If noughties aesthetics were defined by size zero culture, then we have a theory that the 2010s will be known for ‘eroticised athleticism’. With the onset of obesity, the food crisis, and an ageing population, combined with the impact of the recession, science and the 2012 Olympics, the cult of thin is becoming less desirable and the superhuman, augmented physique of the athlete, the emerging global aesthetic. In other words, Luisel Ramos starved, out, lives-in-the-gym David Gandy, in. It’s no coincidence that Gandy (the muscly hunk from the D&G Light Blue perfume ad) is the world’s most successful male model right now. According to fan Mario Testino, Gandy’s body “radiates health and positivity”, which is exactly right for the times. Fashion is driving this trend by giving sport an image makeover and sex appeal, and no brand has done more than bodycon temple American Apparel. Sports aesthetics are crucial to sports participation, according to the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation, which reports that 23% of women say PE at school put them off sport for life and ugly and uncomfortable PE kits are the main culprit. The World Health Organisation’s new stance on tackling the obesity epidemic supports the athletic trend, stating that we should focus less on restricting diet, and more on promoting exercise as a counterbalance. A report by The Future Laboratory, looking back at the world in 2020, brings to life our prediction. It reads: “After Gareth Pugh invited South African Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius down his 2020 spring/summer catwalk and People magazine dubbed a bionic Madonna the most beautiful woman alive, superhuman became the new aesthetic. Skinny was out, athletic was in. This had its roots in the ‘bodycon’ effect of the 2012 Olympics and the backlash against skinny models. Teenage girls started to lift weights rather than puke up their lunches. Kate Moss developed a six-pack and revealed her ultimate beauty secret to be high-protein egg whites. Anabolic steroids were the heroin chic of the 2020 fashion industry. Plastic surgeons and personal fitness trainers were the aesthetes and pop stars of the day.”

In his recent book The Erotic in Sports, sports historian Allen Guttmann charts the beginnings of this aesthetic back to the 1996 Olympics when the ‘female-athlete-as-the-ideal-image-of-female-power’ trend emerged. In advertising, the athletic female body was paired with everything from Evian (”Within me lives a superhero”) to Diet Mountain Dew to Movado watches. Nike also ran its famous “If You Let Me Play” campaign, which focused the social debate and research on female athletes: “If you let me play/ I will like myself more / I will have more self-confidence / I will suffer less depression / I will be 60% less likely to get breast cancer / I will be more likely to leave a man who beats me / I will be less likely to get pregnant before I want to / I will learn what it means to be strong / If you let me play sports.”

And in the October 1995 issue of Outside magazine, the cover story “The Ubergirl Cometh” proclaimed a new archetype for women: “The age of Gabrielle Reece is upon us. She’s big, she’s strong, and with thousands more like her out there, she’s replicating fast . . . Reece leads a pack of women who are currently redefining our image of the female athlete, inspiring a generation of young girls to take control of their bodies and pride in their strength . . . Can you deal with that?” Athletics was offered up as a solution to social problems, particularly women’s.

Hans Gumbrecht, author of In Praise of Athletic Beauty believes that there is an intrinsic link between sport and beauty but that it is the least mentioned of the important reasons why people love sports. He references philosopher Kant’s idea that one appreciates more than just the functional achievements of athletes, but also some aesthetic quality contained in those actions (a goal vs. a graceful Thierry Henry goal).


Thanks to sarah rabia for this story. sarah is grossly overweight.

References:

Philosophy Talk.org

Mesomorphosis.com

Informaworld.com

The Guardian

The Guardian (2)

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