CAC 2014 calendar (Read 50719 times)

miso soup · October 27, 2013, 09:07:11 pm

Have any women posted in this thread? Is this a thread where a bunch of men tell a bunch of women who made a calender for charity that they shouldn't have done it because they're objectifying themselves?

battery · October 27, 2013, 11:25:35 pm

Quote from: miso soup on October 27, 2013, 09:07:11 pm

Have any women posted in this thread?

Yes.

miso soup · October 28, 2013, 12:02:29 am

Good.

The obvious thing would have been to make a corresponding male version. Would you be okay with it if this existed? Or one calendar with a 50/50 male/female split?

The question of why they're not pictured climbing was dealt with in Shauna's blog -

"A calendar full of climbing photos would draw some attention but people see us climbing all of the time it wouldn’t be different or unique." (sic) http://www.shaunacoxsey.co.uk/2013/10/climbers-go-pin-up-for-cac

Was everyone okay with the picture of Sharma and Daila climbing naked? How about the one of just Daila?

http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/9428872/image/18/chris-sharma-daila-ojeda-2013-body-issue-bodies-want-espn-magazine

Muenchener · October 28, 2013, 06:29:57 am

Quote from: miso soup on October 27, 2013, 09:07:11 pm

Is this a thread where a bunch of men tell a bunch of women who made a calender for charity that they shouldn't have done it because they're objectifying themselves?

No, lots of the men posting were thoroughly in favour.

Quote from: Lund on October 27, 2013, 07:07:18 pm

I'm not against photos objectifying the human body. I am very much in favour of photos objectifying the human body - remember the shots of naked olympians in advance of London 2012? They were great. And I didn't feel - although many would - that it denigrated the female body. There were men in it too.

That was of a higher class than this calendar obvs (i.e. more art than glamour)

The only ones of those I saw / paid attention to / remembered were ones of Victoria Pendleton. I did not notice any lack of glamour.

Lund · October 28, 2013, 11:43:31 am

Quote from: Muenchener on October 28, 2013, 06:29:57 am

The only ones of those I saw / paid attention to / remembered were ones of Victoria Pendleton. I did not notice any lack of glamour.

Terminology difference. "Glamour" photos = page 3 style milky-tea-plus-two-sugars raunch.

battery · November 12, 2013, 04:23:33 pm

An interesting alternative...

http://fluxwater.com/products/2014-flux-wall-calendar/

I know which I find more inspiring, fun and motivating.

Fiend · November 12, 2013, 08:09:05 pm

God yeah, you're right, that's well dull compared to the CAC one.

petejh · November 12, 2013, 11:08:45 pm

The relative dullness of the 'fluxwater' calender depends whether you prefer to see sexy women climbers/skiers/kayakers dressed in their knickers or pictures of sexy women climbers/skiers/kayakers doing cool things in cool places.

The thing is, part of me does prefer to see sexy women (climbers/skiers etc. or otherwise) in their knickers - but only in the same kind of way I prefer a pack of crisps and a bottle of beer over a tasty home-cooked meal of something healthy and a glass of good wine.
Pictures paint a thousand words in the mind - when I see pictures of sexy women in their knickers I doubt I'm alone in saying that one of the few ideas it sparks in my caveman head is the short-term pleasures of screwing women; whilst I think about a whole load more interesting things beside short-term gratification when I see pictures of women in cool places doing cool things. Call me prehistoric - Darwin might have been onto something...

So when Mina writes in her blog about whether or not it's the responsibility of women for how images of them are interpreted - I'd say whilst it's not their responsibility, they would be guilty of being deliberately naive to ignore the reaction a large proportion of men who have a normal and healthy sexual interpretation when seeing women dressed appealingly in their knickers or as 50's glamour models - the original idea of 50's pin-up images after-all being to appeal as sex-objects to men (and women).

But that's the point of equality - if men don't care how women interpret pictures of them (and we don't, generally), then it's equal and right that women shouldn't care how men interpret pictures of them.

So as a dumb male, I get what the CAC calender is supposed to be saying to me: 'look at us aren't we sexy' - uh... yummy, yes you are. And the point of Beckham posing in his undies or Victoria Pendleton dressed as a glamour model was saying: 'look at me, aren't I sexy' - uh... yummy (Victoria!), yes you are?

