“It’s not a new issue,” says Gordon. “This problem has always been here. We are just seeing more people, especially sportswomen, speaking up about how this is making them feel. Your kit or whatever you wear is so closely linked to performance. Exercise should never be off the cards for us.”
Wimbledon now plans to relax its all-white underwear rules for female players, while West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City Women have switched to navy and burgundy shorts respectively due to period concerns.
“Our focus for this campaign was Wimbledon, but it’s been fantastic to see the change happening across other sports, with several football teams making the switch away from white shorts,” says Holmes. “We’d like to see the official England women’s kit take periods into consideration in time for the 2023 World Cup, and will continue to campaign against the issues that discourage young girls from participating in sports at a grass-roots level.”
On the subject of white shorts, the England women’s rugby league team partnered with sports performance period-wear brand Iceni during the World Cup and captain Emily Rudge said: “It was important to our players that we could wear the iconic England kit for a tournament in our home nation.
“Our players were also aware of the barriers that girls face in sport due to their periods and wanted to use this moment to inspire future generations, to show young girls that there is no need for periods to distract them from the enjoyment sport can bring.”
‘I can focus fully on competing’
British sprinter Jodie Williams, who specialises in the 400 metres, also wants to tackle some of the stigma around girls playing sport while on their period. In 2018, the first day of Williams’s period coincided with the European Championships. After dealing with some health issues, she had been working really hard to get back in shape and make the team, only to be knocked out after running significantly slower than usual.
“I remember feeling so awkward and uncomfortable training when I was on my period,” she says. “It definitely affected the way I moved because I was so paranoid I was going to leak mid-session. Now I will let my coach know and we work around it by making time adjustments or sometimes switching up a session.”
Williams is working with Puma and ModiBodi, a feminine hygiene underwear brand, on the launch of period sports leggings and shorts, to encourage girls to stay in sport. According to a global study conducted by the two brands, one in two girls is quitting sport altogether because of their period and the fear of leaking, while three-quarters experience anxiety and a lack of concentration when playing.
“The ModiBodi x Puma range has been a game-changer in being able to get through my whole session without the added stress,” says Williams. “I carry a lot of anxiety when it comes to competing on my period, I can often see a drop-off in performance. The underwear has definitely helped me feel more [present], as it’s one less thing I have to stress about and I can focus fully on competing to the best of my ability.”
