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This time of year is always my favourite. There are the Christmas and New Year festivities, the fantastic weather, and the love/hate relationship that comes along with the beginning of pre-season training. And of course the international cricket season kicks off here in Australia.
As much as I love to watch the cricket, what has caught my eye since the test series began has been the Men of Cricket calendar.
Whilst I have enjoyed looking at the pictures of the players as they have flashed across the television screen, what has interested me the most is the way in which the public as well as the media have had their opinion on the Australian Cricketers stripping down for this calendar, which is helping raise money for a fantastic cause.
Recently, several Adelaide Thunderbird netballers took part in a photo shoot for Alpha magazine. The opinions of media and the public in this case, as well as other cases involving female athletes, always appear to differ greatly compared to when any photos, which may result in a little less clothing, involve blokes.
Why is it that when these cricketers take their gear off people only have a laugh at the amount of ‘foliage” on Simon Katich’s chest as well as wonder why Michael Clarke hasn’t stripped down. And yet when female athletes do something similar people say that such photos are either controversial or that they are not projecting the right image?
Now, I understand that things need to be done tastefully, but I would like to think that as female athletes, who spend many hours training and looking after themselves to get their bodies in to the best physical shape possible for our chosen sports, that they are projecting a healthy body image to young girls and other women, unlike the majority of stick thin models and actresses who choose not to eat.
With all the talk saying that females should be proud of their bodies, surely those who spend most days of the week training can show theirs off even if it does attract a little bit of male attention.
I highly doubt that the Men of Cricket calendar, as well as the Men for All Seasons footy calendar, with the strategically placed bed sheets, is aimed at being sold to male supporters.
With sponsors injecting large amounts of money into the sports, and sporting organisations wanting to reach different demographics, it is no surprise that several AFL clubs have created relationships with netball teams in order to help promote their clubs and increase their female membership base.
Whilst the male sports are doing large amounts to increase their female supporters and interest in their game, some people almost appear to believe that female athletes should just play sport and keep quiet.
Now, I am all for equal opportunities, yet I believe that sometimes it just does not work, such as female tennis players earning the same amount as male tennis players …. they only do half as much work.
But surely in this case, female athletes have as much right as men to promote their sport in the same way, without all the extra judgement.