Playboy in Snowboarding?

Graphic images of sexy Playboy bunnies have been printed on snowboards in Vermont. The images are taken from 1970s Playboy magazines, and the boards priced from $350 to $430 are marketed with sexual language such as, "I'm on the market for someone who's looking to score serious action, no matter where they like to stick it." Designed by Burton Snowboards, the Playboy line called Love, has "completely oversold by virtue of this exposure," said co-founder Jake Carpenter.


Mark Redmond, of the nonprofit, Spectrum Youth & Family Services, pulled out from a Burton program that donates snowboards to needy children after learning about the Playboy line. Because sexual objectification of women increases the chance men will become abusive, he said, the boards are an important issue for both sexes.

The Burlington City Council discussed asking Burton to withdraw the boards, and the Girl Scout Council of Vermont is considering taking concerns to lawmakers next month. "When you really think about it, it's a young man standing on top of a naked woman's body," said Nicole Zarrillo, 38, an office manager for Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

"I'd like them to make a law or something for the resorts to have a section of time, once or twice a week, where kids under 18 can't ski but people with those boards can, so you don't have to worry about the kids seeing the boards," said 16-year old Girl Scout Brittany Wieland. "Snowboarding and skiing are supposed to be a family thing, not Hey, look at the naked person on my snowboard."

But female snowboarder Jenna Geery, a sophomore at the University of Vermont and an officer of the school's snowboard team, said, "If you don't like the designs, you don't have to look at them. That's the beauty of America."
The Boston Globe
By Aimee Picchi

And then there are some female snowboarders who have posed in underwear for men's magazines.