Seems like the Sports Minister is unhappy about Lingerie football. I don't disagree with her but fail to see the difference between scantilly dressed women's tennis players or sprinters. It also seemed the thing to do a few years ago for Australian women's teams to get their gear off for calendars in order to make a few dollars. No outcry about that. Sad fruit of a secular society however their seems to be very little consistency from the Minister or others on this issue.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/the-l-word-lingerie-football-a-cheap-degrading-perv-kate-lundy-says/story-e6freuy9-1226365362713

Ancient sports were performed naked, in specific homage to the "gods".

I suggest a return to this historical benchmark for athletic conduct.

rusty.

Rusty writes

'I suggest a return to this historical benchmark for athletic conduct.'

I suppose the Beach Volleyballers are pretty close to that.

Dear runner,

I agree with you. There isn't much difference between lingerie football and scantly clad tennis players. They are both great to watch.

However, male tennis players generally are not covered more than female tennis players. Doesn't that bother you?

There are horrific injuries and great violence in male American football. Retired professional football players have lower life expectancy than the general population. Death, paraplegia, concussion and other horrific consequences result from the collision of large and violent men. Military metaphors contribute to the atmosphere of violence. Victors are heroes. One team crushes or annihilates anothr team. Fans have been known to riot or even kill. In many ways professional sports is an obscenity. The team contact sports encourage mayhem on and off the field. Some players are simply thugs who get drunk and bash and rape off the field.

The Olympics have evolved to be an orgy of commercialism and nationalism. Government support for the extravaganzas should be eliminated.

I'm sure all precautions will be taken to eliminate violence from lingerie football. Players will be selected for beauty and athletic ability. Friendly games played in an atmosphere of sexuality with no violence or hostility sound great to me. Lingerie football is preferable to most athletic competitions.

david f

you ask

'However, male tennis players generally are not covered more than female tennis players. Doesn't that bother you?'

No but I wonder why the Sports Minister is so outraged. Is this expected of her or is she giggling privately and spitting chips publicly.

Also I largely agree with you about football. Although I enjoy watching the skill it is a game full of thuggery and results in far to many injuries. Many fans especially treat it as a religion and turn to violence at the drop of a hat. Soccer is usually the worse in Australia and a lot of that violence is due the ethnic wars.

runner,

I'd never heard of this until your link.

It seems just another step along the road in commercialisation of anything and everything.

We spend half our time following instinctual and socially constructed behaviours, and the other half dissecting them and trying to make sense of it all, congratulating ourselves one minute and castigating ourselves the next.

In fact, I think I'm having an existential moment.