Sports Bras as the Gateway to Realize Adolescent Girls’ Right to Participation

Article by Kelly Lai | April 21, 2025 | Global Rights Defenders

For rightful reasons, many international development programs globally focus on poverty alleviation, health promotion, female empowerment, and youth accompaniment through sports participation. The element of “play” in sports programs is especially appealing to youth, which incentivizes them to engage with other elements of the larger program structure, such as academic learning, capacity-building, and vocational training, just to name a few. According to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.”[1] This article manifests in international development programs by including marginalized youth in sports, allowing them to benefit from the advantages of being physically and socially active, which encompass health and social advantages. However, within this theory of change, a connective tissue is often missing to bridge the essential elements for this model to be valid and inclusive— sports bras.

In order to create an inclusive and safe environment for sports participation under the domain of development, which is intended to empower and include marginalized populations, ensure participants’ comfort, and remove barriers to realizing the right to participation and health, many organizations miss the anatomical aspect of the obstacles that may hinder participation. When women exercise, breasts can move up to 27cm, and more than half of active women have experienced breast pain while exercising.[2] Furthermore, the larger a woman’s breasts are, the less time she spends exercising; this difference in time can be up to 37%.[3] These statistics are especially relevant for teenage girls hoping to engage in sports programs to participate in the social life of their communities. According to USA Triathlon, the sports participation rate between boys and girls is nearly identical up to age 10. Nevertheless, in the case of running, at 14 years old, the number of girls who drop out of sports is twice of boys.[4] University of Portsmouth’s study shows that three-fourths of teenage girls report that breast movement is the main reason they dropped out of sports. [5] Many disadvantaged youths, particularly in informal settlements, lack parental accompaniment and maternal leadership at home, making puberty an exceptionally tough time for them to navigate their social lives. Moreover, they may not have the financial means to purchase sports bras should they be aware of this gear and deem it fundamental to their participation. Many shoe brands are actively engaging in the development sector to donate shoes to NGOs as a protective measure, as shoes are relatively apparent and can easily be understood as essential to participation. In contrast, sports bras are more invisible and entangle dynamics of stigma, gender inequality, cultural and social biases, and hypersexualization. Shedding light on this topic and acting accordingly could fulfill UDHR Article 25’s Right to Health[6], as well as Sustainable Development’s 5th Goal on Gender Equality[7] among the affected girls.

Body inclusivity is an essential discussion when we use sports as a gateway to realize youth’s right to participation. These programs’ benefits are often groundbreaking and poverty alleviating, and they have the potential to assist young people’s journey to break the poverty cycle and become contributing members of society. Yet, one tiny component of this system may be missing, deterring their rights to participate and advance their lives, discounting various NGOs’ efforts in achieving their goals to fulfill human rights. I propose all sports program directors in the development sector evaluate the inclusivity of their programs, ensuring that the most often excluded population be included in the cultural life of their communities, the way Article 27 of the UDHR intended. To readers and international development professionals, I urge you to consider the invisible gender and bodily barriers that may be hindering your target population, especially vulnerable female youth, from engaging in your transformative programs.

References

[1] United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

[2] O’Donovan, Siobhan. (2021). Breast Support in Sports 101. The Well HQ Webinar.

[3] Coltman, Celeste E., Julie R. Steele, and Deirdre E. McGhee. (2019). Does breast size affect how women participate in physical activity? Journal of science and medicine in sport 22(3), 324-329.

[4] Lacke, Susan. (2022). Why Girls Stop Running in the Tween Years. Triathlete. https://www.triathlete.com/culture/why-girls-stop-running-in-the-tween-years/

[5] Scurr, Joanna, et al. (2016). The influence of the breast on sport and exercise participation in school girls in the United Kingdom. Journal of Adolescent Health 58(2),167-173.

[6] United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

[7] United Nations (2015). The 17 Goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals