Lindsey Vonn is arguably the most dominant skier in United States history. Yet, as a woman, she is forced to deal with issues that her male counterparts seem to easily bypass. Less than a week before her first scheduled Olympic run, Vonn revealed to the world that a training accident on February 2nd produced an “excruciatingly painful” deep shin bruise that could dash her hopes of entering the pantheon of Olympic legends. No U.S. Alpine skier has ever won more than two medals in a career, and Vonn has the opportunity to take home five from this year’s Winter Olympics. She is even favored to win gold in two of the events she is scheduled to compete in. NBC, in a desperate quest for high ratings, has hyped Vonn as this year’s Michael Phelps. But as soon as she released the news of her injury, the networks own “Today” show immediately questioned whether Vonn was merely using the injury as an preemptive excuse for a potentially underwhelming performance. Vonn quickly shot down the allegedly preposterous theory…“This is in no way trying to give myself an excuse if I don't do well.” Regardless of her sincerity, suspicions still circulate throughout media outlets about whether Vonn is trying to lessen the effect of the blow to come if she falls short of the monumental goals set before her. It is because she is a woman that the pundits have argued that Vonn is buckling under the pressure, and has overemphasized her injury in order to maintain an easy scapegoat in case she doesn’t live up to expectations. If Vonn were a man, sportswriters would be setting the stage for a Cinderella-esque come back story, much like they did for Willis Reed, Tiger Woods, and Curt Schilling after these athletes gave extraordinary, championship winning performances following serious injuries.
In addition to her trials and tribulations on the slopes, Vonn has also been bombarded with concerns about her activities outside of the Olympic arena. Vonn was one of four female Olympians to be showcased in Sports Illustrated’s highly contentious swimsuit issue that features a section entitled “Olympic Stars”. Along with Vonn are Claire Bidez and Hannah Teter, both snowboarders, as well as Lacy Schnoor, a fellow skier. Vonn and her colleagues all appear in skimpy swimsuits on Whistler Mountain in Canada, but because of her expected success, Vonn has been the most scrutinized by the media for her decision to participate in the highly publicized pictorial…“She gazes at us…wearing a two-piece, red-and-white number that successfully sells her sexuality…an all-out swarm intended to combine her telegenic looks, Midwestern background and estimable ski talents to transform her into America's golden girl and medals machine at the Winter Olympics.” Vonn has been criticized not only for appearing scantily clad in Sports Illustrated, but also for having a husband that is nine years her senior, and even worse for weighing more than her many of her competitors…“after she won three races in Europe, Austrian coaches said Vonn had an advantage over other racers because she was heavier at 5-10, 160 pounds.” Vonn responded with fiery competitiveness, “I just think it's pretty ridiculous and it definitely irritated me and it definitely gave me a little bit of extra motivation on race day. If weight were the key to success in ski racing, then everyone would be stuffing their faces with food.” Some have suggested that it is exactly this kind of criticism that motivated Vonn to participate in the swimsuit spread in order to prove that she is in optimal Olympic racing shape. Because Vonn is a woman, and an extraordinarily successful one in a traditionally male arena, she is subject to disparaging remarks in reference to issues that her male counterparts wouldn’t be noticed for. There must be hundreds of male athletes with wives significantly younger than themselves, and yet journalists do not bat an eye, let alone write about it. Moreover, if Vonn were a man, her weight would certainly not be a point of contention, but rather one of admiration as she would probably be lauded for being more muscular and a finer physical specimen than the competition.
If presented with the case of Lindsey Vonn, Ariel Levy would likely be again disappointed and disgusted with the American media and our society as a whole. Levy argues that, “Bimbos enjoy a higher standing our culture than Olympians right now.” The question that this statement poses in reference to Vonn is: would Lindsey Vonn be heralded as this year’s Michael Phelps and as America’s girl if she wasn’t beautiful? The answer, Levy would say, is that she probably would not. If Vonn did not agree to be featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, her popularity level would be significantly lower going into the Olympic games. Female athletes in America cannot gain superstar status simply by being the greatest ever in their respective sport, they have to be beautiful, and they have to show it too. Unfortunately, this mindset dominates female athletics in America; so how can anyone fault Vonn for appearing in the swimsuit pictorial? Furthermore, as Levy explains, “Not one male Olympian has found it necessary to show us his penis in the pages of a magazine. Proving that you are hot, worthy of lust…is still exclusively women’s work.” Levy makes an excellent point here; we have never seen the bodies of Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, or Michael Jordan sprawled out provocatively in the pages of a magazine. The reason for this is because male athletes are worshipped for their accolades on the field, and not for the way their bodies look in a swimsuit. Levy summarizes her discussion of female athletes by emphasizing the fact that the Olympians who were featured naked, or nearly so, in magazines, “had to be taken out of context, the purposeful eyes-on-the-prize stare you see on the field had to be replaced with coquettish lash-batting, the fast-moving legs had to be splayed apart,” to be viewed as both sexy and athletic. This is a tragic reality of the raunch culture in America that every female athlete who ascends into public consciousness must battle with. Vonn, having experienced the backlash from appearing in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, certainly understands how hard it is for female athletes to be accepted as both a great sports hero and as a woman.
If Vonn is able to bring home an unprecedented five medals in Alpine skiing, it is still likely that she will be more well remembered for the Sports Illustrated spread rather than her incredible Olympic achievement. For those who might doubt this seemingly outlandish prediction, one needs only to look as far as Brandi Chastain and the 1999 U.S. Women’s Soccer team. After scoring the winning penalty kick in the World Cup, Chastain fell to her knees and ripped her jersey off in celebration, exposing her sports bra to the world. To this day, when people discuss Chastain, her team, or even women’s athletics in general, it is this image that remains in the front of everyone’s mind. This is a major problem that stands in the way of female athletes reaching the level of praise and popularity that their accolades have proven that they truly deserve. As long as our society continues to be outraged by things like Chastain’s well-earned, unbridled joy, then, as Levy puts it, bimbos will remain at a higher position than even the most successful female athlete. Hopefully Vonn will overcome injuries, the odds, and our societal norms and thrust female athletics into the spotlight by overwhelming all her doubters in this year’s Winter Olympics. Maybe if Vonn is able to do what no other U.S. Alpine skier ever has, let alone a female one, people in America will finally realize that female athletes are too able to produce the kind of awesome performances that rally a nation and capture the hearts and minds of the global community.
Time Article on Lindsey Vonn--http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1963571,00.html
Fanhouse.com Article on Lindsey Vonn--http://jay-mariotti.fanhouse.com/2010/02/10/could-be-cheesy-games-if-vonn-sits-out/
Sports Illustrated Lindsey Vonn Swimsuit Pictorial--http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010_swimsuit/winter/lindsey-vonn/10_lindsey-vonn_1.html
Sports Illustrated Lindsey Vonn on Cover--http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1002/olympics.winter.athletes.to.watch.women/content.1.html
Lindsey Vonn Injury Press Conference--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bbGHRDnsEg
Lindsey Vonn--Get to Know America's Girl--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI8scrxcnMM&feature=channel
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