How Male Allies Can Help Break Stereotypes in Sport
By Ilaria Biancacci
While curating this series on women’s sports, I realized that men supporting women in sports play a crucial role in breaking stereotypes and promoting equity. True to Wempower’s mission of amplifying women’s stories, I was initially hesitant — partly out of concern for what including male perspectives might mean for the brand. But that shifted when I posted a call on LinkedIn, inviting people in the sports industry to join an open discussion about women’s sports, women’s performance, and what it will take to build a more equitable sporting landscape — especially as we ride this incredible wave of awareness, resilience, and success that women’s sports have brought to the world in the summer of 2025.
Though the post gathered plenty of supportive reactions, the majority of direct messages came from men eager to contribute their perspectives And of course, I said yes.
And that’s how I met Dickie Okochi Friday, a London-based sports pharmacist who has spent the last five years helping athletes optimise their health and performance. His work bridges medicine and sport, giving him a front-row seat to some of the most persistent myths — and overlooked strengths — surrounding women’s bodies.
Common Myths About Women in Sport
Women in sports have faced numerous stereotypes and misconceptions over the years. These myths not only undermine their achievements but also perpetuate outdated beliefs about what women can or cannot do in the athletic arena. So I have asked Dickie what are some of the common misconceptions he encounters in the world of women’s sports and performance.
“The most common misconception I’ve seen,” he says, “is that women don’t need to lift weights. People think that if women lift, they’ll get bulky — but that’s not true. Women don’t have the same testosterone levels as men, so they won’t ‘bulk up’ the same way. But they’ll still gain all the benefits: better performance, stronger bones, and healthier ageing. Performance declines only if training stops.” Strength and conditioning, he argues, aren’t about aesthetics — they’re about longevity. “Whether you’re 18 or 60, everyone needs to move, lift, and stay strong if they want to live well.”
In my search for a male perspective on women’s sports, I also spoke with Talla Ndiaye, a personal trainer and sports massage therapist, who echoes many of these points. One of the most persistent myths he encounters is the idea that women don’t work as hard as men to reach certain physical goals — a belief he calls “completely false.”
“If someone wants to beat a world record or lift a certain weight, they’ll put in the same effort, regardless of gender,” he says. He adds that many women still shy away from lifting because of fears of “becoming manly,” a perception that slows their progress — though he notes this is slowly shifting with the rise of CrossFit and changing attitudes toward women’s strength.
According to Ndiaye, misconceptions come from all sides — not just from men. “Men have misconceptions about women,” he says, “but women also have misconceptions about themselves in the sports industry.” He points to elite female sprinters as an example. “People will look at world-class sprinters and say they look ‘too manly.’ But that’s missing the point. We don’t care about how they look — their bodies are shaped by the demands of running 100 metres at the highest level. Performance determines physique, not the other way around.”
We still live in a world where the outdated notion that women are inherently weaker than men in sport dominates much of the media narrative. Yet this summer’s surge in women’s sports and recent events featuring female athletes have made one thing clear: athletic strength is not defined by brute force alone.Endurance, agility, technique, and tactical intelligence are equally crucial, and women consistently excel across all these dimensions. Decades of training programs and elite performance data show that women can achieve extraordinary levels of strength, skill, and conditioning—often matching or even surpassing men in specific areas.
For personal trainer and sports massage therapist Talla Ndiaye, this is most visible in combat sports.
“I watch the women in mixed martial arts because of how they use their strength,” he explains. “Sometimes men rely purely on power, but female fighters are extremely technical. As a coach, I learn a lot from watching them — I’m not talking about entertainment, but about studying their game plans, the precision of their moves. Things are a little slower, so I can really observe the strategy and the technique. With men, when frustration kicks in, they often just use raw power.”
Sports pharmacist Dickie Okochi Friday sees similar misconceptions in football — and an equally compelling reality. “Football is my first love,” he says, “and I watch women’s football easily. Technically, the girls are superb. They can trap the ball, send a 40-yard pass straight to a teammate’s feet, and score free kicks. I’ve seen overhead kicks pulled off brilliantly. People underestimate their technical ability, but it’s all there.”
Together, their perspectives challenge the lingering belief that women’s sport is defined by limitation. If anything, they argue, it is defined by skill, strategy, and a level of technical mastery that deserves far greater recognition.
Another widespread misunderstanding — one that strikes at the heart of Wempower’s mission — is the idea that women’s achievements in sport are somehow less significant. Anyone who has followed our Level the Playing Field series from the beginning knows how untrue this is. Every story we’ve published has shown the same truth: excellence in sport has nothing to do with gender. It is built on discipline, talent, resilience, and years of relentless work.
