Too fat, too thin – female athletes cannot win

England star Fran Kirby has been described as ‘big’ during her career - Getty Images/Pat Elmont

“You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin.”

That is a line from America Ferrera’s monologue in the 2023 film Barbie that surely resonated across the world, as would so many of the other expectations placed on women that she highlighted.

Commenting on women’s weight is nothing new; actresses and musicians have had their body shape scrutinised for decades. Take Selena Gomez: during last year’s awards season some on social media told her to take Ozempic, a weight-loss drug, while this year there was criticism she was too thin. The fact she has previously spoken about how her lupus medication causes her weight to fluctuate seems to have been forgotten.

Now, with their increased profiles, female athletes are finding their appearances picked over more than ever. Across the sporting spectrum, there are examples of women who find their looks discussed more than their athletic performance.

Eilish McColgan has called out trolls for claiming she has an eating disorder while fellow runner Georgia Hunter Bell has spoken about the “dark side of social media” with people commenting on “how you look”. Sarah Glenn has opened up about “demeaning” remarks around her wearing make-up to play cricket. “Do you really think one layer of foundation is going to affect how I bowl?” she has said in response.

Pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw told Telegraph Sport a few years ago that “at one point if you typed my name into Google, the word ‘fat’ came up after it. Can you imagine?” Fran Kirby, part of the European Championship-winning Lionesses squad of 2022, has reflected on the effect people describing her as “big” has had during her career.

Pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw representing GB at the Olympics — Pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw represented GB at the Olympics - Reuters/Andrew Boyers

Serena Williams famously told Harper’s Bazaar in 2018: “People would say I was born a guy, all because of my arms, or because I’m strong. This is me, and this is my weapon and machine.”

Yet while the tennis great was able to turn criticism into a body positive message, others have not found it easy to brush off such opinions and all the discourse around weight can negatively affect people’s health, mental and physical. Research shows that 44 per cent of UK female athletes experience disordered eating and that athletes are at a significantly higher risk of developing eating disorders compared to the general population.

It is an issue former swimmer Cerian Harries wanted to highlight and, along with 12 other athletes, she recently produced an Instagram video with the key message: “Your worth was never in your weight.”

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Of course, professional athletes should expect their performances to come under scrutiny; sport is their job and there are standards that should be met. That can involve questioning people’s fitness and athleticism, as we saw in the recent Women’s Ashes series, but body shape is not necessarily indicative of whether someone is fit or healthy.

As Kirby says: “As long as you’re fit to play your sport at the highest level, and you’re consistently performing well, then body shape shouldn’t be a conversation.”

McColgan, too, stresses that “fuelling” correctly is key, saying: “Looking after your body should be, as an athlete, the absolute top priority.”

As is too often the case with women in the public eye, discussions focus on appearance rather than ability. Too fat, too thin, too much make-up, too little make-up, too feminine, too masculine… Female athletes simply cannot win and body-shaming is becoming ever more common.

The endless judgment athletes face for their appearance is more eloquently expressed by Sophia Thakur than me. Here is an excerpt from her poem Gladiators, which she performed at a recent Sky Sports event, that perfectly outlines the endless commentary: “They’re like, ‘Would you mind maintaining your shape, your figure eight. / Don’t get too strong. Practise a soft voice and some grace. / But still win. Still first place but like a lady might.’

“Funny that. It’s when I’m my strongest, I feel most like the lady type. / When these legs activate and I can jump to crazy heights. / When these shoulders broaden and I can carry both the world and its opinions straight to the finish. / God bless the strength in these arms. / Oh, how they have held me over the years ... / We are celebrated for our wins. Whilst they berate our anatomy.”

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