The 2006 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

Drop-dead gorgeous women?

Fig 1. Shown from left: Elsa Benitez, Veronica Varekova, Elle MacPherson, Rebecca Romijn, Rachel Hunter, Daniella Pestova, Yamila Diaz-Rahi, Carolyn Murphy.

Of the 8 women shown above, except Elsa Benitez, the others have excessive facial masculinization.  If all the 7 masculinized women were in their twenties, except Daniela Pestova, the others would still have excessive facial masculinization.  Additionally, at the time this photo was taken, Rachel Hunter, Yamila-Diaz Rahi, Elle MacPherson and Rebecca Romijn had the faces of male transvestites.

The more interesting point is that the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is oriented toward heterosexual men, and it sells briskly, which underscores the need for this site.  If the masses of heterosexual men knew any better, they would seek alternative publications for pictures of attractive women.

There is no need to discuss the looks of Elsa Benitez and a young Daniella Pestova; the masculine looks of Veronica Varekova and Carolyn Murphy have been addressed on the “sexy fashion models?” page; the manly appearances of Elle MacPherson and Rebecca Romijn have been addressed elsewhere; and the remaining two women are addressed below.

If one were just shown pictures of the face of Rachel Hunter for the first time, it would be obvious that one were looking at a male transvestite, and it would come as a great surprise that the photos are of a woman (Fig 2).

Fig 2. Rachel Hunter; contrary to first impression, the person shown is a woman; click for larger image.

Playboy paid Rachel Hunter over a million dollars to pose topless, hoping to capitalize on her fame, but as the following thumbnail collage shows, it had to go through great lengths -- convoluted posing -- to conceal the unfeminine physique of Rachel Hunter (Fig 3), something that can hardly be helped by even large breast implants (Fig 4).

Fig 3. A thumbnail collage of Rachel Hunter’s nude pictures in Playboy magazine; small versions of the pictures are available at gorilla mask; see Playboy online for larger samples.

Fig 4. It is surprising that Playboy came so close to revealing the flattened backside of Rachel Hunter.

The facial features of Yamila Diaz-Rahi are shown in the next picture.  Given her face, one couldn’t be blamed if one were prompted to search whether Yamila is a male-to-female transsexual, but Yamila does not have a manly physique and appears to be a biological woman with an eunuch’s face.

Fig 5. Yamila Diaz-Rahi.

Now, it could be pointed out that the focus in a swimsuit issue is not on the face, but on the body, and hence standards could be relaxed for the face.  However, relaxed standards should still translate to a woman’s face rather than that of a man’s (Fig 6).

Fig 6. Molly Sims in the 2006 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue; is this person a woman?

On the other hand, if indeed the focus in a swimsuit issue should be on the body, then what standards should be met if heterosexual men are the target?  It is obvious what types of physiques would be necessary here and the kind of response they should elicit (Figures 7-9).

Fig 7. Nikita Laska from DDgirls.

Fig 8. Dasha from model flats.

Fig 9. Luciana Vendramini in Brazilian Playboy (Dec 2003).

So, did the models in the 2006 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue meet the physique standards?  Obviously, none of the big-eight except Elsa Benitez came close.  But what about the others?  Consider some samples below.

First up is Anne Vyalitsyna compared with Shay Laren (Fig 10).  Anne Vyalitsyna has a masculine face, whereas Shay Laren has a feminine though unimpressive face, which is not a problem because the focus is on the physique.

Fig 10. Anne Vyalitsyna (left) and Shay Laren.

Among the somewhat masculine women in the 2006 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, Anne Vyalitsyna's physique is among the best looking ones, but between her physique and that of Shay Laren, which is likely to make lifetime-exclusive heterosexual men go "Dammmn!!!"?.

Fig 11. Anne Vyalitsyna from Sports Illustrated (left) and Shay Laren from DDgirls.

Fig 12. Anne Vyalitsyna from Sports Illustrated (left) and Shay Laren from DDgirls.

