Femininity in olympic cyclist shampoo ad.

[MMMarmite]

I noticed this Pantene pro-v advert in the glossy section of the Guardian today - I find it a really weird image which I think says a lot about the beauty standards thrown at us by advertisers. It's of Victoria Pendleton MBE, who's a track cycling world and olympic champion. In the magazine the image was cropped much narrower, so her it was more emphasized her face more, and said "Hours and Hours of Training and I'm Staying Ahead of Frizz".

They've put her in the 'passive beautiful woman pose': glossy hair fanned and flicked to one side, mouth slightly open, eyes looking up and and away to one side, but posed on a (stationary) bicycle. (I found a video showing clips of them doing the photoshoot.) For me it really highlights how unnatural that pose is: no-one's hair would go like that ever on a bike, and her facial expression is completely alien to what you'd normally see on an athlete. Also, as far as I can see, her left leg has been photoshopped to make her thigh thinner.

I think it illustrates how opposite to each other femininity (at least the sort found in magazines) and athleticism seem to be.

[MMMarmite]

*so it emphasized her face more

[GothAnneGeddes]

It made me swear.

It's the whole Beauty Uber Alles crap.

[Helxi]

"For me it really highlights how unnatural that pose is: no-one's hair would go like that ever on a bike, and her facial expression is completely alien to what you'd normally see on an athlete. Also, as far as I can see, her left leg has been photoshopped to make her thigh thinner.

I think it illustrates how opposite to each other femininity (at least the sort found in magazines) and athleticism seem to be."

It illustrates that comestic products and sweat/mud/blood stained adverts featuring said product by a physically exhausted athlete don't really work well as a combination.

[mamasin]

Gosh glad I'm not alone. I was taken aback by the ad, will be cheering Victoria on but thought that the ad was very poor and not reflective of her brilliant ability.

[MMMarmite]

I wasn't asking for sweat/mud/blood stains Helxi, not that track cycling is even likely to cause the latter two. But it seems shampoo advertisers, even when they choose a world champion cyclist, don't want a woman to look purposeful, or active, or indeed to show the whole of her championship-winning legs.

[Helxi]

"I wasn't asking for sweat/mud/blood stains Helxi, not that track cycling is even likely to cause the latter two. "

I don't think women should be restricted to track cycling.

"But it seems shampoo advertisers, even when they choose a world champion cyclist, don't want a woman to look purposeful, or active, or indeed to show the whole of her championship-winning legs."

Shampoo advertisers don't focus on subjects that have nothing to do with selling their product.

Legs, for example.

[BelleCurve]

She also has her name on a range of bicycles for Halfords, so far so sensible. But in the print catalogue, it mentions that they are bicycles you can use whilst wearing a dress... as opposed to any other bicycle??

www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_14552_productId_871172_langId_-1_categoryId_null

[MMMarmite]

They photoshopped her leg, perfectly toned for cycling, to make it thinner. But meh, you appear to be deliberately missing the point.

[MMMarmite]

(that was to helxi)

[messyisthenewtidy]

"It illustrates that comestic products and sweat/mud/blood stained adverts featuring said product by a physically exhausted athlete don't really work well as a combination."

I think it'd work fine for a man. Not for a woman. That's the point.

[Helxi]

"I think it'd work fine for a man. Not for a woman. That's the point."

And the evidence supporting that statement, in relation to cosmetic products, can be found where?

[Greythorne]

I love this pic by Annie Leibovitz of Hilary Swank and I would have loved Pantene to do something like this.

thepopcan.com/tag/annie-leibovitz/

[Greythorne]

Scroll down half way.

[WidowWadman]

Meh. It's an advert for shampoo. So of course it'll focus on swishy-swashy hair. It's a photoshop disaster on all counts, though.

[Melpomene]

The ad annoys me too - why is she wearing a sequinned top that looks like evening wear, not something you'd wear for cycling? It makes me less likely to buy the shampoo.

This sort of suggestion that it's possible/desirable for women to look super-glamorous while participating in sport happens frequently. There's been a similar ad on TV recently that shows a tennis player playing tennis in an evening dress and stilettos.

