Victoria Pendleton

i waited four days for that and it does even make sense!

Really. has it been 4 days ! Goodness i must have a life outside the forum ;)

I've been too busy cycling in this lovely weather... The forum can wait.

I wonder how much she got paid for that feature in FHM...

Reckon if we had a quick whip round we could get her to make an appearance at North Drinks or summat? In her pants of course.

You could, or you could just give tynan a fiver to put on a nice frock and spend the rest on tequila. You're also more likely to get some action.

VP issued a comment to cyclingnews.com report David Blythe, two days ago:

"they're just some nice photos.. thanks for the extra google hits.. you london fixed gear cunts"

Seems like a fair comment.

I wonder how much she got paid for that feature in FHM...

Reckon if we had a quick whip round we could get her to make an appearance at North Drinks or summat? In her pants of course.

She would be more than welcome at North Drinks (as I am sure she would be welcome at the other drinks). I presume she would also be wearing pants, under her clothes. One is to much of a gentleman to ask these things.

She said "I would only attend west drinks. hippy owes me a beer. I bet the prick won't even be there."

have the voices started again Hippy?

You let VP buy you a beer. Look at the poor lass, she doesn't look as if she's been able to afford a decent meal in ages you sponging git.

She would be more than welcome at North Drinks (as I am sure she would be welcome at the other drinks). I presume she would also be wearing pants, under her clothes. One is to much of a gentleman to ask these things.

Yeah, right... Pendleton at North Drinks... Like she'd make it up Swaines.

She said "I would never attend west drinks again, as I owe hippy a beer. The cross-eyed idiot fell for the oldest trick in the book."

I feel for you, hippy.

have the voices started again Hippy?

When did they stop?

They stop now!

Bats in your belfry again, Tim? ;)

Ohhh, I'm so disappointed. :(

Apparently the interview (which I haven't read) also involved her slagging off other female trackies for being 'masculine', and having 'deep voices' and 'facial hair'.

Sounds to me like someone's stoking a very fragile ego...

Could be some selective editing by the FHM wank-hats. Some words that she said but into a different order sort of thing.

Or perhaps she was talking about this girl.

Romero's let herself go hasn't she?

I just... oh fuck it. Why does it even matter if someone's pretty? What has it to do with anything? And can't someone be 'feminine' AND have meaty thighs, a deep voice and facial hair? Or does feminine just mean 'hairless, high-pitched and skinny'? (No wonder most women have such screwed up body images.) And for that matter, why do women need to be feminine? What's so disastrous about being 'unfeminine'?

Fuck it. I've had this argument too many times.

Hand Holding.

Wicked! I've done that but only with noobies in the Nursery!

Balki, that's "virtual". It doesn't count.

what a bunch of wank-lads. i wonder if she'd be good fun to hang out with or whether she'd be really competitive and dull?

Emilia, please try to remember that us boys carry the burden of owning peni. it renders us completely idiotic if we let it. it's a constant battle. i apologise on behalf of mine and those of my fellow forumengers. We might be civilised but we have not yet found a way to overcome this biological fact that belongs back in the wild from whence we came. it skews the way we see women a bit sometimes. sorry.

I know your questions are rhetorical but individuals simply can't answer them properly. Masculinity and femininity are decided by cultural and societal factors, 'ideal' body images and the roles/qualities of men & women are completely different in different places and eras in history.

Also, an obvious point, but you will never be able to aggregate individual perception/opinion into a satisfactory social consensus.

I just... oh fuck it. Why does it even matter if someone's pretty? What has it to do with anything? And can't someone be 'feminine' AND have meaty thighs, a deep voice and facial hair? Or does feminine just mean 'hairless, high-pitched and skinny'? (No wonder most women have such screwed up body images.) And for that matter, why do women need to be feminine? What's so disastrous about being 'unfeminine'?

Fuck it. I've had this argument too many times.

The problem with perceptions of both masculinity and femininity is that existing stereotypes are caricatures of what it means to be masculine or feminine.

The real standard for comparison is not some Barbie/Superman cartoon-derived image, but instead that everyone is feminine or masculine according to the measure of their family.

There will be families which are strongly masculine in their appearance, and that will of course apply to both men and women in that family, and vice versa for families that are strongly feminine in appearance.

In each case, the only yardstick that someone could fairly be judged by would be a sibling of theirs of the opposite gender. As many people don't have siblings of the opposite gender, this is of course not always possible, and an 'imaginary sibling' would have to do.

Barring serious illness or accidents, all women will be more feminine than their (potential) brothers, and all men will be more masculine than their (potential) sisters. At the same time, it is of course possible for a woman to appear less feminine than a man from a more feminine family, and again vice versa.

In a way, masculinity and femininity are, of course, red herrings. What people understand by these shortcuts is made up of many other factors of appearance, behaviour, strengths and weaknesses, etc. against cultural norms.

At the end of the day, if people refused to respond to stereotypes and caricatures (e.g., supermodels and bodybuilders), the wide variety of people who exist would feel attracted to a similarly wide variety of different people. (Caricatures do an unfortunate job of overlaying real inclinations, which are of course still there even if submerged.)

Chicks are ace.