‘Playing rugby in lingerie? Ridiculous’: Why a body positivity campaign with Team GB stars backfired

Their fans are well accustomed to seeing Team GB’s women’s Olympic rugby players assert their prowess on the pitch. They are less accustomed, however, to seeing them in lingerie.

Faced with a stiff training session ahead of the impending Olympic Games, the last thing sports aficionados would expect to encounter is these accomplished athletes practicing their moves in a series of racy lace bras, knickers, teddies and suspenders. Where were their sports bras? In fact, where were their clothes?

For this particular training session at Richmond Rugby Club in south west London, the women’s usual kit was very much surplus to requirements. Team GB members Ellie Boatman, Celia Quansah and Jasmine Joyce were training in rather unusual circumstances, their every move captured on camera by Bluebella, the London-based lingerie brand whose underwear they were modelling in the shoot.

Released this week, the images are part of Bluebella’s ‘Strong Is Beautiful’ campaign, an initiative first launched in 2016 with the aim of encouraging teenage girls not to drop out of sport.

Previous campaigns have featured esteemed female athletes such as paralympic long jumper Stef Reid (2016), synchronized Olympic swimmers Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe (2021) and former England Lioness Fara Williams (2023).

According to a statement by Bluebella, the campaign’s rationale is “to encourage girls to be proud of their bodies and keep playing team sports. To emphasize their point, the athletes posed in body revealing lingerie for an impromptu training session.”

But if the brand’s intentions were good, it rapidly transpired that the campaign had scored something of an own goal.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, reaction was swift. “Yes, strong is beautiful. Physically fit is beautiful. Playing rugby is beautiful. Playing rugby in lingerie? Ridiculous,” said one user. “That’s not celebrating strength or dedication, but playing to the stereotype that women can ‘only’ be beautiful in lace.”

“These incredible women live body positivity every time they are on the pitch,” opined another user. “This advert demeans all women, placing the male gaze front and centre. Women do not exist for the pleasure of men.”

Certainly, the context of the shoot feels jarring. While it’s not unusual for male athletes to star in underwear campaigns, these are usually shot in a studio, not during a training session. His nickname might be ‘Goldenballs’, but David Beckham has never been photographed on a football pitch, kicking a ball in nothing but a pair of designer boxer shorts.

For the broadcaster and former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies MBE, the campaign is problematic in a number of ways. “If we’re trying to encourage young girls of all shapes and sizes to be involved in sport, it’s a regressive move to suggest they have to be ‘sexy’ at the same time as doing said sport,” she tells The Telegraph. “We wouldn’t do this to young boys.”

Davies is keen to emphasize, however, that she is not criticising the athletes themselves, and understands the issues that may have driven their decision. “Women receive just four per cent of the sports sponsorship dollar; a huge funding inequality between the sexes. When support comes in, it’s hard to say ‘no’.

“But by suggesting what they look like in their underwear matters to their sporting performance, this will put young girls off. Those in charge should have thought this through better. As an advertising campaign, I think it’s a mistake if its aim was to increase participation numbers.”

The campaign has also been met with ire by Women in Sport, the charity whose research that over half of secondary schoolgirls (64 per cent) drop out of all sport before the age of 16 due to body insecurities was quoted by Bluebella in a press release.

“We’re very uncomfortable that we have been mentioned in this campaign without our knowledge, as this is not the way we would want our statistics to be applied,” says Women in Sport CEO, Stephanie Hilborne. “We urge the brand to reconsider its approach to this campaign.”

The longest-standing charity in its field, Women in Sport has 40 years’ experience of securing change for women and girls by addressing gender inequalities using expert insights. “Talking about ‘body positivity’ suggests girls and women are the problem – they are not,” notes Hilborne.

“The problem is the way that society objectifies and stereotypes girls and drives them away from sport. Our research shows that 1.3 million girls who once loved sport drop out as teenagers, with around 6 out of 10 feeling judged and scrutinised.

“We don’t need women to look pretty on the pitch. We need brands to showcase their strength, resilience and skills, and the jeopardy and excitement of their sport.”

The backlash is likely to disappoint Boatman, Quansah and Joyce. In a statement to promote the campaign, Harlequins player Ellie Boatman, 27, noted how ‘not many girls’ played rugby while she was growing up, as they were perceived as ‘weak’.

Bristol Bears’ Jasmine Joyce, 28, added “I haven’t always felt comfortable in lingerie, but after doing this shoot it’s definitely made me feel more comfortable in being able to embrace my body and feel empowered.”

Having experienced an eating disorder while at university, Boatman, 27, also spoke of how she related to the body image issues that can plague teenage girls. “It’s something I had to battle through. Now, training to be strong, fit and healthy is a massive priority.

“Fitness should be something you do to look after yourself and enjoy, not some kind of punishment. This Bluebella campaign is about showing girls that sport and fitness can help them look muscular and strong, as well as feeling feminine.”

Refreshing as it is to see strong, muscular women wearing provocative lingerie of the sort usually seen on Love Island contestants and Victoria’s Secret models, it’s debatable whether the campaign will encourage teenage girls to play sport. While the images may promote body diversity, that they do so through the lens of the ‘male gaze’ could be seen as a retrogressive act.

Given that it’s aimed at teenagers, the campaign seems to overlook the fact that puberty can be an extremely awkward time. It’s why so many young girls hide their bodies under clothes that are forgiving. Not for nothing is sportswear so hugely popular among young teens.

A teenage girl who lives in oversized hoodies and sweatpants is unlikely to be encouraged to take up sport by the sight of three rugby players practicing their drop kicks in lacy lingerie.

“Girls dropping out of sports at 13 is closely linked to the visible signs of puberty that makes them feel shy,” agrees former fashion PR and mother of three Amie Witton Wallace, who launched teen activewear brand, Graphi, after struggling to find suitable sports kit for her own young daughters.

“Often, they’re forced to wear clothing that’s tight, form fitting, and uncomfortable. By allowing them to wear what they feel good in, they’re far more likely to fall in love with sport.”

As for initiatives that might be more useful than a lacy black bra, Women in Sport’s Stephanie Hilborne suggests giving girls single sex opportunities away from the male gaze, and letting them play in comfortable clothes that don’t expose their bodies excessively.

“Girls are not born self-conscious. The problem is how we are treated, how our success in sport is undervalued, and how society focuses more on what we look like rather than what we can do.

“We need to give our girls self-belief, and crush limiting stereotypes, not fuel them. Our female rugby players are inspiring, strong, resilient and powerful. They have nothing else to prove.”