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pilight
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 Posted: 09/13/12 8:56 pm ::: The Death of the Anna Kournikova era? |
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http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8372737/from-serena-williams-missy-franklin-gabby-douglas-summer-2012-defined-female-athletes
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Kournikova has long since exited the public eye, but those years during which all female athletes had to somehow answer to Anna's hotness had a lasting effect on how the country discussed female athletes. It created the following paradox: If all talk about women's sports — however obliquely or subliminally — is about Anna Kournikova and all talk about Anna Kournikova is not ever about women's sports, how do you talk about women's sports?
Somehow, in this summer of Missy Franklin, Serena Williams, and Gabby Douglas, we seem to have stumbled out of this Babel. Anna Kournikova's long braid of associations has loosened its death grip. Before we ride off into a future of equal sponsorship deals and nationally broadcast WNBA All-Star games, it should be asked: Was this summer a series of great coincidences, or have we really changed the way we celebrate female athletes? |
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Happycappie25
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| Posted: 09/13/12 9:43 pm ::: |
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| the answer, is somewhere in between. Yes we're behind the silliness that led to this is who I aint and other (hot) female first athlete second era. But note that their article goes into franklin and douglas, two women (actually truly girls) who are in what I call the "Traditional" women's sports. Not saying this doesn't "count" but there is still work to be done. The interesting breakwater is Diggins to me. Is she going to be all about looks or is she going to be as much how she plays...that will be what I'm looking at given how much a celeb she already is in college.
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Admiral_Needa
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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| Posted: 09/13/12 11:40 pm ::: Re: The Death of the Anna Kournikova era? |
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| pilight wrote: |
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8372737/from-serena-williams-missy-franklin-gabby-douglas-summer-2012-defined-female-athletes
| Quote: |
Kournikova has long since exited the public eye, but those years during which all female athletes had to somehow answer to Anna's hotness had a lasting effect on how the country discussed female athletes. It created the following paradox: If all talk about women's sports — however obliquely or subliminally — is about Anna Kournikova and all talk about Anna Kournikova is not ever about women's sports, how do you talk about women's sports?
Somehow, in this summer of Missy Franklin, Serena Williams, and Gabby Douglas, we seem to have stumbled out of this Babel. Anna Kournikova's long braid of associations has loosened its death grip. Before we ride off into a future of equal sponsorship deals and nationally broadcast WNBA All-Star games, it should be asked: Was this summer a series of great coincidences, or have we really changed the way we celebrate female athletes? |
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Kournikova is basically the Vanilla Ice or MC Hammer of rap. You can make fun of her, but really shouldn't because she was a pioneer in the popularization of the sport.
As for the way we celebrate female athletes is changing, I think it's changing from good looking, to good and good looking. Being one or the other isn't enough. The fact that Gabby Douglas was criticized on her hair and Lolo Jones was criticized for not winning is evidence of that. 
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PUmatty
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
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| Posted: 09/14/12 5:14 pm ::: Re: The Death of the Anna Kournikova era? |
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| Admiral_Needa wrote: |
| pilight wrote: |
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8372737/from-serena-williams-missy-franklin-gabby-douglas-summer-2012-defined-female-athletes
| Quote: |
Kournikova has long since exited the public eye, but those years during which all female athletes had to somehow answer to Anna's hotness had a lasting effect on how the country discussed female athletes. It created the following paradox: If all talk about women's sports — however obliquely or subliminally — is about Anna Kournikova and all talk about Anna Kournikova is not ever about women's sports, how do you talk about women's sports?
Somehow, in this summer of Missy Franklin, Serena Williams, and Gabby Douglas, we seem to have stumbled out of this Babel. Anna Kournikova's long braid of associations has loosened its death grip. Before we ride off into a future of equal sponsorship deals and nationally broadcast WNBA All-Star games, it should be asked: Was this summer a series of great coincidences, or have we really changed the way we celebrate female athletes? |
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Kournikova is basically the Vanilla Ice or MC Hammer of rap. You can make fun of her, but really shouldn't because she was a pioneer in the popularization of the sport.
As for the way we celebrate female athletes is changing, I think it's changing from good looking, to good and good looking. Being one or the other isn't enough. The fact that Gabby Douglas was criticized on her hair and Lolo Jones was criticized for not winning is evidence of that. |
I'm sorry. What sport did Kournikova pioneer into popularity?
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Admiral_Needa
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