Collective Shout was one of many voices calling for Channel 7 to end their sponsorship of  Lingerie Football (recently cynically rebranded as ‘Legends Football League’).

The so-called sport sees women playing American football in skimpy underwear, and is not recognised or supported by the Australian Sports Commission.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “a Channel Seven spokesman said the emerging sport would no longer be televised. This is despite the LFL claiming the league attracted “record” television ratings and even beating A-League broadcasts with audiences of more than 300,000”.

Collective Shout is grateful for your partnership to help stop the promotion of this sexist and degrading sport.

Grassroots campaigning movement Collective Shout is calling on schools to be alert to the Lingerie Football League recruiting underage girls and to refuse to host practices or events on school premises.

An open letter “To those who oppose the LFL in Australia” was posted on our Facebook page yesterday.

Elise – an athlete who has recently joined an LFL team – asked us to read and consider her views on the LFL.

You can read Elise’s open letter here. 

Below is an open response to the open letter.

Dear Elise,

A name change and a few less frills might sound better to sponsors, but it does nothing for women’s sport

Jas Swilks

Player loses underwear replayed on giant screens, sex doll shared, chosen men get to ‘tackle’ players, fans leer and jeer – and they call it sport

Deborah Malcolm

On Saturday night I was in the crowd at the Lingerie Football League game at All Phones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

It wasn’t about playing football - it was about how aggressively we could act towards the other girls

Tal Stone

Last Thursday I found myself walking towards the bright lights of the Sydney’s All Phones Arena at Homebush. Turning the corner, I realised I was in the right place when I saw a line that would have done any night club proud - dozens of attractive young women in full hair and heavy make-up, long tanned legs bared in defiance of the winter chill, eagerly waiting their turn.

The Lingerie Football League is coming to Australia. On Saturday.  

The LFL is far from being a genuine women's sport. The event objectifies women, undermining women's equality in sport and women's status as serious sports women. The LFL plans to hold two promotional matches - in Brisbane on June 2 and Sydney on June 9 - followed by an official launch in 2013.

We recently shared with you a guest post from the teaching staff of the Southern Teaching Unit in Melbourne. They shared with us about the work they do with students and in particular, their approach to health and media literacy education. Yesterday we published an interview with 14 year old Nova Stewardson, a former student of STU. Today we hear from 14 year old Texus Kent, also a student at STU.

Yesterday, we shared with you an article written by the Southern Teaching Unit staff in Melbourne. We heard about how their approach to health and media literacy education has not only given students an understanding of the negative impact of narrow, stereotyped representations of women, but has also empowered them to take action.

The students have been campaigning against the Lingerie Football League's introduction to Australia.

Those who have been following the Lingerie Football League campaign would be well aware of our petition calling on sponsors, advertisers and venues to Stop the Lingerie Football League in Australia.

Since beginning this petition, we have been delighted to hear from an amazing group of students and their teachers from the Southern Teaching Unit in Melbourne, who had already started another petition titled Triple M: Stop promotion and support  of a Lingerie Football League in Australia.