ESPN The Body Issue

June 27, 2018 6:36 AM

The 10th edition of ESPN's The Body Issue featuring: Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe (featured together as a couple), Lauren Chamberlain, Adam Rippon, Breanna Stewart, Greg Norman, Yasiel Puig, and more.
posted by like_neon (17 comments total)

Editor-in-chief Alison Overholt describes the annual publication as a “[celebration of] the athletic form – in every shape and size – and to allow people to stop and marvel at the works of art these bodies truly are.”
posted by like_neon at 6:37 AM on June 27, 2018

I was really happy to see the Sue Bird/Megan Rapinoe spread. I'm a huge Pinoe fan not just for her skills on the field, but her advocacy for the LGBT community has been very welcome. Props to ESPN for putting them together and not making it salacious.
posted by taterpie at 6:54 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I used to be really into sports of all kinds but I hardly knew any of these names and that surprised me. Wonderful photography, though.
posted by tommasz at 7:11 AM on June 27, 2018

I'm thrilled to see Lauren Chamberlain (and Jerry Rice!) being highlighted. Lauren's interview is inspiring.

I said yes for the girls around the world who might see the issue and see someone who looks like them -- someone who's thicker, bigger, not as jacked as the typical athlete -- and that could give them that boost to love their bodies.
...
Any time I went against my body and didn't give it what it needed in an attempt to achieve a societal norm, I let myself down. Sometimes, in high school and early college when I was dealing with insecurities about my body, not eating was disrespectful to my body. Not giving it what it needs to perform in order to achieve a certain look. If we're being honest, it just became stupid at a certain point. You're after this unattainable look, this Instagram look, and it's not achievable. I still deal with that insecurity. How am I not shaped and curved like that Instagram model? But you know what? She can't hit a ball like me or move like me. She can't do what I can do.
...
I am not going to necessarily look like the ideal athlete. I will always be thick. I will always be a bigger girl. When I get muscle, it's not cut. I have dimples and cellulite on my legs. But I've come to an understanding about that, instead of being picky about myself in the mirror.

Playing softball taught me to appreciate my body and what it's capable of. I'll never take those lessons for granted, and that same experience needs to be available for more girls. And right now, it's not. As a society, we really need to focus on getting younger girls into sports so they can see their bodies working in a positive way.

posted by zarq at 7:23 AM on June 27, 2018 [7 favorites]

I hate golf, but: Greg Norman looks AMAZING.
posted by ergomatic at 7:31 AM on June 27, 2018 [6 favorites]

The muscle on Adam Ripon's hip is one of the most sports specific muscles I've seen. I assume it's the glut medius muscle used to stabilize the leg and hips.
posted by ShakeyJake at 7:55 AM on June 27, 2018 [8 favorites]

I just realised that the individual interviews are also really interesting so here is an easier to browse index:

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants Running Back

Sue Bird, Seattle Storm Point Guard & Megan Rapinoe, Seattle Reign Forward

Torie Bowie, Sprinter and Long Jumper

Lauren Chamberlain, Softball Infielder

Jesse Diggins, Cross Country Skier

Crystal Dunn, North Carolina Courage Forward

Charlotte Flair, WWE Champion

Zlatlan Ibrohimovic, Forward LA Galaxy

Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros Pitcher

Greg Norman, Retired PGA Tour golfer

Yasiel Puig, LA Dodgers Right Fielder

Jerry Rice, Retired NFL Wide Receiver

Adam Rippon, Figure Skater

Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm Forward

Karl-Anthony Browns, Minnesota Timberwolves Center
posted by like_neon at 8:02 AM on June 27, 2018 [5 favorites]

Just came here to be all “DAMN, GREG NORMAN.” Dude is 63. That is amazing.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:06 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Wonderful photography, though.

So much careful prop placement...
posted by entropone at 8:30 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

So much careful prop placement...

I want to see how they'd handle a badminton player.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:49 AM on June 27, 2018

Thank you for those links, like_neon. Much easier to navigate!
posted by zarq at 9:14 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

ESPN has been featuring the photos above the fold on their main page, which is an easy way to get a "why are you looking at pictures of naked dudes?" comment from co-workers who catch you when you're trying to look up World Cup scores at work. I know there's been a lot of consternation over Metafilter's wall-of-text format, but this is a case where it's helpful.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:48 AM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

The muscle on Adam Ripon's hip is one of the most sports specific muscles I've seen. I assume it's the glut medius muscle used to stabilize the leg and hips.

Looks like tensor fascia lata which is a hip abductor (along with gluteus medius which is hidden under his gluteus maximus). It would definitely be used a lot in skating, and I've never seen such an incredible TFL [fans self].
posted by cyclopticgaze at 10:14 AM on June 27, 2018 [6 favorites]

I had/have really poor self body image. The first episode came of this came out when I was fairly fit but still hating my body. Seeing the wide ranges of what a healthy body looked like really helped be comfortable with my long, somewhat ungainly, form.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:04 PM on June 27, 2018 [3 favorites]

The specialization and variety of the athletic human body is amazing to behold.

There have been a few spectacular bodies I’d’ve loved to see naked. Gene Kelly, for starts. (Pictures butt, swoons, fans self)
posted by kinnakeet at 2:06 AM on June 28, 2018

Roxane Gay wrote the opening essay for this issue, which can be read in print or here.
posted by misskaz at 8:03 AM on June 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

The photos of Crystal Dunn are unreal.
posted by rtha at 1:53 PM on June 28, 2018 [1 favorite]