Parts of the poker business have matured. They’ve learned over time how to report the news without bias, separate opinion from fact, and focus on important issues and persons in the industry. Others seemed to have regressed, playing to the lowest IQ and the shallowest of readers, and using antiquated and degrading messages to do so.

Enter WPT Magazine. Much has been written in this space about the World Poker Tour’s Royal Flush Girls, but the magazine that bears the company’s name has stooped to a new low. The June issue, mostly available in Europe, was published with a cover story titled “Tatjana Pasalic & the 20 Hottest Girls in Poker” over a photo of Ms. Pasalic in an airline stewardess uniform.

The first and most obvious offensive move was using the word “girls.” Though it is not uncommon to read about “hot girls” on poker websites, the use of the term on the cover of a magazine that looks to be respected in the industry is distasteful and antiquated. The people discussed in the article are adult women and should be referred to in more respectful terms, though the nature of the piece does not even pretend to live up to any type of admirable standards.

Second, there was the list itself. It claims to rank the 20 “all-time” hottest women. The rankings are as follows:

20. Lauren Kling

19. Erica Schoenberg

18. Vanessa Rousso

17. Kara Scott

16. Jennifer Leigh

15. Jennifer Tilly

14. Sandra Naujoks

13. Paola Martin

12. Liv Boeree

11. Amy Weber

10. Leeann Tweeden

9. Alison Waite

8. Melyssa Grace

7. The Victory Poker Girls

6. Lacey Jones

5. Kimberly Lansing

4. Shannon Elizabeth

3. Joanna Krupa

2. Melanie Iglesias

1. Tatjana Pasalic

Some of the women are successful poker players, others have obtained poker sponsorships, and a few are poker hostesses or commentators on television. But some are simply models who have made their way into the poker scene as pretty faces and outgoing personalities. And somehow, the brains behind WPT Magazine concluded these are the hottest women in the game.

It’s important to remember that the term “hottest” is subjective and demeaning. It chooses to objectify women based on what is considered “hot” to men but in no way explaining what the word means in the context of the article. It’s also crucial to note that the photos that accompanied the article were primarily ones that showed the women in skimpy bathing suits or other types of scantily clad modeling photos, or simply at the poker table with the most cleavage showing as possible.

As a writer in the poker industry for more than six years, it was disturbing to have to use Google to identify several names on the list. They not only have no poker game credentials, but more than one of them had such minor roles in poker - a Facebook page representative? - that their names barely registered with the search term “poker.”

Moreover, the list was composed of names with the exception of “The Victory Poker Girls.” Their names weren’t even important enough to include in the rankings, as they had to be lumped together as a group of “girls.”

And as noted on a popular poker forum, there were many notable omissions from the list. Notwithstanding the demeaning nature of the entirety of the list and surrounding concept, there were names long associated with poker that didn’t make the cut: Liz Lieu, Celina Lin, Isabelle Mercier, Leo Margets, Jennifer Harman, Kristy Gazes, Melanie Weisner, Katie Dozier, Vanessa Selbst, Annette Obrestad, Susan Genard, Jen Shahade, Victoria Coren, Xuan Liu, Michele Lewis, Evelyn Ng, Maria Ho, Annie Duke, Tiffany Michelle, Veronica Dabul, Fatima Moreira de Melo, Amanda Leatherman, Shana Hiatt, Sabina Gadecki, Courtney Friel, Layla Kayleigh, Lynn Gilmartin, Kristy Arnett, Jessica Welman, Christina Lindley, Lizzy Harrison, Trishelle Cannatella, Kimberly Lansing, Lynette Chan, Amanda Musumeci … And those were only the first names that came to mind.

There is one bottom line here. This kind of list does not belong in poker, especially a publication that looks to be respectable. Rankings by tournament earnings, finishes, or accomplishments at the tables - even by television show ratings - are standard. Those would include some of the most accomplished women in poker like Linda Johnson, Barbara Enright, and Kathy Liebert. What is a list of women in poker without those who set the stage for everyone else to enter?

As long as poker is a male-dominated game, there will be sexist and offensive references to women. Some women in poker even welcome that type of attention, which is entirely their choice. But the poker industry as a whole must rise up and above those stereotypes and objectifications in order to set a new standard, one of respect and of consideration, one that represents equality in poker and in the world.

 
See also He Said: Poker Mag or Girly Rag?