CASE STUDY: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT
BACKGROUND:
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debuted its first 5-page edition in 1964. The goal of this issue was to fill the slower winter months with continuous business and readership. In 1997, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit became its own magazine. Today, this magazine remains Time Inc.'s best selling issue each year.
CRITICISM:
Even though the magazine remains the most popular for the company, the swimsuit edition remains controversial. Many people believe that Sports Illustrated should "stick to sports" and that this issue is entirely unrelated to what Sports Illustrated stands for. Some claim that the swimsuit edition
"[dehumanizes women to a male audience." Another criticism that is relevant to more recent editions of the magazine is the fact that many of the women pictured are not wearing swimsuits at all, but are wearing props that act to replace them. A prime example of this is the 1978 cover photo of Cheryl Tiegs. Her exposing photo raised many concerns, provoking almost 3,000 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit subscribers to express their concern, as well as about 340 subscription cancellations.
WHAT DO SPORTS ILLUSTRATED EMPLOYEES THINK OF THE SWIMSUIT EDITION?
Sports Illustrated Employee Terry McDonell conducted a study, asking employees of the company how they felt about the swimsuit edition.
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1/3 of the employees were offended by the swimsuit edition
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1/3 of the employees felt that the swimsuit edition was a good idea for the company
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1/3 of the employees didn't care
MEDIA PORTRAYAL
While it's undeniable that Sports Illustrated Swimsuit is a successful enterprise both for the company and as an individual magazine, the sports media company Sports Illustrated capitalizes on the sexualization of women that are not even athletes. Sports Illustrated exploited both their current sports audience as well as a new audience attracted by the swimsuits to "do what sells." For the same reason much of sports media neglects women's sports, Sports Illustrated thrives on the revenue generated by the swimsuit magazine. Whether or not the swimsuit edition is appropriate is up to personal interpretation, but it is impossible to ignore the way this company portrays women.