And to me Shuana's CAC calender girls idea is equally vacuous, posturing and irrelevant to their talent as climbers as Beckham posing in his undies or Pendleton posing in her corset.

I doubt I'll be buying either the fluxwater calender or the CAC one; my calender comes for free from the local Indian takeaway and features 12 exciting spices - spice of the month this month is Cardamon. So I doubt Shauna was aiming her calender at me!

Sexy and suggestive of her talent as an athlete:

Just sexy (but irrelevant to her talent as an athlete):

Fiend · November 13, 2013, 09:25:44 am

Quote from: petejh on November 12, 2013, 11:08:45 pm

my calender comes for free from the local Indian takeaway and features 12 exciting spices - spice of the month this month is Cardamon.

Okay okay, you win

. Cardamon is a fine spice.

psychomansam · November 13, 2013, 09:44:09 am

I'm all for a bit of sexual objectification, especially of sportspeople, but I have to say I find what I've seen of the calendar so far a little disturbing. Very much posed, overly made up role-playing with lots of fake expressions which make me want to cringe. In other words, I'm all for a bit of sexual objectification, but this ain't my bag by a long stroll.

Either picture of Victoria, above, strikes me as far more enjoyable. Also, I'd question pete's analysis of the 2nd pic of pendleton. Do you not see those thighs!? I'm transfixed. And there's two of them!

abarro81 · November 13, 2013, 10:24:13 am

I can't be bothered to get into the whole objectification blah blah blah... I just think it looks like a mediocre calendar personally. Given the format of the calendar (i.e. no room to write anything - you can see that on the pic on the CAC facebook page) you're just buying it for the photos/for charity. I just think it's a bit confused about what its role/purpose is as a product. If I want a wall with pictures of scantily clad ladies to give me a raging boner every morning then I can do better. If I want a wall with pictures of climbing related stuff to get me psyched to go climbing/go training/quit my phd and go on a trip every morning then I can do better. So I would only buy it to give money to CAC. If I'm only buying it to give money to charity then I'm better off just giving the money and not bothering with the calendar.

Maybe that's just me?

psychomansam · November 13, 2013, 12:54:46 pm

Quote from: abarro81 on November 13, 2013, 10:24:13 am

I can't be bothered to get into the whole objectification blah blah blah...

Equally, you can rarely be bothered to get into a t-shirt down the foundry.

Lund · November 13, 2013, 01:05:20 pm

Quote from: abarro81 on November 13, 2013, 10:24:13 am

I can't be bothered to get into the whole objectification blah blah blah... I just think it looks like a mediocre calendar personally. Given the format of the calendar (i.e. no room to write anything - you can see that on the pic on the CAC facebook page) you're just buying it for the photos/for charity. I just think it's a bit confused about what its role/purpose is as a product. If I want a wall with pictures of scantily clad ladies to give me a raging boner every morning then I can do better. If I want a wall with pictures of climbing related stuff to get me psyched to go climbing/go training/quit my phd and go on a trip every morning then I can do better. So I would only buy it to give money to CAC. If I'm only buying it to give money to charity then I'm better off just giving the money and not bothering with the calendar. Maybe that's just me?

+1

Snoops · November 13, 2013, 01:34:32 pm

Quote from: abarro81 on November 13, 2013, 10:24:13 am

I can't be bothered to get into the whole objectification blah blah blah... I just think it looks like a mediocre calendar personally. Given the format of the calendar (i.e. no room to write anything - you can see that on the pic on the CAC facebook page) you're just buying it for the photos/for charity. I just think it's a bit confused about what its role/purpose is as a product. If I want a wall with pictures of scantily clad ladies to give me a raging boner every morning then I can do better. If I want a wall with pictures of climbing related stuff to get me psyched to go climbing/go training/quit my phd and go on a trip every morning then I can do better. So I would only buy it to give money to CAC. If I'm only buying it to give money to charity then I'm better off just giving the money and not bothering with the calendar. Maybe that's just me?

