Amanda Beard - A Girl of FHM - Sell Out?

To earn $100M by 2010 she would need to make $20,000,000 per year. To do that, she would need to make about $10,000 per working hour. $15K is a lot for a speaking engagement, but if she did two per day, everyday (7 days per week) till 2010 she would "only" earn $38M, and of course she would have no time to train. The only reason I am pointing this out is because of what a load it is. There is NO WAY Amanda Beard will make that kind of money. If she could, and was still posing in a rag like FHM, then she is pathetic!

I don't think Amanda sold out at all. This is great publicity for her as a model, as a swimmer not so much, but that's not why she posed in the first place. She has two careers, professional swimmer and professional model. Landing the cover of a magazine (even FHM) is a huge milestone for a model. I don't think her being on the cover of FHM has anything to do with her being a sell out swimmer. To me there's really no reason to mix her careers except in the case of Speedo. She landed the cover because she is a wanted model and not necessarily because she is a gifted athlete. In this case, she's simply a model who happens to be good at something other then posing. Granted the pictures aren't my taste, but she's a grown woman comfortable enough in her own skin that she obviously doesn't mind showing it. I'm not saying by any means that her photos protect something to strive for, but if she feels ok with doing something like FHM, I say more power too her. She's not going to be able to swim forever, and so having a solid back-up career started in a smart move.

Originally posted by Seagurl51 She's not going to be able to swim forever, and so having a solid back-up career started is a smart move. That's pretty funny--"a solid backup career." Wait a minute, you weren't being serious, were you?

Originally posted by gull80 That's pretty funny--"a solid backup career." Wait a minute, you weren't being serious, were you? For a few people that manage to make it, modeling is a great career and they can make a decent living at it. Not only has Amanda been able to be one of the few who has won Olympic medals and made it to the top of her sport, she is also being sought after as a model. Seems like a win-win situation.

Amen Seagurl.

Originally posted by lefty Oh and she will never earn $100M. How does $1M from speedo extrapliate to $100M? Lefty: That was a quote taken from Amanda's agent Evan Morganstein. He explains on the other Amanda Beard thread of a potential to get to that figure if things work out in the future. That was last year and people remember that figure and quote it all the time in articles such as FHM. I believe in that thread he said nothing of the Speedo extrapliate contract, in fact I think that came after he was quoted about the potential earnings.

There was an interesting article in the Minneapolis StarTribune recently, which explored the motivation of many mainstream women in the entertainment/modelng arena for doing covers for what are termed "laddie mags", ie, those read by young adult males. No surprise, this is a demographic targeted by many marketers. Here's an excerpt: "It's great to feel like a sexpot for the day," said Jennifer Love Hewitt, who has twice graced the cover of Maxim. "I'm a normal person and I'm never going to look like that unless there's five hours of hair and makeup and a great photographer, so it's fun to have those pictures so you can look back and say, 'Huh, I was hot for an hour.' " Former "Frasier" star Jane Leeves decided to pose for Maxim in 2000, in part to record how she looked before having kids. "I was a dancer. I worked hard for my body and reaped the results of it," she said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with it, as long as it's done with a sense of humor and a little wink." Jillian Barberie, who does the weather for Fox-TV's NFL broadcasts and participated in "Skating With Celebrities," said she turned down requests from the lad mags for years, worried that it might add to her reputation as someone coasting on her looks. Then she changed her mind. "I found out that the naysayers would always be critical anyways," she said. "If people think I look a certain way, and it's sexy, then what the hell. It was a decision I made for myself and I loved it." As a male, I cannot identify with any of these sentiments. They don't, however, seem like women who are twisted in a nasty way- they just like attention. Though the covers are suggestive, they are certainly nowhere near the level of exploitation that is so common (and that is also used to attract young males). Whether or not this is a sell out- well, that really depends on your perspective. I that anyone- male of female- who enjoys commercial success can be labeled as a "sell out", but this to me is disingenious. The more important question I think is where eploitation begins, and whether it is Speedo or FHM, I don't think they are close.

First, I have seen Amanda in person up close and she looks NOTHING like these photos. If you read some of the content next to the photos, there is a lot of garbage. One of the questions, "Do you walk around naked in your house?" (Umm yes, and I shower naked too). Selling out, well, she did that a long time ago when she went on Howard Stern. Will she regret this later? If she has a little girl who wants to be a lawyer but thinks all she has to offer is her body? Chances are she is too dim to think that far in advance. Oh and she will never earn $100M. How does $1M from speedo extrapliate to $100M?

Originally posted by jaegermeister The more important question I think is where eploitation begins, and whether it is Speedo or FHM, I don't think they are close. Or is it Amanda exploiting Speedo and FHM for money.

1) No one actually looks like photos like this. How do these magazines do it? They start with the most attractive 0.01% of the population. Then they add professional make-up/costuming/hair and most important of all, professional photography. And then to reach the acme of artificial perfection, they air brush away any blemishs. However aesthetically pleasing these images are to some, they are science fiction bordering on fantasy. Nice to look at, but don't confuse with real life. 2) The photos of elite female athletes I have always found most intriguing are the ones that show them in action or show off their athleticism. Just after the 96 Games, several of the athletes posed nude for some photos for Sports Illustrated (with artful posing and editing to keep within SI's style). There was one striking photo of Amy Van Dyken kneeling at the end of a pool (the lane line stretching out into the background) with her back to the camera. You almost didn't notice she was nude because you couldn't help seeing her shoulders like an NFL linebacker. Just before the 2000 Games, Jenny Thompson posed on a beach wearing only a frumpy bikini bottom (and covering her breasts with her arms) that generated comments similar to here. What struck me was how goofey and pedestrian it made her look, and right next to it was a gorgeous photo of her in a regular swim suit doing freestyle. When Brandi Chastain ripped off her shirt to celebrate winning the World Cup, everyone was so taken with her sports bra (like no one has ever seen anything twice as revealing on any beach in America on a summer day). I was taken with the six-pack abs she was sporting. What am I saying? Some folks have specualted whether Amanda could do these photos once she's trained and bulked up for the 2008 Games. Au contraire mon frere, I'm looking forward to seeing what she looks like ready to swim with the best in the World. That is when she is most extraordinary. 3) Xenadiva has asked whether we can take any swimmer seriously who poses for photos like this. I wonder what photos like this have to do with it? I take Amanda seriously because of what she has done in the pool. She is also on the road to doing good things for the sport of swimming, and I'll be interested in seeing what she does with her fame. To be honest, she still has some ground to make up in catching Gary Hall in the impressario department. I think one should not take seriously people whose only achievement is being the object of salacious/science fiction photos for men's magazines of pedestrian taste. In contrast, the people I take very seriously are those who get up every day, go to work making a difference in other people's lives, and live up to their responsibilities (think teachers, firefighters, hospital workers, etc. etc.) Don't confuse entertainment with importance, or as a wise man once said, don't confuse significance with prominence. Matt S