Unwilling Sex Symbol
All of the attention Stokke received began to take a toll. In an interview with The Washington Post, the famous pole vaulter said that “even if none of it is illegal, it just all feels really demeaning.” She mentioned how her hard work as a pole vaulter felt like it didn’t even matter, because nobody saw her as an athlete. Instead, they saw her as a sex symbol.
German magazine Der Spiegel, who wrote a story on Allison Stokke, pointed out that she had become a “sex symbol against her will.” The attention had a psychological effect on the high schooler. Stokke said that she found her newfound popularity “creepy and a little scary,” and she started to become more careful about locking doors behind her.