We’re loving the This Girl Can campaign from Sport England. It celebrates active women doing their thing no matter how they do it, how they look, or how sweaty they get. We think it’s brilliant that the This Girl Can campaign celebrates getting sweaty and being jiggly!
Since launching in 2015, This Girl Can has aimed to tackle “unrelatable” fitness images and the negative effects that perfect social media pictures can have on encouraging women to become active.
As the campaign points out, women come in all shapes and sizes, with all abilities and from all backgrounds. Some of us are expert sportswomen, some of us are a bit rubbish. It doesn’t matter.
Research behind the campaign found that:
- Many women are put off taking part in physical activity due to a fear of judgement — this might be about the way they look when they exercise, feeling they’re not good enough to join in, or feeling they should be spending more time on their families, studies or other priorities.
- A majority of women who see slim, toned bodies on social media say it has a negative impact on them.
- Around a quarter of women follow a fitness influencer who makes them feel bad about themselves.
- Women would like to see more relatable content when it comes to exercise — more women exercising without makeup, and more women sweating, without the polish of a perfect fitness feed.
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Breaking Taboos About Women Getting Active
This Girl Can shares real stories of women who get active or play sport in the way that’s right for them, using images that show what activity really looks like in all its sweaty, red-faced, jiggly glory.
The campaign features a variety of women taking part in exercise and tackles some taboos head-on. For example, one scene shows a woman doing yoga to ease her menstrual cramps, while another shows a mother and daughter exercising together to help manage symptoms of menopause and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
Sport England has said the campaign has encouraged large numbers of women to get active since it launched, though many women still don’t meet the recommended weekly activity guidelines. So anything that helps encourage more women to get moving — whether you’re in England or elsewhere — is a good thing in our book.
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What do you think of the This Girl Can campaign? Leave a comment below and let us know — we’d love to hear from you!
FAQs
What is the This Girl Can campaign?
This Girl Can is a Sport England campaign that celebrates women getting active in whatever way suits them, regardless of ability, shape, size or background. It aims to remove the fear of judgement that stops many women from exercising.
When did This Girl Can launch?
The campaign launched in 2015 and has continued with new phases of content since then, each one aimed at showing real, relatable women being active.
Why does the campaign focus on sweat and “jiggling”?
The campaign deliberately shows women exercising as they really look — sweaty, red-faced and jiggling — to counter unrealistic, polished fitness imagery on social media that can put women off getting active.
Is This Girl Can only for women in England?
The campaign is run by Sport England, but its message about getting active without fear of judgement resonates with women everywhere, whatever their location.
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