It seems like there’s a never-ending stream of people who feel entitled to comment on other people’s bodies. Despite article after article calling out people who critique and comment on the bodies of female athletes, there’s always another keyboard warrior happy to share their unsolicited opinion.
Professional multi-event athlete Anna Hall is over it. In a moving TikTok she posted over the weekend, the 22-year-old voiced her disapproval for this toxic judgment. “This is my public service request,” she said. “Stop telling female athletes they look like men. Literally, stop it—it is so mean.”
Addressing the camera from her car, she started tearing up, and explained how hard female athletes already are on themselves without any external feedback. They routinely face pressures to not be too muscular, but also may feel the need to gain more muscle, she said.
The American indoor record holder in the pentathlon was prompted to make the TikTok after a stranger commented on a video of Hall hyping herself up at the Florida Relays last week, saying that “girls don’t have legs like that,” and “she looks like a dude; I can’t tell what gender she is.”
“Just shut up,” Hall said, exasperated.
She went on, expressing her desire to one day win an Olympic medal or set another record. “I’m gonna look strong if I wanna do that,” she said.
Hall ended the video with an earnest plea: “Just stop it. It’s so hurtful for no reason. Like why would you take the time out of your day to say that? Like just scroll. Just scroll.”
Unfortunately, it’s nothing new. Several other pro runners have spoken up about people commenting negatively on their bodies. After Allie Kieffer finished fifth at the New York City Marathon in 2017, commenters speculated that based on her weight, her impressive finish time wasn’t possible unless she was doping.
British distance runner Eilish McColgan says people constantly berate her body online and call her “too skinny.” And days after finishing eighth in the marathon at the World Championships last summer, Keira D’Amato wrote in an Instagram post that a stranger told her, “You’re big for a marathon runner.”
None of these comments are necessary or useful. As Hall wrote in the caption of her video, “Didn’t their moms ever tell them if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?”
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
