her choice to show her skin and she joined the league to show off her skills to a stadium audience and challenge herself physically. Almost all the women have played at least U.S. college-level sports, she said.

"There's a lot of women football teams, but we are the only ones that get paid for it" she said, citing the travel expense coverage and fluctuating game-by-game stipend. Fraser also hopes the exposure might help her broadcast career.

As for playing in her underwear, Fraser said the get up isn't much different than the two piece sprinting garb she wore at track-and-field meets.

Except she has to deal with more clutching and grabbing, so obviously theres going to be some wardrobe malfunctions."

Full article is available here: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/974456--lingerie-football-no-gimmick-say-players

Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 11:14am EDT

Thanks for the article.I don't doubt that they are actual athletes. The woman that I saw was definitely one and you could tell from her knowledge and demeanor, however it is the issue with having to sexualize themselves in order to play. It's unfortunate. We seem to be focusing on the fact that they are in underwear while playing which is a total distraction from their skill. I doubt the person running the LFL is a woman (although I do not know for sure), but to me, and I think to many who are "against" the LFL, it is just a group succumbing to the sexualization of women in sports based on what women believe males (males in society and who are running the LFL show) would like to see (i.e. women think that this is a way to get males approval to play football). Humans are sexual creatures, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but there are football teams that are strictly professional, leaving anything regarding sex out of it. I just wonder if they felt they had that option or not...

Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 10:52pm EDT

It will be sad to see you all go. This is one of the best artcle on the Offside. Best of luck to all of you

football

Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 9:28am EDT