The Lingerie Football League Through A Critical Feminist Lens

This text will examine the Lingerie Football League (LFL) through a critical feminist lens. Several factors associated with the LFL will be analyzed to better evaluate the gender hierarchies that exist within sports, sexism in the media, and the sexualization of female athletes. These factors include, the league’s choice in uniforms, the player recruitment process, and the rebranding period. Additionally, this text will examine the intersections of race and gender that exist within the league through the brief analyzation of the relationship between race, and player position. The LFL is an all-female football league that was created in 2004 as a pay-per-view alternative to the Super Bowl’s half-time show. The LFL features women playing full-contact football in lingerie-style uniforms. From it’s inception in 2004 – up until

Often, a woman’s perceived level of physical attractiveness equates to her athleticism. According to feminist film theorist, Laura Mulvey, “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female form which is styled accordingly (1975).” The LFL’s choice in lingerie-style uniforms substantiates Mulvey’s claim, that men consider women to be canvases on which they can project sexual fantasies onto. In addition to the style of uniforms, the physical appearances of the players should also be taken into consideration. According to, ‘Legends’ in ‘Lingerie’: Sexuality and Athleticism in the 2013 Legends Football League USA Season, the LFL reportedly recruits its players based on their perceived level of attractiveness (Khomutova & Channon 2015). Indeed, many of the women in the LFL uphold Western standards of beauty. Often, the athletes have slim waists, large breasts, defined buttocks, long hair, and wear noticeable