Study spilling out from my brains

I have been doing ridiculous amounts of study and not feeling too shabby for it.
A while back in one of my Sociology of Sport lectures we were presented with a rather hilarious comparison of two ads by the same cycling gear company, Assos.

The first ad was for men's cycling gear;

Sort of how you'd imagine any company with gear aimed at athletes to market their product. Athlete in their sporting environment, some well thought out inspirational message to accompany it that explains why athletes stand out, or why they do what they do, etc.

And then, there was the ad aimed at their women customers;

Yes ladies, that is a handbag and scarf! I don't know about you, but when I go for a long hard cycle, or a tough hill run, I like to have my purse and scarf with me at all times. You never know when the chance to shop might arise.
Also, rose petals.
I love being surrounded by rose petals.

I went for a run this morning, and I certainly don't look glamorous when I run. It was an early morning run, but the sun was still up (for a change in Dunedin), and I looked like I was putting effort in; that is to say, I looked suitably sweaty and had my runner's face on.

The female model is removed from the sporting atmosphere, in a position that accentuates her shape, and looks more like she's showing off at the beach rather than getting ready to exercise. She looks relaxed, whereas the male athlete looks like he is working hard, and he is muscled whereas she looks slender.

I'm not going to turn this into a lecture, but I feel like the juxtaposition of these ads portray quite well the trivialisation of women athletes in the media.

Or maybe everyone else is running and cycling and swimming with necklaces and Gucci handbags and I'm the one behind the times...