Part of the issue is that a lot of the features conventionally associated with beauty in women can 'get in the way' when performing sport - loose long hair, tight dresses, high heels, long nails, big breasts. A lot of people consider it unattractive for a woman to be 'too muscular'. Whereas there's a lot more overlap between the traits typically associated with male attractiveness and how a sportsman would naturally/normally look.

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

It looks hideous IMO. I just showed my dh, he said "yeah,Women look like that when they are riding a bike and sweating their butts off don't they...." heavy note of sarcasm.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I saw a version of this as a 4OD ad yesterday. It was really bizarre, the implication was she got to the top of a mountain and .... swished her hair. Such a crap cliche! It was like someone was going to purr 'why, miss jones, you're beautiful!' from behind some sheep dung.

I agree it is fairly ridiculous and you wonder why they bothered getting a sportswoman to do the ad if they were just going to do the same old boring shit with it.

[Solopower]

A bad ad.

Isn't the subtext a bit same old same old - ie that you could, nay should, look glamorous and desirable no matter what you are doing?

Pantene are just jumping on the band wagon of the Olympics. If we as a nation were getting fired up by a car rally, they'd have a pic of a beautifully coiffed female car mechanic.

On the other hand, maybe there are some girls who would like to do more sport but are put off because of what they look like when hot and sweaty. in which case this advert is massively reassuring. Not.

[FairPhyllis]

At the end of the gallery OP linked to there is an image of Diane Lewis which I really like - it shows her throwing a shotput. Not at all passive.

[HipHopOpotomus]

Further into the gallery the OP linked to, is a picture of diver Tonia Couch, who is sponsored by Urban Decay. The blurb states she will be wearing Urban Decays waterproof make-up throughout her training.

I find this worse than the cycling image which at least tries to have an element of fantasy about it.

Whereas, in order for OLYMPIC DIVER Tonia to be "worthy" of sponsorship by Urban Decay she is bound to wear waterproof make-up during her training regime for the Olympics. Seriously? This beautiful athlete is going to put on waterproof make-up before she gets into the pool everyday????? Nasty!

[namechangeguy]

Melpomene said 'It makes me less likely to buy the shampoo.'

There is your answer in a nutshell. Stop buying the products and manufacturers will change their tack. They do not care about your politics. They care about your money. I don't use Go Compare because of the fat twat in the advert. Simples

[HipHopOpotomus]

I already don't buy Pantene because Procter & Gamble have pissed me off previously by claiming to 'sponsor' me. It doesn't mean I shouldn't have an opinion on major print advertising campaigns.

However I do like Go Compare singing guy - he's quite funny.

So it's about market share, not individuals. Politics & public opinion (raised/stimulated by discussions such as these in part) is arguably more likely to have an impact on market share, than an individual not buying shampoo in isolation. Both together = even better.

[Krumbum]

I hate how she says the Pantene makes Her beautiful as woman or something like that. As though when she is cycling she is not a woman aka sport is not womanly or attractive. It makes me gnash!

[namechangeguy]

Did anyone see the BBC documentary about VP last night? What an athlete! I don't think other people should necessarily pin their own neuroses onto VP. She didn't seem to have any issues with her appearance - she was permanently on camera sans make up or any titivation. How are Pantene going to sell any shampoo if they show her in pictures straight after another race with helmet hair?

These adverts are no more right or wrong than those showing Mr Perfect driving the latest Audi, or Beckham in his skiddies. Advertising is whatever you let it be - relentless pressure to look perfect, or an irrelevance.

[yellowraincoat]

namechangeguy, the adverts are stupid. Why show a female athlete with perfect hair like that on a bike? Whatever you think about it, there is relentless pressure on women to look good.

I thought that documentary was interesting but disappointing. There was very little content about her athletic prowess. They picked a narrative ("woman is brilliant cyclist, but total emotional mess") and ran with it. They mentioned she trained 6 days a week but there was very little focus on that side of her life - which basically must be her entire life.

I felt bad for her. She seemed so keen to please others, she never seemed to be happy even when she achieved amazing things.