Dickie adds “More women are doing things that would naturally be considered male-orientated — football, boxing, basketball — and there is a lot more funding going toward women’s sports now. Coverage has shifted too. Ten years ago, you didn’t see much reporting on the Women’s World Cup or the Women’s Euros. Over the last five years, though, we’ve seen the Lionesses front and centre in newspapers, recognised for winning the Euros. That’s positive — it shows younger girls that pursuing these sports isn’t stigmatized. Visibility inspires participation and ambition, and that creates a much richer sporting culture.”
Science, Research Gaps, and Women’s Performance
Despite growing awareness, the science behind women’s performance is still catching up. “There’s a big gap in research,” Okochi admits. “Most studies were done on men, and then we just assumed the results applied to women. But women have more variables — the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause — and instead of understanding that complexity, researchers used to just exclude women from trials altogether.”
This exclusion isn’t accidental; it’s historical. For decades, medical science treated the male body as the default and the female body as an anomaly — despite women making up half the global population and outnumbering men in countries like the U.S. since 1946. Policy shifts in the 1990s began to challenge this bias, but women remain significantly underrepresented in research.
The result is a long legacy of missing data. Protective policies meant to shield unborn children from exposure to drugs, combined with persistent barriers to recruiting and retaining women in clinical trials, have severely limited our understanding of how women experience disease and respond to treatment.
This lack of representation has real consequences. Biological sex influences physiology, metabolism, hormones, and even cellular processes, all of which shape how diseases present and how effective medical devices or pharmaceuticals are.
These gaps in knowledge don’t just affect healthcare — they shape how we understand women’s bodies in movement, performance, and sport. And because training and medical guidance often rely on research that historically excluded women, athletes and coaches today are still navigating the consequences of that blind spot.
If you’re curious to dive deeper into the intersection of research, data, women’s health, sport, and performance, we invite you to listen to our conversation with consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr. Lamia Zafrani, who unpacks these issues with striking clarity.
From a coaching perspective, Talla agrees that supporting women starts with recognising the influence of hormonal cycles, even when the foundational movements — squats, presses, hinges — remain the same. What changes is the timing and the approach. “The female body has ongoing phases — pre-menstrual, peri-menstrual, menstrual, post-menstrual,” he explains. “These affect energy levels, strength, and recovery. When a female athlete communicates how she feels, we can adapt training to optimize performance. Science doesn’t need to change — the mindset of those applying it does.”
Nutrition, recovery, and awareness of conditions like RED-S, the Female Athlete Triad, endometriosis, or PCOS are crucial, Okochi adds. “What we are seeing is women who are advocating for themselves, and doctors who are learning to listen, and diagnoses are happening slightly earlier. That’s why I want to insist on the fact that awareness is the key to everything.”
Moving Forward: Practical Advice for Coaches and Trainers
Both Dickie and Talla stress the importance of communication and curiosity from trainers, coaches, and support staff to help move forward on the scale of inclusion, representation and most importantly research and data.
“False beliefs about women in sport persist on all sides,” Talla says. “The simplest way men can support women athletes is to listen. If an athlete mentions pain or fatigue, it’s not about dismissing it — it’s about understanding it, whether it’s related to training, nutrition, or hormonal cycles.”
He adds that men working in sports also need to educate themselves. “If you have mostly female athletes, understand menopause, menstrual cycles, or the effects of different treatments. Ask open, honest questions — how do you feel during training? How can I help? These conversations are key to challenging outdated stereotypes.”
Okochi reinforces the cultural aspect: “Growing up, sports weren’t really something you saw girls do. If a girl played football or boxed, she was called a tomboy. That mindset is changing — but slowly. Visibility matters. The more women play, the more the world will normalize it.”
Both see hope in changing perceptions and increasing female representation in sport. “Representation matters,” Okochi says. “There’s no downside to doing a sport. It gives you better health, a clearer mind, less stress. Women are capable of incredible things — they just need the space, the visibility.”
I would add that having more men willing to engage in these conversations is equally important. Every story, every conversation, every training session helps level the playing field. By listening, learning, and amplifying women’s voices, we can accelerate change—together.
This article is part of the new series “Level the Playing Field: The Untold Stories of Women in Sport.” Each Monday, we publish a new story highlighting the women reshaping the world of sport — on and off the field. To read more inspiring stories of everyday women making a real difference in the world, be sure to check out the latest edition of Wempower magazine, or listen to our podcast.
