Olympics fans have shown a sudden burst of interest in the low-profile sport of curling, in part thanks to nude photos of several curling stars, including Danish Olympian Madeleine Dupont, that have surfaced online. The pictures came from a calendar, called Fire & Ice, that was produced to raise the profile of the sport. The curlers were hardly the first to show skin -- Playboy has done photo spreads on Olympic athletes, and U.S. skiing gold medalist Lindsey Vonn donned a bikini for the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Is the nudity trend bad for sports, or is it all in good fun? (Watch U.S. Olympians pose for the S.I. swimsuit issue)
Posing nude is damaging for women athletes: All these pictures of nude athletes "trivializes women in sports," says Charlene Weaving, as quoted in the Winnipeg Free Press. "We're telling women that it's not enough to be a world-class athlete, that you also have to take off your shirt." That's "damaging," and disrespectful.
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