Olympians are ogled anyway – if they want to profit from it, that’s just fine

There is nothing wrong with athletes monetising their sex appeal on adult-only platform OnlyFans

For all our insistence on honouring every sexual arrangement and identity, we are still incredibly prudish – and getting more so. 
Witness the uproar about the sexualisation of Olympic athletes, triggered by news that Olympians are turning to OnlyFans, the DIY adult content site, to make a pretty penny. Last week the internet was abuzz with the antics of Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman, who twerked for the crowd at the Stade de France after winning a bronze. 
Many are made uncomfortable by the idea of nubile Olympians essentially selling their bodies online. But if, like me, you believe that people have the right to do what they want with their own bodies, whether that is having an abortion, being a surrogate or monetising one’s sexual appeal, then there is no problem with it – even if it’s not something I would do. You don’t have to approve: nobody’s forcing anyone to do it. 
And frankly, when you hear what the Alysha Newmans of the world have to say about it, it takes a true patriarch or curmudgeon to begrudge it. “This website has connected me with many fans, more than any other pole vaulter before,” she said. “I earn money with what I post – It makes me confident and I feel good about it.” 
As for the puritanical judgment of those watching and ogling Olympians, surely it’s totally natural, in a festival of the most incredible bodies in the world, doing the most incredible things, to allow one’s senses to be roused by what one sees. Sure, there is a seedy history of objectification and sordidness where female athletes are concerned. But that is not necessarily what is going on here; while I find the endless swimming competitions deadly dull, the gorgeous bodies of the swimmers is another matter. And what harm? 
If an athlete is also appreciated for her art, then admiring her form is surely not only inevitable, but also part of the game of life.