What do TV's Gladiators teach us about beauty?

As an avid watcher of the original series of Gladiators in the 90s, I am thrilled that the show has returned to our screens!

Each week I look forward to the next episode, to see how the contenders fare against the Gladiators. Who can hold their ground against Giant on Duel? Who can sprint fast enough to escape Fire when she is Unleashed? Who can dodge a tackle from Fury? Who is talented enough to put Legend in his place? How will they fare on the eliminator - will they make it up the travelator first time?

The Gladiators are certainly formidable opponents; athletes at the peak of fitness, incredible specimens of human beings, determined not only to put on a good show but also to be an inspiration to the next generation.

One of the ways they hope to do this is by changing the narrative around body image. As we delve into this issue, it is worth saying that this article is written primarily about females, but this is of course a live issue for males also.

Positives

The series has apparently been updated, axing the elements which would be seen to objectify women - such as the cheerleaders and the revealing outfits. The female Gladiators now wear aerodynamic outfits favoured by Team GB athletes. This is really positive, as the female Gladiators seek to change the stereotype about what is considered attractive for a woman.

For so long women and girls have felt the pressure to fit society’s definition of beauty: slim and petite. Muscular women are not seen to fit into this ideal. Many girls and women are put off sport, or certain sports, because of the muscular physique they begin to develop, which some may consider unfeminine and un-beautiful.

This is starting to change as women are encouraged to be positive about their bodies, to take up sport and exercise, and to see ‘strong’ as ‘the new beautiful’. The female Gladiators are out to embody that - although the body shaming they have experienced since starring on the show demonstrates that much has not changed.

Dynamite says she was laughed at when she started lifting weights. "I was 16 and got loads of comments from boys like, 'What are you doing that for? You look too big now, too muscular.' Even today I get comments about it not being feminine for women to do this, but you can see from all of us here that we use our bodies to show how strong we are."

Sabre, in response to a comment about her ‘bulky’ body, posted a picture of her physique on social media with the caption #WomenAreAthletesToo #UnapologeticallyAthletic.

Diamond was bullied at school for being different: a football player who was taller than the other girls. She now wants ‘to be a role model and show girls that you can be powerful and kick ass basically, and that you can have muscles and still be feminine.'

It could be truly inspiring for girls to see women on their screens who do not fit potentially unhealthy cultural ideals of the female body, but are more focused on what the body can do, exhibiting strength, speed, power and agility. This could be a positive shift in the pressures females face around body image.

Dangers

However, many of us could watch Gladiators and alongside - or even instead of - feeling inspired, end up feeling inadequate about our own bodies and appearance. Most of us will always feel we fall short by comparison, no matter how hard we train or try.

While there is an increasing focus on performance, their appearance plays a huge part. Though their outfits may have become more ‘woke’ since the original series, they are still designed to showcase the athlete’s body^[1] - with their impressive physique enhanced by the use of body oil and fake tan. Not only are the Gladiators athletic, but they are also beautiful, good-looking, picture-perfect.

Rather than an inspiration, for many of us this can put pressure on us to be something unattainable.

Jesus

Yes - we should celebrate the achievements of these athletes and perhaps even the progress there is in changing the narrative around body image. And I do hope that they, and the contenders, will inspire millions of people to be more active and use their God-given bodies and talents.

But for those of us who aren’t superhuman athletes, the gospel has good news: God does not demand this of us.

In fact, when God - the most powerful being in the universe - appeared in human form, He did not look like a Gladiator. He did not come in power and physical beauty. Instead, “he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)

Indeed, when He died on the cross, “his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness” (Isaiah 52:14) so that “there were many who were appalled at him”, “like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

Jesus came in weakness, even in ugliness. For those of us who feel we are ordinary in appearance, we are in good company. For those of us who have experienced body shame, who have felt rejection because of our appearance: even the Saviour of the world understands what that is like.

Why did He go through this, when He didn’t have to?

Because we are ugly. And that needs to be fixed.

No, not ugly in our outward appearance. God is not concerned with that - He is concerned with the heart. Our hearts all bear an ugliness as we wander away from God, reject Him and want to do things our way without Him. When Jesus died, He became ugly in the deepest sense of the word. He took on our ugliness so that we can be beautiful in the most important way: without blemish before God!

So yes - use your body, your God-given talents, but do it for His glory. Remember what matters the most:

You are forgiven, loved, accepted.

No matter how you look, or what you can achieve.

This love cannot change.

Your body will fail you.

Through fatigue, injury, age, sickness and eventually death.

But God’s love never will.

^{[1] It could be argued that the women are wearing kit that is not dissimilar to what an elite athlete would wear - but this itself can be a problem as kit is a key reason many females drop out of sport. See Tess Howard’s research on this, eg: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/hockey/65181388}