Ilona Maher was hard to miss at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. When she wasn’t impressing viewers with her rugby tackles, she was making them laugh with her Snoop Dogg and cardboard bed TikToks. But since leaving France, the 28-year-old has gone viral for more than just her athleticism and wit.

Maher has been a model for since July Sports Illustrated Swimsuittook part in the competition Dancing with the stars and posed on the Emmys red carpet while steadily increasing her follower count, which now tops 4.3 million on Instagram and 3.1 million on TikTok. While her humor is certainly part of the appeal, it’s her attitude towards body image and beauty standards that has made her a household name.

“All body types matter, all body types are worth it,” she said in a TikTok in July. “From the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, from rugby player to shot putter and sprinter, all body types are beautiful and can do amazing things. Really see yourself in these athletes and know that you can do it too.”

This video has been viewed more than 6 million times. Most of Maher’s body image content, much of it tagged with the hashtag “Beast Beauty Brains,” enjoys similar popularity, including a video in which she corrects a user’s inaccurate idea about BMI. It has been viewed 8.4 million times and counting.

Maher’s growing success reflects broader changes in beauty, says Ivanka Prichard, a health psychology researcher and associate professor at Flinders University.

“There is more awareness about celebrating the body for what it can do rather than what it looks like. Athletes like Ilona help with that,” says Prichard. “Ilona’s success on the field demonstrates the functionality of her body and highlights the importance of looking beyond a person’s appearance.”

Dr. Sarah Bonell, lecturer in psychology at RMIT, says this could be evidence of a move away from the insidious “wellness talk” of the last decade.

“Fatphobia and stigma surrounding appearance are often disguised in wellness conversations. People would say, “We’re worried about their health, so we’re shaming them.” Athletes obviously don’t fit in because they’re super healthy, but they’re usually taller, stronger, and almost traditionally masculine looking. They challenge that narrative.”

Other female athletes who share a similar message include Australian swimmer Libby Trickett and Australian Rules footballer Sarah Perkins, who have both worked with health charities such as Embrace Collective. Elsewhere, US gymnast Simone Biles modeled Sports Illustrated Swimsuit twice (2017 and 2019) and members of the Matildas posed for it fashion‘s Nike shoot last year.

Thanks to such initiatives and the online presence of certain female athletes, athleticism is increasingly associated with beauty, says Melbourne Fashion stylist Christina Robert.

“Physical strength is now considered sexy. That’s why clothing brands are selling this to women with clothing that strengthens muscles, such as racer back tank tops and the trend of wearing bike shorts as a mainstream fashion item. Even sportswear is becoming more and more revealing.”

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This is closely linked to the rise of the athleisure sector, which has grown by 42 percent in the last seven years. By 2026, Robert says the segment is expected to be worth $386 billion or more.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see fashion campaigns and catwalks with more models like Ilona with obvious musculature,” says Robert.

As perceptions change, more and more women are turning to weight training. According to powerlifting coach Thomas Lilley, in 2022, 36.5 percent of Australian Powerlifting League members were female. Now it is 42 percent.

“Many of our female athletes got into the sport after being inspired by female lifters they followed on social media,” says Lilley. “This has been reinforced by more gyms offering women-only powerlifting competitions, showing that powerlifting is not exclusively a men’s sport.”

Aside from the health benefits of strength training such as improved bone density, muscle quality, and prevention of type 2 diabetes, Dr. Mandy Hagstrom, sports scientist and national Olympic weightlifting champion, says strength training has made her feel more confident as a woman.

“I felt most comfortable with my body after becoming a competitive athlete,” says Hagstrom. “I knew I was strong; I felt powerful and that strengthened me all around. I work hard for my muscles. If this makes someone uncomfortable, they probably need to look internally to find out why.”

As promising as it is to see muscular women like Maher on the cover of Sports IllustratedAccording to Bonell, there is still progress to be made.

“Physically capable women still seem quite irritating to people,” she says. “We have equalized the genders in many ways, but one thing men still have is that they are generally physically larger and stronger. We need to create a space where they realize that as a gender they don’t need this. Then women can enter that space without it being inherently threatening.”

“Fitspiration” content can be just as harmful as “thinspo” content, says Marika Tiggemann, emeritus professor of psychology at Flinders University.

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“Beauty ideals are shifting slightly to allow for bigger butts and thighs, toning all over the body and no longer being skeletal thin, but this is actually just as difficult for women. It requires a lot of work in the gym. And unfortunately, people still often think about looking strong instead of being strong.”

Dr. Emily Matheson, associate consultant at Everybody Consulting, led the development of Body Confident Sport and says that while we are moving towards healthier body image communication online, much of the content can still reinforce body image concerns.

“In 2022, the Dove Self-Esteem Project found that 90 percent of girls followed at least one social media account that made them feel less beautiful,” says Matheson.

“And it is still widely believed that thinness is associated with overall health and performance, and that girls and women feel ashamed of their bodies, especially if they live in larger bodies.”

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