Everyone has been talking about sport for the last week, and it’s kind of a problem. But if we don’t say anything, it’s a problem, too.
So, we’re stuck.
Basically, a betting brand released an advertisement starring Hollywood actor Sydney Sweeney, and she appears nude throughout it. In some scenes, she’s wearing boots and socks or a helmet, but in many others, she’s straddling a basketball hoop or completely naked, with balls strategically placed over her boobs. The aim was clear: get people talking.
The backlash was swift, with women across the sporting world accusing the campaign of reducing female athletes and the female body to a spectacle.
However, that reaction has created a catch-22, because outrage is publicity, and publicity is exactly what the brand paid for.
Chloe Dalton OAM, a triple-sport elite athlete, Olympic gold medallist and founder of the Female Athlete Project, told WHO she felt conflicted the moment she pressed play on the video. She regretted watching – aware that her view added to the ad’s reach and that not speaking up only perpetuates this misrepresentation of women.
“When I went to watch it, I kind of wished that I didn’t watch it. I felt like I was contributing to what the brand wanted to do by going viral and creating a topic of conversation… I think it’s a really tricky one to navigate because, in calling it out, you bring attention to it regardless,” she said.
Women in sport decided to fight back, regardless
Female athletes started sharing footage of themselves doing what they do: tackling on the rugby field, sprinting, chasing the ball, sweaty and out of breath.
It was a statement, shared across social media, showing women as they really are in sport: incredibly athletic and competing for reasons that have nothing to do with being watched or sexualised by men.
This trend on social media prompted hundreds of women to share their version of what sport actually looks like for them.
Dalton explained this was her silver lining, despite strongly condemning the ad and its messaging.
“I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of women athletes from all across the globe posting videos of them competing at their best and showing what women in sport look like, how incredibly athletic they are and how much they look after their bodies to perform at the elite level.
“Not look after their bodies for the eyes of men to look at, and I think that’s something that I’ve loved to see,” she said.
More of WHO’s Offline series:
-
-
-
Native ad body. Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%% -
The problem runs deeper
Authentic images of women in sport matter, Dalton says, because sexism around the game hasn’t gone away.
She points to a clip the Female Athlete Project shared recently that went viral. It was of a man calling into a local Australian radio show and arguing that nobody watches women’s sport, that it doesn’t really deserve its own competition, and that men in the crowd are only there to ogle the players.
The caller admitted his view was ‘sexist’ but said he was going to be sexist for a minute to prove his point.
The betting ad has resurafaced the message that female athletes are simply there as accessories for men to look at while they sit and watch sports.
The backlash to the ad, however, suggests many see this portrayal of women in sport as outdated, with critics arguing it was irresponsible for the company to use the stunt simply to cash in on attention.
Next time, hopefully the conversation on women’s sports can start and end fully clothed.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
