On Sept. 9, actress Sydney Sweeney appeared in a new advertising campaign for Novig, a sports-prediction company, called “Just Sports.” In the ads, Sweeney appears in minimal clothing, with sports equipment strategically placed around her body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp0T184hVY0 (Content Warning: This video contains sexual content and may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised). The campaign quickly became controversial, according to Northeastern Global News.
Female athletes criticized the campaign, arguing it focused on Sweeney’s appearance rather than the strength, training, and work behind women’s sports. The Washington Post reported that British sprinter Amy Hunt responded after a race, saying, “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like.” At the same time, Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus questioned why women’s bodies were still being used to sell products connected to sports.
The reaction spread quickly across social media. The Guardian reported that athletes posted videos and photos of themselves competing and training, shifting the focus from appearance to what their bodies can actually do. Former gymnast Gracie Kramer, for example, posted footage of herself competing alongside the message, “This is what a woman in sport looks like.”
Sweeney appeared to respond to the criticism by sharing images from ESPN’s “Body Issue,” which has featured athletes with a range of body types. Her response pushed back against the criticism, though it did not necessarily address concerns about how women’s bodies are used to market sports. According to The Washington Post, Sweeney had described the idea as bringing sports to life with “confidence, humor and a playful edge.”
But the controversy raises a question that goes beyond one advertisement: What happens when expectations about how female athletes should look conflict with what their bodies need to perform?
For young female athletes, body image can be complicated. They are expected to be strong and well-fueled enough to train and compete, while also being exposed to social-media images and cultural expectations about what a woman’s body should look like.
At Dana Hall, Kate Sutphin ’28, a varsity field hockey player and varsity lacrosse captain and a member of Morgan’s Message, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health among student-athletes, has watched these pressures affect girls as they get older.
“I think the way that she’s acting is just making us go back generations,” Kate said of Sweeney and the advertisement.
Neeve Vekaria ’28, a varsity volleyball captain and member of Morgan’s Message, has also noticed how these expectations can shift the focus away from athletic performance.
“Sometimes I feel like it’s not about the game anymore, it’s how others perceive you,” Neeve said. While male athletes are often judged primarily on the quality of their athleticism and performance, female athletes can face additional scrutiny over their appearance. As a result, the focus can shift from what female athletes accomplish on the court or field to how others perceive them.
Social media can make those expectations difficult to escape. Research on adolescent athletes has found an association between greater social media exposure and greater body image dissatisfaction, highlighting how online environments can affect how young athletes perceive themselves.
The pressure can have consequences beyond confidence and self-image. According to Women in Sport’s research, more than one million teenage girls (43%) who once considered themselves sporty no longer identify that way after elementary school, compared with 24% of boys. The survey also found that 68% of girls in this group said fear of being judged was a barrier to participating. Although girls leave sports for many reasons, these findings show how social pressure and self-consciousness can contribute to girls losing their connection to sports.
For athletes, body image is also connected to fueling. Training requires energy for practices, competitions and recovery. When concerns about appearance begin influencing how an athlete eats, the effects can reach beyond body image and into athletic performance. Neeve has also noticed how these pressures can affect the way girls view themselves.
“A lot of the time, girls are criticizing themselves. Just because you’re not skinny doesn’t mean you’re not healthy,” Neeve said. Her observation highlights how easily appearance can become tied to perceptions of health, even though an athlete’s body size alone does not determine her health or athletic ability.
That is where coaches and teammates become important. The language used at practice, conversations around food and strength, and the way teammates talk about bodies can all contribute to the culture surrounding female athletes.
Kate has seen this influence firsthand. “I’ve grown up with girls who are just so gifted. And then once they get older and once they get social media, they start to see all this stuff. I think it’s just stripping girls’ identities away,” she said.
The Sweeney advertisement will eventually disappear from social media, but the pressures facing female athletes will not disappear with it. When appearance becomes part of the conversation around women’s sports, it can overshadow the hard work, strength and dedication that define athletes in the first place.