Female Athletes of Boston: Covering Women in Sports the Right Way

The tides certainly seem to have turned for women in sports in 2015. Between Sports Illustrated naming Serena Williams Sportsperson of the Year and the rise of #CoverTheAthlete as a hilarious outcry against sexist media coverage of female athletes, the issue of athletes of all genders not getting the respect they deserve has been brought closer to the forefront. One young student—a lightweight rower at Harvard University—is pushing for a little bit more. Naomi Lang, founder of Female Athletes of Boston, is singlehandedly bringing some of the positive media coverage that we saw of Serena Williams in the SI December issue to the women, both young and old, who train hard in Boston every day.

Female Athletes of Boston is a HONY-esque social media presence, featuring photos on Facebook and Instagram of women “in their athletic gear, playing their sport and speaking about their performance as an athlete.” Posts of runners, squash players, and biathlon competitors scatter across followers’ newsfeeds amidst posts of bikinis, boobs, and new teas promising a flat belly in just two weeks. It’s a breath of fresh air, to say the least.

Naomi hopes to expand the site beyond the Harvard/Boston community and bring positive coverage to female athletes everywhere. She is currently accepting submissions here from any woman who plays or has played a sport, regardless of residence.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faobarefast/

Instagram: femaleathletesofboston