The This Girl Can campaign recently returned to screens, billboards and news feeds.
The campaign is central to Sport England’s strategy to address the comparatively low sport participation rate of women and girls living in England (the most recent Active People survey found that 40% of men participate in sport once a week compared to 30% of women) by challenging perceptions about what taking part in sport ‘looks like’.
The adverts and social media posts have caused some eyebrows to be raised. Some question the language used (should we really be using the term girl to describe females aged 14 – 40? ), the legitimacy of investing Lottery funding on an ad campaign and of course, its long-term impact on female participation remains to be seen. But few could question the quality of the campaign in and of itself. Real women, with real stories and real bodies, coupled with a thumping Missy Elliot soundtrack. It’s certainly compelling, dare I say inspirational.
Of course timing is important with any campaign and it seems to have hit at a moment when women and sport is trending. The Guardian recently wrote about running being a feminist issue on its style pages and Nike has deftly fused fitness, technology and fashion in its Nike+ app specifically targeting females. At the Women’s World Cup, the England team’s runner up performance and the reaction back home cannot help but be favourably compared to the campaign of their male counter-parts.
Beyond sport, there is a pervading sense that gender equality has stumbled a little. In Lean in, Facebook COO, Sheryl Samberg writes about the need for both men and women to recognise and tackle the inequalities which still exist at home and in the boardroom. I’d also extend this to the playing field.
So what does this mean to you and me? If you look at Sport England’s market segments there is no single category I neatly fit into. I’m part Alison, part Elaine but still clinging onto my inner Helena . I’m a mid-thirties, career minded mum. I did lots of team and individual sport at school, stopped at University where I got distracted by other things and I have never fully started again.
If I could sum up my current sports participation pattern in one word it would be, “dabble”. A good week is peppered by the odd run, a gym class and the occasional Back to Netball session at our local school. A bad week does not see my heart rate raised above 60 bpm. But, despite my initial cynicism, This Girl Can has inspired me. Not simply to get more active but to try something new.
So I’ve set myself a challenge. Each month, I’ll try a new activity, talk to the women doing it week in week out about what inspires them to get off the sofa and out the front door and learn more about the history of female participation in the sport. There will be sweat, tears, blushes and perhaps the occasional sprained ankle. First stop Wimbledon. Anyone for tennis?
