“As women with an innate interest in sport and exercise, we need to remember the girls who did not have access to sports, were picked last in gym class, and grew up to be women who did not identify as being athletic.”

Meet, Dr Jaclyn Hadfield, a multilingual cross-cultural behavioural scientist who assesses women’s physical activity beliefs and behaviours. Her research aims to identify salient factors to inclusively influence intervention designs and improve women’s physical activity behavioral engagement while reducing health disparities domestically and globally.

WHAT CHANGES DO WE NEED TO SEE?

“There is still an emphasis on women's aesthetics in sports and fitness. Culturally, women's bodies are put on display and objectified. Since culture is powerfully communicated in visual formats, the visual representation of women in sports and fitness media can be a tool to address issues of gender equity by combatting female objectification and aesthetically focused content.”