Eradicating sexism & racism in sport, and how one film is helping to do just that!
There was media outcry and public uproar when The BBC Sports Personality Awards failed to list even one single female in their final top 10 in 2011. 2011 was a phenomenal year for women in sports, but with poor coverage from the UK media we rarely hear of any achievements which they have made.
It may surprise you to know ...that England’s rugby team made it to the World Cup Final 3 years running; Jessica Ennis won the Heptathlon in Austria for the second consecutive year and was appointed an MBE and Rebecca Adlington OBE achieved Gold in both British and World Championships for her freestyle swimming, 800 m and 400m; yet none of this was enough to put our glamour girls of British sport in to the top 10?
However, with the London Olympics fast approaching, our female stars have been well and truly thrown into the spotlight; gracing the covers of Vogue and Marie Claire, having articles dedicated to them inside the pages of national magazines and newspapers and appearing in commercials for huge sports brands; the women are most definitely taking over!
There was media outcry and public uproar when The BBC Sports Personality Awards failed to list even one single female in their final top 10 in 2011. 2011 was a phenomenal year for women in sports, but with poor coverage from the UK media we rarely hear of any achievements which they have made.
It may surprise you to know ...that England’s rugby team made it to the World Cup Final 3 years running; Jessica Ennis won the Heptathlon in Austria for the second consecutive year and was appointed an MBE and Rebecca Adlington OBE achieved Gold in both British and World Championships for her freestyle swimming, 800 m and 400m; yet none of this was enough to put our glamour girls of British sport in to the top 10?
However, with the London Olympics fast approaching, our female stars have been well and truly thrown into the spotlight; gracing the covers of Vogue and Marie Claire, having articles dedicated to them inside the pages of national magazines and newspapers and appearing in commercials for huge sports brands; the women are most definitely taking over!
Above, Victoria Pendleton in FHM & below, Jessica Ennis is Marie Claire
Gaby Logan presented a highly controversial, yet equally outstanding documentary regarding sexism in sport, highlighting the number of issues still faced today, such as the monumental difference in wages and the lack of free televised coverage; whilst the FA have done a lot more in order to promote Ladies football. It seems that we are finally getting the picture, quite literally…
Whilst the media are putting females back on the pedestal, even our UK film industry are; Noel Clarke’s latest film, produced by Damian Jones who gave us ‘The Iron Lady’, claims to be a feel good film of the summer. It follows the hopes and dreams of a British sprint relay team on a journey to win gold in the women’s 4x100m race.
It has been made no secret that the young British actresses were expected to train like athletes in preparation for the film and judging by the trailer itself and those stunning red carpet pictures, they did a great job at it. The whole team behind Fast Girls, backed by Dame Kelly Holmes, has expressed their hope that the film will inspire many children of school age, especially young girls to take up sport or participate in more physical activity - and that I hope it does.
More poignantly, with the Euro 2012 currently being overshadowed by media reports of racism, this is the first British film to have a predominantly black and mixed race female main cast. Racism is something we, as a country, endeavor to stamp out of sport and it has been saddening news to hear that in Eastern Europe there are fears of attacks being carried out on not only our athletes, but their supporters aswell.
The cast of Fast Girls, and below, the official film poster
Although more is being done in this country to eradicate sexism and racism in sport, it is still not enough; it still goes on and it still happens. One thing for sure is that we are most certainly taking a step in the right direction and I find it incredibly pleasing that even our British film makers are finally doing their role in making this happen.
You can watch the fictional athletes take a rollercoaster journey in their quest to achieve gold when the film is released on the 15th June. If nothing else is getting you in the mood for this year Olympics, then this certainly will. Fast Girls is most definitely on my list of must-see films, after all, anything that can highlight the much needed eradication of sexism and racism in sport, has my support 100% of the way!
Although more is being done in this country to eradicate sexism and racism in sport, it is still not enough; it still goes on and it still happens. One thing for sure is that we are most certainly taking a step in the right direction and I find it incredibly pleasing that even our British film makers are finally doing their role in making this happen.
You can watch the fictional athletes take a rollercoaster journey in their quest to achieve gold when the film is released on the 15th June. If nothing else is getting you in the mood for this year Olympics, then this certainly will. Fast Girls is most definitely on my list of must-see films, after all, anything that can highlight the much needed eradication of sexism and racism in sport, has my support 100% of the way!
You can watch the Fast Girls trailer by following this link: http://
