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If you are a female fan of sport, a fan of women’s sport, or care that female athletes and women’s sports are portrayed as legitimate and athleticism is the primary focus, I need you to be a Sports Minister!

There is a proliferation of “Bikini Leagues.” Starting with the expansion of the Lingerie Football League (which I’ve critiqued numerous times) into Canada, the LFL is trying to expand globally to Australia where it is being met with resistance from the Australian Sports Minister Kate Lundy who stated “As Minister for Sport, I can’t abide a spectacle that degrades women and threatens to undermine the progress of women in sport in Australia. It offends me that the promoters are hiding behind the guise of LFL being a ‘sport’. Lingerie Football objectifies and exploits women by trading on their sexuality to make money pure and simple.I am particularly concerned that young women watching the LFL will form the unfortunate view they can only ever hope to be taken seriously or even noticed in sport if they get their kit off.”

This is precisely why the US needs a Sports Minister!! We don’t, therefore we ALL need to take responsibility to fight Bikini Leagues and the spread of activities branded as sport, that clearly are not.

I am very troubled by LFL expansion efforts as well as the commencement of a Lingerie Basketball League and a Bikini Hockey League.…especially when the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) a REAL league, suspended play for 2012. Clearly there is a market for the sexualization of females, but if women refuse to play in these “leagues” there will be no leagues and no product to sell. Women who play or are considering to play in Bikini Leagues (many of whom are legitimate athletes) need to take some individual and collective responsibility.

JUST SAY NO. DO NOT PLAY. Do not let yourself be objectified for entertainment under the guise of sport.

Are these leagues going to increase respect for and interest in women’s professional sport? Are these leagues going to garner you respect and legitimacy as an athlete or a person? Are Bikini Leagues good for the individual, women’s sport in general, or society? What messages do Bikini Leagues send young girls about their bodies and self worth? What messages to Bikini Leagues send young boys and males about objectifying and consuming the female body, and respecting females as legitimate athletes?

What can you do to fight Bikini Leagues!?

• Forward this blog to someone, repost, or share on Facebook, Twitter or other social media
• Be your own Sport Minister
• Do not attend or watch Bikini Leagues
• Educate others Bikini Leagues are not sport leagues
• Do not buy products or support sponsors of Bikini Leagues
• Watch and support legitimate women’s sport leagues on TV or attend local pro, college or amateur games…like the Independent Women’s Football League, the Women’s Football Alliance, WNBA or tune into ESPN coverage of the NCAA Softball World Series.
• Read about (CLICK ON) and share stories from writers and organizations that promote legitimate female athletes and women’s leagues (your clicks matter!). Here are some places to go to promote female athletes
  • www.WomenTalkSports.com
  • www.espnW.com
  • Ladies Professional Golf Association
  • Women’s Tennis Association

What other suggestions to you have so that we can all take responsibility in our own ways to fight Bikini Leagues.

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• SportsPLUS
• OpEd
• Discrimination/Title IX
• Sexism

View Original Post at nicolemlavoi.com

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There is 1 comment on this post. Join the discussion!

mcjack says:

Meh, I wouldn't get too worked up about it. Despite the promoters' attempts to sell these as legit sports, it won't pass the smell test for most people.

For one, no legitimate news organization will touch this (ESPN, network sports, local broadcasts) so there is little fear that these leagues will be thrust to the forefront of women's sport coverage.

Second, these leagues pander to a very limited audience, most of whom aren't a considerable target market. I'm a man, and I may have been intrigued by such a specatcle when I was 13, but I'm 38 and have never once heard a group of my peers engage in a conversation about any bikini league. We don't care about it either. These leagues will be forever ridden to the adolecesent MTV crowd, and will never be confused with legitimate sport.

Third, I think these leagues are a passing phase. They just aren't sustainable. There is no mass appeal. They may survive on the fringes, but will never have the type of influence on social conscience to have any negative effect on real women's athletics.

We agree that these leagues should probably go away, but I would argue that the best way to speed that up is to simply ignore them, and not organize efforts to oppose them.

The only way these leagues get press is when people marshal arguments against their existence. Other than that, nobody other than some teenage boy who wears a hole in his hand every weekend even knows they exist.

Friday, May 25, 2012 at 8:59pm EDT

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