What to Know
Female athletes are usually more heavily criticized than male athletes for decisions they make, especially when it comes to their sport. That’s not all — they also face more criticism and comments about their bodies while competing. And much of this is coming from social media. Research shows that the ways these women are portrayed in the media may be opening them up for additional abuse. So the European Broadcasting Union has worked alongside female athletes to create new guidelines for the way they’re filmed for television. And while there are people praising the changes, many people are proving why they’re necessary.
The decision was a collaborative effort.
The European Broadcasting Union and European Athletics worked alongside three female athletes who participate in track and field events to create these new guidelines. According to the guidebook, “coverage should reflect the skill, dedication, and excellence that define athletics, and uphold the trust placed in us by audiences and competitors alike.”
“The sexualization of women athletes through selective camera angles and editing choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts,” EBU Sport executive director Glen Killane said in the guidebook.
“Lingering shots on bodies, low-angle cameras that capture revealing views, and excessive slow-motion replays that serve no technical or storytelling purpose are among the issues observed in the media coverage of women’s athletics competitions today.”
Killane also pointed out the camera angles “carry profound implications,” and “shape audience perception by diverting attention from the remarkable achievements and technical skills of women athletes, and risk perpetuating harmful stereotypes.”
One athlete has been very outspoken about the harm created by these camera angles.
Holly Bradshaw, an Olympic bronze medal winning British pole vaulter, was one of the athletes who worked with the EBU on the new guidelines.
“I first-hand have received social media abuse and witnessed inappropriate videos online of myself and colleagues when slow-motion content of us competing is captured,” she said.
In a 2023 interview with Olympics[dot]com, she spoke about the ways social media has negatively impacted her throughout her athletic career. “I had people calling me fat on social media. It was really, really hurtful,” she shared.
“It’s sad that athletes are having to take time-outs from social media sites because of how negative they can be,” she added, saying that the closer she gets to competition time, the more she disengages from social media.
A study conducted by World Athletics during the Tokyo Olympics was released in November 2021. It showed that female athletes were the target of 87% of all abuse, and 65% of all the abusive posts required intervention from social media platforms.
Bradshaw said she “wasn’t shocked” by the outcome given the “amount of abuse” she and other female athletes she knows have received.
Commenters mostly had nothing nice to say about the decision.
The ratings bout to hit an all time low.
— Zihlus /ザイラス (@Zihlus) July 16, 2026
The news spread across X, and many people criticized the choice, proving why the choice needed to be made in the first place.
“Earlier, very few people used to watch women athletics, now no one will watch it,” one person wrote.
“Views abt to plummet. Nobody watches this s–t to see their skills,” another person commented.
“With all due respect why not just give female athletes longer shorts,” one person questioned, echoing a common thought.
“So, cracking down on the only thing that makes women’s sports interesting. Okay.”
Some people praised the European Broadcasting Union for making the decision.
“GOOD that’s one step heading in the right direction.”
“Good. Only hornballs hate this.”
“If you have to watch women sports and need these angles to enjoy it, then you gotta get some help dawg lol. Stop gooning to women athletes,” one commenter wrote.
Another person shared “the replies are just a bunch of men admitting they only watch women’s sports to stare at women. Embarrassing.”
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