Welsh forward Georgia Evans made headlines recently after clapping back at online abuse directed towards her appearance at the Rugby World Cup in England.
Evans is known for sporting big bows in her hair, eyelash extensions and a full face of makeup on the pitch, and copped a barrage of abuse for not fitting the mould of a "stereotypical" rugby player.
"In a old school man’s game, I’m bringing a bit of Barbie to the party.
"A rugby player is no longer defined by your gender or what you look like.
"To those who don’t like it, that’s OK. To those who’ve shown love and support, thank you. Don’t worry, I won’t be changing."
She said her appearance had no bearing on her ability, passion or fight for the game — and she is right.
Evans, who plays club rugby for Saracens, has earned 43 caps for Wales and been praised for her high workrate through the tournament.
Through the abuse has come a glimmer of hope after volunteers set up a ribbon-making station before Wales’ final game last weekend, and 1200 fans wore bows in support.
"For me the biggest impact at the weekend was watching that spontaneous volunteer-led ribbon station process," World Cup competition director Yvonne Nolan said.
"Spontaneously self-policing society is saying we won’t tolerate [abuse]. There is no place for that in our game."
It begs the question: what does the modern female athlete — and women’s sport — look like?
Irene van Dyk received comments about wearing eyeliner when she played for the Silver Ferns in the 2000s.
But how is that any different from Swiss footballer Alisha Lehmann — the most-followed women’s footballer with 16million on Instagram — wearing a full face of makeup on the field or United States rugby player Ilona Maher in her trademark red lipstick?
Maher has started something of a revolution in women’s sport with her mantra "beast, beauty, brains" and has countless deals with makeup and skincare brands.
Wearing makeup has not stopped any of them from stamping their mark on the sporting world.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe’s eyelash extensions have not stopped her becoming the first Kiwi to score 50 tries, and the glitter on Canadian winger Asia Hogan-Rochester’s face does not stop her being hard to put down.
United States runner Sha'Carri Richardson’s long nails and vibrant hairstyles never held her back from lighting up the track at the Olympics or world championships, either.
England winger Abby Dow has become a fan favourite this World Cup, having crocheted scrunchies for her team-mates, key-chains for her opponents and roses for Princess Kate Middleton, who visited the Red Roses dressing room.
That follows from the 2022 event when Stacey Waaka’s Black Ferns team-mates wore scrunchies from her business.
"For me the scrunchie is showcasing for those young girls that you can be an athlete, but you can also embrace your true self and for other things outside of sport too," Waaka said.
Coco Gauff is starting a shift in tennis, collaborating with New Balance to create kits that merge fashion with performance, and Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka founded their own makeup and skincare brands.
That is an extension of what is already happening with beauty tapping into women’s sport.
Glossier has been the official beauty partner of the WNBA since 2023, and Skims, owned by Kim Kardashian, signed on as the underwear partner of the WNBA and NBA.
Formula One has even joined the party. It tapped into the 40% of F1 fans who are women and British beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury partnered with the Formula One all-female academy.
They all show women’s sport is evolving and is worth the investment. There is no right or wrong way for how someone should look.
Take a leaf out of Evans’ book. Don’t listen to the Kens.