Word

Grubes · November 13, 2013, 01:35:43 pm

Quote from: abarro81 on November 13, 2013, 10:24:13 am

I can't be bothered to get into the whole objectification blah blah blah... I just think it looks like a mediocre calendar personally. Given the format of the calendar (i.e. no room to write anything - you can see that on the pic on the CAC facebook page) you're just buying it for the photos/for charity. I just think it's a bit confused about what its role/purpose is as a product. If I want a wall with pictures of scantily clad ladies to give me a raging boner every morning then I can do better. If I want a wall with pictures of climbing related stuff to get me psyched to go climbing/go training/quit my phd and go on a trip every morning then I can do better. So I would only buy it to give money to CAC. If I'm only buying it to give money to charity then I'm better off just giving the money and not bothering with the calendar. Maybe that's just me?

well said

Paul B · November 13, 2013, 01:45:06 pm

Although the point may be that you wouldn't usually go and give that donation and the calendar may tempt you into doing so.

That's not to say I'm personally in favour of the calendar, it confuses the hell out of me given the various viewpoints expressed previously about DFBWGC (the removal of which has yielded an increase in female contributors to the site, or simply less complaints?).

abarro81 · November 13, 2013, 02:04:50 pm

Just think of it like rap - I can call you a honky but can't drop the n bomb. Other way round if you're black. Anyway, I think they should have either gone down the climbing route or fully embraced 'tops off for .. well.... Maybe best stop there

Fiend · November 13, 2013, 02:52:32 pm

slackline · November 13, 2013, 05:24:40 pm

Less tangible than the ever emotive cancer and no pretty pictures but....

http://www.dec.org.uk/appeals/philippines-typhoon-appeal

Nibile · November 14, 2013, 11:28:49 am

Quote from: abarro81 on November 13, 2013, 10:24:13 am

I can't be bothered to get into the whole objectification blah blah blah... I just think it looks like a mediocre calendar personally. Given the format of the calendar (i.e. no room to write anything - you can see that on the pic on the CAC facebook page) you're just buying it for the photos/for charity. I just think it's a bit confused about what its role/purpose is as a product. If I want a wall with pictures of scantily clad ladies to give me a raging boner every morning then I can do better. If I want a wall with pictures of climbing related stuff to get me psyched to go climbing/go training/quit my phd and go on a trip every morning then I can do better. So I would only buy it to give money to CAC. If I'm only buying it to give money to charity then I'm better off just giving the money and not bothering with the calendar. Maybe that's just me?

Clearly it's not just you Alex, but I strongly disagree.
I have to say your post left me with a very bad mood: to me it showed a very rational and cold point of view that I'm not comfortable with, in this case at least.
The idea that one buys a calendar to either get a "raging boner" or to quit a PhD and go climbing is beyond my comprehension.
As is the need to have room to write on it.
There's a lot of nuances that you seem to be missing, to me.

Fiend · November 14, 2013, 11:45:08 am

I dunno, I'd say the point about space to write on it is a sole valid point. I hope to God that Pete's Cardamon calender has good day to day writing boxes.

turnipturned · November 14, 2013, 12:03:07 pm

Its a shame people of kind of missing the point:

Take a few minutes, watch this video! Put thinks into perspective?

I say, good effort to all involved, for giving up your time and making the effort for such a worthy cause!

abarro81 · November 14, 2013, 12:41:43 pm

Nibile - what do you buy a calendar for?

Nibile · November 14, 2013, 12:50:01 pm

I buy it because I like it, not for a specific aim. I mean, I can buy a plain one to write things on it, and others just because I like the graphic or the pics. In this case, I don't look for a particular inspiration out of them, like to train more or to work more, or whatever.
Maybe it's this that made your post so far from my mentality.

abarro81 · November 14, 2013, 01:10:45 pm

I think that's that case. I buy things because I like them, but generally I like things that do a job, whether it's practical (like somewhere to write things) or something else (like for inspiration). I guess I don't buy things because I like them unless I think they'll do something too. Probably would do if I had more money, but I prefer to save money for trips

. E.g. a calendar with arty photos which I liked wouldn't provide inspiration but would make my home look nice, thus I would buy that over the CAC one. To me the CAC one isn't able to fullfil any role (for me) as a product, except for making me feel good about myself, which I can do without needing to get them to spend money printing a calendar.