The professional ex-cyclist Tara Gins had a verbal agreement with a U-23 team to act as sports director, but has denounced that the team finally vetoed his signing for a few photographs for a magazine with adult content and a calendar in which the woman appeared in her underwear, considering them “inappropriate”.
“I was disappointed when they kicked me out, but I was not very surprised because I already knew that the cycling industry is very conservative. I was only surprised that they fired me after advertising on their Facebook page. I told them that I did not agree and I said I found them old-fashioned”Explains Tara Gins in Brand.
Conservative or old-fashioned, for Tara Gins cycling belongs to a group of sports disciplines that remain a man’s world. “Cyclists are more conservative and prudish about nudity. It is a small world and everyone is afraid of what others think”, Says the ex-cyclist.
The debate reappears once more. Would it have been a similar situation if it was a man instead of a woman? For Gins, no. “I have seen many male athletes and also cyclists pose naked or in their underwear for advertising. I don’t mind at all, but it makes it clear that there is still a double standard. Although some male images are clearly also sexual, people seem not to be offended by them. With women this is different. We are constantly criticized for appearance in every way. ”
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