Honestly, it started with a joke. In 2008, NFL receiver Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson was hanging out at an ESPN photo shoot and jokingly suggested he should just pose naked so everyone could finally see his physique. People laughed. But then, the editors didn't stop thinking about it.
One year later, the first Body Issue hit the stands. Serena Williams was on the cover. Since then, the conversation around professional female athletes naked has basically morphed into this massive cultural debate that never quite ends. It’s not just about the photos. It’s about power, money, and whether or not a woman has to take her clothes off to get the same sponsorship deals as the guys.
The Myth of the "Only for Men" Crowd
You've probably heard the argument that these shoots are just "Playboy Lite" for sports fans. It’s a common take. But when you look at the actual history, especially with projects like ESPN’s Body Issue, the vibe is weirdly different.
The goal—at least the one the editors preach—is to showcase the "athletic form." It’s about muscle, scar tissue, and the sheer physics of what it takes to be elite. Think about it. We see these women in baggy jerseys or high-tech spandex. You don't actually see the quad muscles required to win a gold medal in downhill skiing until the clothes are gone.
Who has actually done it?
The list isn't just a bunch of "marketable" faces. It's everyone.
- Serena Williams (The 2009 OG cover)
- Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe (The first same-sex couple on the cover)
- Oksana Masters (The Paralympic rower who posed without her prosthetic legs)
- The US Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (Who posed as a group)
- Charlotte Flair (Bringing the pro-wrestling world into the mix)
These aren't models. They're people who have broken bones and torn ACLs for a living. When Oksana Masters posed, it wasn't about being "sexy" in the traditional sense. It was about showing a body that most of society tries to ignore. It was raw.
Does it actually help women's sports?
This is where things get kinda messy.
On one hand, you have the "Advocacy Frame." This group says that professional female athletes naked in a high-end magazine provides massive exposure. For a professional bowler or a roller derby player, being in the Body Issue might be the only time they ever get a national spotlight. It’s a branding play. If you can’t get TV time, you get a magazine cover.
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On the other hand, experts like Dr. Nicole LaVoi from the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport have pointed out a glaring problem. There is almost zero data proving that posing nude leads to higher TV ratings for women’s basketball or more ticket sales for soccer.
In fact, some studies suggest the opposite. When the media focuses on an athlete's body instead of her stats, it can "trivialize" her. It makes her a "body-subject" rather than an athlete. You’re looking at her abs, not her batting average.
The Double Standard Nobody Talks About
We have to talk about the guys. ESPN made a point to include men like Rob Gronkowski, Prince Fielder, and even 77-year-old Gary Player.
The argument is: "If the men are doing it, it’s equal, right?"
Not exactly.
The cultural context is totally different. Men in sports already have respect and credibility. When a male NFL player poses naked, nobody questions if he’s actually good at football. But when a female athlete does it, people start wondering if she’s just "selling sex" because her sport isn't interesting enough. It’s a heavy burden to carry.
What the athletes say themselves
Most of these women aren't being forced into this. They want to be there.
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Jessie Diggins, the Olympic cross-country skier, wrote about her experience. For her, it was a way to talk about her recovery from an eating disorder. She wanted to show that a "strong" body doesn't always look like the photoshopped images in fashion magazines.
Then you have someone like Ronda Rousey or Lindsey Vonn. They’ve both faced criticism for being "too pretty" or "too sexualized." Vonn’s 2010 Sports Illustrated cover—where she was in a ski tuck position but in a bikini—sparked a huge ethics debate. Was it a "bold exploration" of her sport, or was it just designed to sell magazines to guys?
Honestly, it’s probably both.
Breaking Down the "Empowerment" Argument
The word "empowerment" gets thrown around a lot. Like, a lot.
Post-feminist theory says that a woman choosing to show her body is an act of reclamation. She’s saying, "I own this." She’s taking the "male gaze" and turning it into a business asset.
Radical feminists usually disagree. They argue that by posing, these women are just feeding into the same old patriarchal system that says a woman’s value is tied to her looks. They worry that young girls watching will think they need to look like a fitness model to be a "real" athlete.
What’s the actual impact?
If you're looking for a simple answer, you won't find one. The reality is a mix of these three things:
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- Humanizing Elite Performance: These shoots show the "ugly" side of sports—the bruises, the surgeries, and the non-traditional body types (like the muscular build of a shot-putter vs. the lean build of a marathoner).
- Financial Reality: Professional female athletes often make a fraction of what men do. If a naked photo shoot brings in a Nike or Red Bull sponsorship that keeps their career alive, many see it as a necessary business move.
- The Representation Gap: As long as women's sports only get about 5-10% of total sports media coverage, these "special events" will continue to be the primary way many athletes break into the mainstream.
Moving Forward: Actionable Insights
If you're a fan or someone following this space, here is how to navigate the noise.
Look for the "Action" in the pose. The most respected "nude" sports photography usually features the athlete in motion or using their equipment. It emphasizes what the body does rather than just how it looks. Compare an image of a swimmer mid-stroke to one of an athlete just lying on a beach; the difference in "athletic agency" is huge.
Support the "Competence" first. If you want to support female athletes, the best thing you can do is watch the games. High TV ratings and sold-out stadiums are the only things that will eventually make "exposure-based" nudity unnecessary for branding.
Diversify your feed. Follow athletes from sports that don't get the "glamour" treatment. Seeing the variety of bodies in rugby, weightlifting, and rowing helps break the "idealized" image that many of these media projects accidentally promote.
Basically, the "Body Issue" era taught us that we love looking at athletes. Now, the challenge is to make sure we’re actually watching them play.
To dig deeper into how the media frames these stories, check out the latest research from the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center or look into the "Reverse Discourse" theory in sports sociology. It explains why what looks like "objectification" to one person feels like "power" to another.