This really resonated with me! I'm a long time rugby player and an athletic 5'10" 215lbs. I want so badly to find Maher's messaging appealing. After the recent USA v. Australia game she posted a photo with Charlotte Caslick, Aussie player who is traditionally feminine looking and posts a lot of sexy content of her ass out in tiny bikinis etc. Maher ended the post with "Thanks for showing that beauty belongs in the game, Charlotte." This killed me. It makes it sound like "beautiful" women are somehow excluded from playing sports because they are just so beautiful? Or that being beautiful and athletic are somehow mutually exclusive and they are breaking barriers by doing both? Ugh. The whole shtick (lipstick included) really rubs me the wrong way. I agree that she has a lot more to offer and instead is fixated on being beautiful or feminine which truly does nothing for the sport or for women. Anyway, this has been driving me nuts for a while so thanks for writing this and for (maybe) reading this rant.
Yeah, I've seen some of her recent stuff and that prompted me to reshare this article. I just finished reporting a story on a women's rugby team local to me, and that experience has me wondering now if Maher's message actually comes from her being uncomfortable with being stereotypically girly in the context of women's rugby. Like maybe there's a stereotype that women's rugby players are all hyper-masculine (for lack of a better term)? Idk. Still bugs me. Thanks for reading!
Perhaps! To me it reads as insecurity and seeking male validation, to be blunt. I think that stereotype exists to an extent, but in my experience, I’ve never been in a rugby space where girliness was derided. Also, many of the top players in the world play in girly accessories and have long hair so she’s not an outlier (except for the lipstick and platform). Will be interesting to see if/how her branding evolves over time. Cheers!
This is really interesting! Something I've wrestled with in thinking about her is that her highlighting her femininity is not as subversive as it's made out to be. Yes, we don't often see women with her build and athleticism positioned as "feminine," and I don't see any issue with her choice to represent that. But we already live in a culture that celebrates feminine women, and because women's rugby is a sport that frankly many people associate with masculine, often queer women, it doesn't surprise me that the person who broke through is a deliberate rejection of that. I don't blame her, it's a societal thing, but it's something I'd love to see discussed more.
Yes! I feel like you summed up what I was struggling to say in this piece. No knocks against her — I appreciate what she's done and is doing for women's sports — but her methods aren't really revolutionary.
This really resonated with me! I'm a long time rugby player and an athletic 5'10" 215lbs. I want so badly to find Maher's messaging appealing. After the recent USA v. Australia game she posted a photo with Charlotte Caslick, Aussie player who is traditionally feminine looking and posts a lot of sexy content of her ass out in tiny bikinis etc. Maher ended the post with "Thanks for showing that beauty belongs in the game, Charlotte." This killed me. It makes it sound like "beautiful" women are somehow excluded from playing sports because they are just so beautiful? Or that being beautiful and athletic are somehow mutually exclusive and they are breaking barriers by doing both? Ugh. The whole shtick (lipstick included) really rubs me the wrong way. I agree that she has a lot more to offer and instead is fixated on being beautiful or feminine which truly does nothing for the sport or for women. Anyway, this has been driving me nuts for a while so thanks for writing this and for (maybe) reading this rant.
Yeah, I've seen some of her recent stuff and that prompted me to reshare this article. I just finished reporting a story on a women's rugby team local to me, and that experience has me wondering now if Maher's message actually comes from her being uncomfortable with being stereotypically girly in the context of women's rugby. Like maybe there's a stereotype that women's rugby players are all hyper-masculine (for lack of a better term)? Idk. Still bugs me. Thanks for reading!
Perhaps! To me it reads as insecurity and seeking male validation, to be blunt. I think that stereotype exists to an extent, but in my experience, I’ve never been in a rugby space where girliness was derided. Also, many of the top players in the world play in girly accessories and have long hair so she’s not an outlier (except for the lipstick and platform). Will be interesting to see if/how her branding evolves over time. Cheers!
That's fair.
This is really interesting! Something I've wrestled with in thinking about her is that her highlighting her femininity is not as subversive as it's made out to be. Yes, we don't often see women with her build and athleticism positioned as "feminine," and I don't see any issue with her choice to represent that. But we already live in a culture that celebrates feminine women, and because women's rugby is a sport that frankly many people associate with masculine, often queer women, it doesn't surprise me that the person who broke through is a deliberate rejection of that. I don't blame her, it's a societal thing, but it's something I'd love to see discussed more.
Yes! I feel like you summed up what I was struggling to say in this piece. No knocks against her — I appreciate what she's done and is doing for women's sports — but her methods aren't really revolutionary.