Challenging the Algorithm

Ailish James

Challenging the Algorithm aims to explore how women in sport are represented—or more often underrepresented—in the mainstream media, advertising, and social media platforms. Whilst physical features of exertion are natural, its portrayal is often gendered.
 
Male athletes are celebrated for their gritty, sweat drenched appearance, yet female athletes are pictured in a polished, ‘aesthetic’, way. This not only distorts public perceptions of women in sport but also mirrors a broader cultural discomfort with the effort, strength and exertion of women more generally.
 
This project aims to challenge what’s everywhere pervasive in our visual landscape:  idealized, filtered images, amplified by AI; and to contrast this with the raw authentic appearance of real, unedited women in an athletic context.
 
Physical exertion is not something that women need to hide or be ashamed of, but rather take pride in, as a symbol of their power, perseverance, and achievement for women in sport.

A woman that has just played sport, looking sweaty on their face and body