The Internet has been abuzz over Sports Illustrated featuring its first plus-sized model in an ad within the publication's famed annual Swimsuit Issue. Now the much-anticipated cover is here, featuring Derek Jeter's lady love Hannah Davis, and her cut-from-stone abs, in a bikini. Nothing unusual there, right? Well, not so fast. Hannah Davis' Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover dips dangerously and daringly low. But does it go too far?
Questions about how much Photoshopping went into sculpting those abs or smoothing her sun-kissed skin aside, I can't decide if I think it's vulgar. She is pulling at her bottoms and her lower lady parts are barely covered up. There's no question about whether or not she gets a Brazilian wax, which means that very little is left to the imagination. I've often said that sheer sexiness is about what you can't see, not about what you can see. In this case, you can almost see too much. But is she overexposing? I'm not entirely convinced of that, either.
From the belly button down, Davis, who is inarguably a babe, looks like she is in the process of getting naked, tugging at her bikini bottom like it's really in the way. You know, this special issue of the sports mag, which is targeted at men, has never really been about bathing suits, so...
On the other hand, Davis didn't go bare butt or full-frontal à la Kim Kardashian for LOVE. So there is a tiny margin left for imagination! See, this is exhausting, going back and forth and being so philosophical about what can also be chalked up as a super sexy image of a hawt girl.
I think what confuses me most about this image is not the fact that she is really thisclose to giving us a close up. There is some power in that, depending on your perspective, and I am usually of that mind-set. I think what throws me for a loop is how perfectly cut she appears. Her bones almost look like tan lines. You can't help but wonder if that look is real or if there was some digital editing going on...and I hope you sense the sarcasm there.
But then again, it's the SI Swimsuit Issue, an annual event. It is what it is, right?
What do you think? Does this cover image go too far? Does Hannah Davis look utterly bangin' and that's all that matters? Is it just indicative of the age we live in when there is so much "content" that every media outlet must continually try to top its competitors by being as "out there" and cray cray as possible? Is it all of the above? Go forth and discuss!
Image: Sports Illustrated (1)
