Female Athletes Face Criticism on Appearance Despite Sporting Success
Competing at the highest level internationally, female athletes report that some spectators focus more on their appearance than their sporting achievements.
Several female international athletes shared with the BBC their experiences of receiving "derogatory" and "weird" online remarks about how they look.
Georgia Evans, a Wales and Saracens rugby player, faced criticism during the 2025 Women's World Cup for wearing makeup and styling her hair. She emphasized that her performance on the field "had nothing to do with what I look like."
A 2025 survey conducted by Women in Sport revealed a decline in the number of girls aspiring to become professional athletes, reaching its lowest point since 2020. The charity attributed this trend to persistent gender stereotypes.
Georgia Evans on Stereotypes and Personal Expression
Early in her career, Georgia encountered "derogatory" comments rooted in stereotypes, including being labeled a "butch lesbian."
"My sexuality has no bearing on whether I look girly, or whether I'm butch or whatever I present myself to be," she said.
"I'm not going to change who I am," she added.
"So I would still turn up on a game day with my tan done, my nails done, hair, everything."
Georgia described the routine of wearing makeup and styling her hair as a way to distract herself from the cameras capturing her every move on the pitch.
However, during the 2025 World Cup in England, she was criticized online for wearing makeup and pink bows in her hair, with some suggesting these choices contributed to the team's losses.
"It wasn't just about the big pink bow in my hair, it was about the makeup that I was wearing, about how I was treating it like a fashion show," she explained.
"I've worked my whole life to get to the top of what rugby is, and all of a sudden, that's been called into question because I'm wearing pink bows in my hair.
"How I play has nothing to do with what I look like."
In response, Georgia issued a statement on social media, asserting that "a rugby player is no longer defined by your gender or what you look like." She received messages of support from people worldwide.
"It's the silver lining of those minority of comments that had come out, had caused like a ripple effect of, when I say, hundreds of thousands of people messaging me.
"Within an hour, I had to actually turn my phone off because I just couldn't cope."
Ruby Evans on Appearance and Performance
Olympic gymnast Ruby Evans considers her appearance to be "as important" as her gymnastics performance.
"If I have a bad makeup day and I have to compete, it's gonna be a bad day," she said.
When her makeup is good, the World Championship silver medallist described the feeling as the best ever.
"Everything is just like falling into place, I've trained all these weeks, and then everything just goes perfect.
"Even if it wasn't as perfect, if I look good, I'm like, 'oh, you know, it's okay."
Ruby noted that while most online comments about her appearance were positive, she had noticed attention when she chose not to wear fake tan for a competition.
"That time I did wear no tan, people noticed it," she said.
"[I] was like oh OK, right, I know people do actually notice how I look."
She added that some men online can be "quite weird" in their comments.
"My audience are little girls, so if there is a comment that's a bit [inappropriate] I do delete it, just so the people who actually watch me for gymnastics don't see that side of it.
"I just want [young girls] to look up to me, I want to be a good role model."
Declining Aspirations Among Girls in Sport
Despite 2025 being a landmark year for women's sport, the Women in Sport survey found that the proportion of girls dreaming of reaching the top in sport dropped from 38% in 2024 to 23% in 2025.
In contrast, 53% of boys surveyed expressed aspirations to become top sportspeople.
Gwennan Harries on Social Media and Visibility
Former Everton player and Wales international Gwennan Harries highlighted that social media has intensified the abuse faced by athletes.
The Bridgend-born striker, now a football commentator and PE teacher, also stressed the importance of increased visibility for women's sport.
"The more inspirational women on TV who are showing their talents and succeeding, it'll feed down to the next generation," she said.
"If you don't see it, you can't be it so it's really important that those opportunities across sport are visible and is being publicized regularly with those people being treated well and respected."
Georgia Evans' Message to Future Athletes
Continuing to wear her bright pink bows, Georgia hopes to inspire young athletes facing similar criticism.
"I liked the idea that these young girls who are probably getting the same comments as I did when I was coming through, you can see that you don't have to change," she said.
"Everybody has their right to look a certain way, be a certain way and the best thing about rugby is like, it's inclusive to every single person."
