1. Nobody watches women's sports
[1.1] On March 9, 2024, retired American basketball legend Sue Bird appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to discuss her new business venture, cofounded with three other professional female athletes. One of the brand's standout successes has been the launch of a simple yet powerful T-shirt. The shirt, black with white lettering, boldly declares, "Everyone watches women's sports." During her appearance, Bird explained that the phrase humorously flips the common refrain, "Nobody watches women's sports." As Bird put it, "Now the numbers show it, which is amazing. We actually have data to prove it—everyone watches women's sports" (quoted in Sanchez 2024). Here, Bird is highlighting the recent surge in visibility and popularity of American women's sports. Across various leagues, awareness of American women's sports has exploded, "with record TV ratings, attendance, revenue, sponsorships, and franchise valuations" (Badenhausen 2024). In 2024, women's sports are "projected to surpass $1 billion in revenue, a 300% increase since 2021" (Joseph 2024). As sports journalist Liz Robbins (2024) notes, "the stories, the product, and the investments in women's sports are finally proving to be good business." As a result, American sports brands and media groups must now reevaluate how to engage women's sports fans as consumers.
[1.2] One such entity, Togethxr, a media and commerce group founded in 2021 by prominent female athletes Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, Simone Manuel, and Chloe Kim, launched the "Everyone watches women's sports" shirt. Togethxr was created with the mission of amplifying women's voices in sports and uplifting their achievements. The group describes its goal as "building a home for generations of women who've never had a place that existed just for them" (Togethxr n.d.). Through this initiative, Togethxr claims to celebrate the accomplishments of women athletes, while simultaneously building a commercial relationship with the passionate fans who support and celebrate women's sports.
[1.3] Released in December 2023, the "Everyone watches women's sports" shirt gained immense popularity during the Summer 2024 Olympics in Paris, where it was worn by celebrities and shared widely on social media. The viral moment did more than just make a fashion statement; it led Togethxr to sell $3 million worth of shirts, hoodies, and bags highlighting the slogan (Holtermann 2024). In response to the shirt's success, Jess Robertson, Togethxr's chief content officer, asserted, "The truth is, women's sports fans have been here…You just have to make it available" (quoted in Holtermann 2024). The shirt and its message simultaneously spoke to longtime women's sports fans and newer, green fans joining the cultural bandwagon (Holtermann 2024). Togethxr's mission to advocate for greater recognition of female athletes in sports media—and in broader cultural and media industries—was embodied by the "Everyone watches women's sports" shirt, which became widely recognized in American popular culture.
[1.4] For instance, when Gotham FC, the 2023 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Champions, visited the White House, President Joseph Biden acknowledged their achievement by stating, "What's really important is your championship win also set an attendance record. I think it's fair to say everyone—everyone watches women's sports. It's about time" (2024; emphasis added). Togethxr's "Everyone watches women's sports" message ostensibly sparked fresh engagement and excitement for women's sports and those who celebrate such athletics.
[1.5] Togethxr's shirt stands out as a distinctive commercial item for female sports fans. Historically, American sports have been structured around gender, with men and women often facing different opportunities, expectations, and experiences (Creedon 1998; Kaufman 2024). While the twenty-first century has witnessed strides in women's participation in sports, mainstream American men's sports media still dominates the majority of airtime and cultural consideration (Bernstein 2002; Cooky et al. 2015). The media coverage of women's sports has not proportionally grown with women's athletic participation. While many nontraditional media outlets online, such as blogs, social media, and nonestablished news start-ups, have supported women's sports and provided coverage, these outlets are unique amid the dominance of coverage focused on men's sports (McClearen and Fischer 2021).
[1.6] Despite limited coverage, more fans are increasingly engaging with women's sports. Researchers have historically overlooked women's sports fandom, and when they have focused on this group, they often oversimplify the fan experience and fail to acknowledge its diversity (Kitching et al. 2023). However, a growing body of literature now explores various aspects of women's sports fandom, including fan motivations (Allison and Pope 2022), fan labor (McClearen 2024), online community building (Fenton et al. 2023), and perceptions of fan authenticity (Simmers et al. 2023). As this field of research expands, scholars have increasingly examined how sports leagues and brands market to women's sports fans. This research has been situated in "the postfeminist, neoliberal context" through which our current "gendered subjectivities, discourses, and embodied realities are constituted" (Antunovic and Cooky 2024, 288). Women's sports fans, within this particular context, become complex consumers influenced both by empowerment narratives surrounding women's sports and neoliberal market logics.
