Women are 10X more likely than men to be objectified in sports. One of the main culprits is media cameras – which often deliberately focus on the women’s breasts, buttocks, thighs and even crotches.

These sexist camera angles not only objectify them, but also disrespect their skills and abilities. At the 2021 Summer Olympics, there were 2,500 images objectifying women reported.

And once these footage and photos are published, they also find their way to hundreds of websites which are dedicated to sexually exploitative images.

LUX is a beauty brand with the purpose of inspiring women to rise above everyday sexism and express their beauty unapologetically. LUX has long stood with women against sexism wherever it occurs; and wanted to create awareness of sexist camera angles in sports which has gone unchecked for far too long.

LUX stands with women against everyday sexism. We wanted to call attention to this issue and change the angle of sexist media cameras with actionable guidelines.

Change The Angle is a campaign which highlighted the issue of sexist media camera angles at sports events. A simple QR code was used to expose sexist camera angles.

We played the media cameras at their own game by hacking a live broadcast of a beach volleyball tournament where the female athletes wore QR codes on parts of their bodies where media cameras tend to focus.

LUX sponsored the Durban Open Women’s Beach Volleyball 2023 tournament in South Africa and hijacked the media cameras to expose sexist camera angles during a live broadcast. Instead of wearing our logos, South Africa’s top women beach volleyball players sported QR codes on parts of their bodies where the media cameras tend to focus.

Viewers who scanned the QR code were led to the Change The Angle film where female athletes revealed our message about sexist camera angles. The film ended with a call for media cameras to focus on female athletes’ strengths and prowess; and to follow the simple actionable guidelines included.

To ensure maximum viewership, we partnered with South Africa’s largest sports network, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), to broadcast the tournament live to millions of fans. Influencers and other athletes also attended the tournament and helped spread the message further by sharing the QR code.

Change The Angle received 4.7 billion impressions and was picked by more than 377publications worldwide, including Yahoo, Telegraph, Washington Daily News and Boston Herald among others.

These articles have also been viewed 1.54 million times so far. The campaign generated $500,000 in earned media. Significantly, South Africa’s biggest broadcast network*, South African Broadcasting Corporation(SABC) has adopted Change The Angle guidelines.

Over 80% of media companies at the Durban Open 2023 have also adopted the guidelines. LUX will continue to work with media companies and SONKE Gender Justice Organisation to combat sexism against women in sports and everywhere else.*

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has 19 radio stations (AM/FM) as well as six television broadcast channels for the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa’s state-owned enterprises.