Sky Sports has abandoned a new “lil sis” TikTok account, Halo, focused on women’s sport after only a few days.
The account, which was intended to be an “inclusive, dedicated platform”, with a focus on “amplifying female voices and perspectives”, has faced major criticism, forcing the sports channel to discontinue usage.
Posts on the Halo account featured youth-focused content, which has been received as condescending for female sports fans.
One post included a clip of Manchester City football players Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland on the pitch, captioned “How the matcha + hot girl walk combo hits.”
This was one of five posts out of the eleven posted which featured male sportsmen, despite the account’s aim of female representation.
One student said: “I get what they were trying to do, but it was executed poorly.”
“Women’s sports should be taken just as seriously as men’s, but they should also recognise that we too like a pint at the pub when the football is on.”
The content of the account ultimately failed to offer any real sports content, instead following TikTok trends.
Another student commented: “Championing women’s sports is important but dumbing it down and insinuating that girls can only be involved when the content is pink and ‘girly’ is completely insulting.
“This is just another brand of this weird “I’m just a girl”, infantilising brand of feminism that is entirely regressive.”
Student frustration continued, with another telling The Student: “I’m not sure why they had to make a second account, separation of content is never going to bring equality.”
She continued: “They should focus on posting more inclusive content on their main channels.”
All posts were deleted just three days after the accounts formation, replaced by one post explaining: “We didn’t get it right. As a result we’re stopping all activity on this account.
“We’re learning and remain as committed as ever to creating spaces where fans feel included and inspired.”
“TikTok” by Solen Feyissa is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.