[1.7] In this piece, I critically examine the viral "Everyone watches women's sports" shirt, exploring what it reveals about contemporary women's sports fandom. This analysis addresses the urgent need to reconsider the dynamics of visibility in women's sports and how fans navigate this visibility within the capitalist framework of American sports media. Released during a pivotal moment in the history of American women's sports, Togethxr's campaign both celebrates women's sports and simultaneously dilutes the political and social implications of its message. While the shirt may function as a tool for fostering a sense of solidarity among fans (Penney 2013), its universalizing message oversimplifies and neutralizes the complex identity of women's sports fandom. This project argues that the shirt's appeal rests on a narrow conception of visibility—one that celebrates women's sports in a vacuum, without acknowledging the sphere's cultural marginalization as well as the pervasive racism, sexism, transphobia, and policing of female bodies that continue to shape the women's sports landscape. Through an analysis of women's sports fans' reactions to the shirt online, I explore how fans engage with this branding and how it reflects broader tensions within American women's sports culture.
2. Everyone watches women's sports
[2.1] On March 18, 2024, before Togethxr's "Everyone watches women's sports" T-shirt went viral during the 2024 Summer Olympics, the brand publicly posed a simple yet provocative question to its Threads followers: "What does 'Everyone Watches Women's Sports' mean to you?" (https://www.threads.net/@togethxr/post/C4ritNlr95j?hl=en). In the comments, fans shared personal meanings and interpretations of the slogan. One commenter wrote, "It means people are finally starting to recognize the caliber of athletes in women's sports!" This same respondent also shared an anecdote: The commenter's daughter was upset that a teacher had only given students the men's NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) bracket to fill out, ignoring the women's tournament. "I told her 'Everyone watches women's sports,'" the fan wrote, "and sent the teacher the women's bracket to fill out." This story illustrates the tension between the growing enthusiasm for women's sports and the persistent dominance of men's sports in mainstream culture. Even when "Everyone watches women's sports," clearly not everyone actually does.
[2.2] For other commenters, the slogan reflected a desire for validation. One commenter said, "It's okay—just admit it, you enjoy women's sports. Everyone watches women's sports!!" Another added, "Not having to explain or justify why you watch women's sports. It's just good sports." These comments reveal a frustration with the need to defend their love for women's sports, suggesting these fans have faced belittlement or skepticism in the past. The slogan, in this context, represents a shift—a moment where women's sports fandom is no longer something to explain or apologize for. It's a declaration that women's sports belong in the mainstream, not as a niche market or afterthought, but as an equal part of the sports world.
[2.3] One commenter went even further: "When we broadcast women's sports, we realize that women can do everything men can. And MORE. And backwards in heels." This comment, along with many others, echoes a deep defensiveness born from years of marginalization. These fans want to remind the world that women's sports aren't just "good sports" but are often more impressive than men's, showcasing skill, strength, and resilience in ways that challenge traditional gender norms.
[2.4] The comments that fueled the viral success of Togethxr's shirt reveal a community of fans who feel both protective of women's sports and eager for broader recognition. Ultimately, the "Everyone watches women's sports" slogan does more than promote a brand—it signals a potential turning point. For these fans, it is no longer about hoping for a future where women's sports are taken seriously; it is about asserting that women's sports have already arrived. In this moment, women's sports are no longer solely defined by their underdog status—they are here, and they are for everyone to watch.
[2.5] Here, I use the language of "watching" intentionally, to mirror both the language of the shirt and Togethxr's emphasis on visibility. After all, the shirt claims "everyone watches women's sports" rather than "everyone supports women's sports" or "everyone loves women's sports." This focus on visibility, or spectatorship, is crucial, especially given the historical marginalization of women in sports media (Cahn 1994; Cooky et al. 2021). Historically, advocates have called for more visibility and better representation of female athletes to celebrate their athletic prowess. Over the past fifty years, the growing number of images of women in sports across popular culture has contributed to a broader understanding of female physicality, strength, and power.
[2.6] However, the current cultural moment, where women in sports are becoming more visible and profitable, raises new questions about visibility's effects on equity and inclusion within a capitalist global sports system (McClearen 2021). One might ask how visibility could hinder women's sports. Social movements and marginalized groups have historically fought for increased visibility and representation in media and culture, viewing visibility as a means of confronting racism, sexism, and other injustices (Banet-Weiser 2018).
