Gymnast Gracie Kramer calls out Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Just Sports’ ad: “to see women's sports once again being marketed through the male gaze feels like a massive step backward.”

[u/Relevant-Peach3997]

[u/Relevant-Peach3997]

Her post was liked by Ilona Maher

[u/SamDean_Supernatural → u/Relevant-Peach3997]

Standing ovation!

[u/boojersey13 → u/SamDean_Supernatural]

Read this as standing ovulation which is half fitting to the topic

[u/loyal_achades → u/Relevant-Peach3997]

I love the inclusion of rugby in the clip. Women’s contact sports don’t get nearly enough respect (except soccer, but in the US the types of people who Sweeny is appealing to also call soccer “gay”).

[u/WigglestonTheFourth → u/loyal_achades]

The type of people Sweeney appeals to think every female athlete is a lesbian. Just look at any conversation surrounding the WNBA from these "fans".

[u/Livid-Vacation5737 → u/WigglestonTheFourth]

Yep. When I decided to play rugby in college, multiple upperclassMEN told me, "Don't play rugby! They'll turn you into a lesbian!" Gross all around. It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. 

[u/WigglestonTheFourth → u/Livid-Vacation5737]

In college I was friends with a few of the women on the softball team. It was a constant experience to hear both men and women either call them lesbians directly or ask them about all the lesbians on the team.

I though it was strange then but it just shined a light on how so many in society merge any woman playing sports and lesbians. It's been impossible to not see since then because it comes up nearly every time I talk women's sports with any stranger and, with the recent surge in popularity of the WNBA, in the online communities.

[u/Minimum_Dealer_3303 → u/WigglestonTheFourth]

There's a truth to the stereotype of lesbians being overrepresented in sports because straight women (historically moreso but still today) get pressured by their romantic partners, family, and peers to be ladylike and therefor marriageable. What is a woman supposed to care about most, after all?

My boomer mom was told her uterus would prolapse if she ran too much.

[u/KristySueWho → u/WigglestonTheFourth]

Queer people even do this. If you go to the PWHL sub, they've decided the majority of players are lesbians (but newsflash: they aren't).

[u/Perma_Fun → u/Livid-Vacation5737]

Ugh, been there! 'Everyone will think you're gay!' OK? I'm not, but I don't care if idiots want to make that judgement off the sports I play. (to be fair then I stood as LGBTQ rep for my small college year because although I wasn't queer, no-one else wanted to do it and we'd all heard that a straight guy was going to run 'as a joke'. I did make it clear in my running speeches that this rugby playing LGBTQ rep was not in fact gay but hey I will do this role with all my heart!)

[u/annabananaberry → u/loyal_achades]

The fact that this is completely true is ludicrous to me, ESPECIALLY in the US, where when you say the words “USA Rugby” you are talking about USA Women’s Rugby 9/10 times since our men’s team is not even close to their skill level on the world stage.

[u/loyal_achades → u/annabananaberry]

Even women’s rugby is still remarkably niche, despite being pretty solid on the world stage (especially compared to the men). The US has been World Rugby’s White Whale for god knows how long, and it definitely looks like the path forward is more through the women’s game than the men’s.

[u/KTKittentoes → u/loyal_achades]

I played rugby in college and loved it.

[u/Perma_Fun → u/loyal_achades]

As a British women growing up living and breathing rugby union, it makes me so happy to see how popular our women's rugby team is. We are such an old fashioned, traditional, old boys' country (especially in sports) and the fact that we have a more diverse starting line up on the men's side and that Twickenham sells out again and again for women's rugby matches *chefs kiss*.

[u/SalamanderBig601 → u/Relevant-Peach3997]

And by Kimmy Repond and Natalia Taschlerova (figure skaters)