Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, October 21, 2004

I have a general view that Spain, while capitalist, is less consumerist that other societies such as the UK and the USA. But in the use of the female form to market products, the Spanish bow to no one. So I was not too surprised to read today that the government has asked the organisers of the Masters tennis tournament in Madrid to re-think their policy of using scantily dressed professional models as ball-retrievers. But the charge of sexism was firmly rejected on the grounds that the next time there is a women’s competition handsome young men will do the job. A spokesperson for Hugo Boss, whose name adorns the ample chests of the t-shirted models, suggested that it wasn’t a very serious matter. This view was clearly not shared by El Mundo, who featured the story on their fist page, next to a report on plans by Islamic militants to blow up the Supreme Court. Photos of the models were naturally included. Bending forward, of course.

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