[2.7] Yet, critical scholars caution against overvaluing visibility, warning that it can discipline, trap, and weaken movements for change (Beauchamp 2019; Foucault 1995; Thomsen 2021; Wiegman 1995). Visibility operates through a distribution of the sensible—resolving what relationships can be imagined or cannot be imagined (Kaszynski 2016; Rancière 2004). Because of this, visibility often dictates which bodies can be considered valuable and which cannot. Thus, it can reinforce dominant aesthetic-political regimes that constrain individuals to follow normative standards of gender, race, and sexuality (Brody 2023; Thomsen 2021). For instance, sports journalist Frankie de la Cretaz (2024) importantly notes that visibility for women's sports is and should be treated differently than visibility in men's sports. In women's leagues, such as the Women's Professional Basketball League (WNBA), "visibility for WNBA players has been hard fought. It has been players who have pushed the league forward every step of the way." Yet, de la Cretaz is quick to point out that women's sports spaces are "more vulnerable to threats, just by nature of the fact that they are women, or trans people, or Black women, or gay women, or Black gay women, or any combination of those intersections." Women's sports are often spaces dominated by marginalized populations and, therefore, are often more susceptible to threats, harassment, and violence. As women's sports gain more mainstream cultural traction and acquire new fan groups, there is a need to consider whether visibility in and of itself is something worth celebrating.
[2.8] The paradox of visibility is evident in women's sports, where increased visibility is often accompanied by intense scrutiny, surveillance, and discipline (McClearen 2021). For instance, the recent WNBA season broke records for viewership but also saw a severe uptick in discriminatory press, racialized commentary, and threats to queer players (de la Cretaz 2024). Simultaneously, attacks on women who do not conform to Western femininity, such as Imane Khelif's experience at the 2024 Olympic Games (Dampf 2024), occurred alongside major groundbreaking sponsorship deals for other female athletes. Additionally, during this period of increased visibility, the American government produced and passed laws defining and policing who can perform as a woman athlete (Fischer 2023). These examples demonstrate the limits and capacities of visibility politics. While more sports fans may be paying more attention to women's sports than ever in history, does said visibility fix women's sports problems? Or does this visibility create a facade of prosperity for some, while those not enjoying major success receive more backlash, criticism, and violence than ever?
3. No one watches men's sports
[3.1] In examining Togethxr's slogan and fan celebration of the shirt, I focus on the shirt's underlying logics that mistake visibility for an unqualified good. While watching suggests viewership, it also articulates forms of regulation and surveillance. Togethxr's message reflects the idolization of visibility and how that reverence may impede women's sports progress. Alex Morgan, cofounder of Togethxr, asserts that the company "came together through a shared vision for the future of women in sports" (quoted in Betancourt 2021). Togethxr's shirt suggests that visibility is key to women's sports' future, advocating for a time where women's sports are viewed as equal to men's.
[3.2] However, "Everyone watches women's sports" celebrates visibility without deeply considering its implications. Togethxr's shirt raises this question: Will visibility improve or enrich women's sports culture? While visibility may enhance recognition, it can also enforce compliance with existing societal norms, complicating the narrative of progress for women in sports. The challenge remains in understanding how—and if it is possible—to leverage visibility not just as an end but as a means to promote equity and inclusion in the world of women's sports.
[3.3] In a recent creative reappropriation of the shirt slogan, a women's sports fan took the phrase "Everyone watches women's sports" and reimagined it. On the redesigned shirt, using a similar aesthetic and font, the fan altered the message to read, "No one watches men's sports." This new slogan, now available on shirts, hats, and sweaters, is being sold online by a group that describes their products as amusing items for women's sports fans. The "No one watches men's sports" shirt is a humorous twist on both the phrases "no one watches women's sports" and "everyone watches women's sports." In its exaggerated and irreverent statement, the shirt invites people to question its validity. While the "Everyone watches women's sports" shirt celebrates the increasing visibility, viewership, and popularity of women's sports, the fan-made "No one watches men's sports" shirt cheekily critiques mainstream sports culture. As more viewers join the ranks of women's sports fandom, it will be important to track not only how fans embrace and celebrate the commercial success of women's sports but also how fans choose to rupture and reinterpret these messages. While the dominant American sports environment and athlete-fan relationship currently revels in visibility and commerce, what would a different, yet flourishing women's sports system look like?