Next, we compare Brooklyn Decker with Corinna.  Corinna obviously has finer and more feminine facial features, and a more impressive physique.

Fig 13. Brooklyn Decker from Sports Illustrated (left) and Corinna from Femjoy.

Fig 14. Brooklyn Decker from Sports Illustrated (left) and Corinna from Femjoy.

Next, the manly Mallory Snyder is compared to a more feminine glamour model.

Fig 15. Mallory Snyder from Sports Illustrated.

Fig 16. Mallory Snyder from Sports Illustrated (left) and Pamela from Femjoy.

If Mallory Snyder were to pose like Pamela below, would her physique look anywhere as good from the perspective of lifetime-exclusive heterosexual men?

Fig 17. Pamela from Femjoy.

Next, Daniella Sarahyba is compared to a glamour model. Compare the robust and masculine face of Daniella with the fine and feminine face of Courtney Jenson.

Fig 18. Daniella Sarahyba from Sports Illustrated (left) and Courtney Jenson from Courtney's camera.

How many lifetime-exclusive heterosexual men will find the physique of Daniella pleasing?

Fig 19. Daniella Sarahyba from Sports Illustrated (left) and Courtney from Courtney's camera.

Next up is Yesica Toscanini; note her robust and masculinized face.  Yesica is compared to Miss Budapest 1994, Anita Perger, more commonly known as Anita Dark.

Fig 20. Yesica Toscanini from Sports Illustrated (left) and Anita Dark.

Fig 21. Yesica Toscanini from Sports Illustrated (left) and Anita Dark.

The full list of the swimsuit models, along with their pictures, in the 2006 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue can be found here.  Only a minority of these women are feminine, which is typical of the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.  If heterosexual men are the target audience, then the appropriate choices among the models chosen for the 2006 issue would be Elsa Benitez, Petra Nemcova, Pania Rose and Maria Sharapova, i.e., 4 of the 26 women chosen.  It may be pointed out that Maria Sharapova is not feminine, but given her Tennis-star status, her looks and the general looks of top-ranked female Tennis players, it would be patently foolish for Sport Illustrated to not include her.  On the other hand, the physiques of these four women are not the kind that would make heterosexual men drool. 

Sports Illustrated is obviously in a position to seek and select feminine and very attractive models, but no such thing is seen.  In this regard, it is not clear whether the editorial team behind the production of the annual swimsuit issue comprises of a number of homosexuals who, mindful of the heterosexual male target audience, throw in a handful of feminine women and use posing tricks to make the others look as feminine as possible or if the editors are heterosexual but largely clueless about aesthetics and swayed by what the fashion world promotes as attractive, i.e., masculine looks in women, which are preferred by gay fashion designers.

Nevertheless, the annual swimsuit issue sells well, and its sales can be attributed to the advertising power of Sports Illustrated and male heterosexual buyers who simply do not know any better.  As to why a number of heterosexual men do not know any better, the answer is partly obvious in the sourcing of the glamour models on this page from adult-oriented sites.  The domination of the fashion business by male homosexuals is so extensive that feminine and attractive women who refuse to pose nude or to deal with the casting couch remain virtually unknown.  Because of the sleazy nature of most websites depicting nudity and/or sexual activity, the models featured therein are rarely able to go mainstream.  Additionally, most heterosexual men have better things to do with their time than to peruse adult-oriented sites for pictures of attractive women.  Besides, random searches for pictures of very attractive women on the internet will result in successes that are few and far between.  Therefore, there are few commonly encountered sources that would hone the aesthetic sense of heterosexual men at-large, and it should not be surprising if a number of heterosexual men lap up the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.  This scenario does not bode well for the promotion of feminine beauty, but then this site will hopefully improve the situation and force Sports Illustrated to select more feminine models.  Indeed, heterosexual men well-informed about the aesthetics of the female form will not bother perusing a magazine known to feature mostly masculinized women.