Hannah Botterman x Georgia Evans x SLT Studios
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It’s been a big year for women’s sports in the UK. Not only did the Lionesses win their second Euros in a row, beating favourites Spain in a nail-biting final penalty shoot-out, but the Red Roses, England’s women’s rugby team, took victory in the Rugby World Cup finals to become champions for a third time. The match was played in front of a world-record crowd of 81,885, and the tournament enjoyed unprecedented attendance numbers and TV viewership. It’s expected the win will bring a boost of popularity to women’s rugby similar to that experienced by the WSL after the Lionesses victory.
Two of the players on the pitch during the tournament were England’s Hannah Botterman and Wales player Georgia Evans. Though on opposing sides, when the whistle blows the pair are in a relationship, and they were among the over 50 openly queer athletes across the 16 teams that participated in the World Cup. Like many communities within women’s sports, rugby is a space that welcomes and celebrates queer women, and over the years it has offered both Botterman and Evans acceptance and solidarity. “Within the rugby community, anything goes. It doesn’t matter who you are, how you present, no one cares,” says Botterman, who also plays for the Bristol Bears. “Everyone can express themselves how they want to express themselves and know there’s going to be no judgment.”
However, with increased public attention to the sport has also come attention from those infamously angry and miserable online commentators. From criticising Botterman for looking too masculine to attacking Evans’s signature pink bows to such an extent that both Evans and the Wales team had to make statements condemning the abuse, it seems no way of presenting on the pitch was acceptable for some people. “Non-rugby fans are often surprised when they meet me. I’m like, ‘what do you expect a rugby player to look like?’ It’s always a challenge being taken seriously as a femme-presenting rugby player, but I hope this changes as time goes on,” says Evans, who plays for Saracens. “Nobody fits into one box.”
To champion their identities as lesbians and, respectively, a butch and a femme, Botterman and Evans are starring in a campaign for SLT Studio launching a new ring collection. Amy Spalding’s brand became famous for its Dyke rings – a must-have accessory among lesbian circles – and now we have even more options for wearing our identities loud and proud on our hands. Below, the two athletes discuss the 2025 World Cup, expressing their lesbian identities, and dealing with the online hate.
You’ve had an incredible year with the Red Roses: you helped England win this year’s World Cup and bring home the gold trophy, in a record-breaking final and momentous achievement for Women’s Sport – talk to us about that!
Hannah Botterman: It was honestly one of the most insane experiences I’ve ever had in my whole entire life. The final selling out Twickenham Allianz, the whole atmosphere and then all the days that came after. It wasn’t just the day itself. We had such a good time throughout the whole journey to then win it at the end, at home in front of a home crowd was just honestly insane.
How does it feel to not only be a world champion but to be a part of the turning point for women’s sport?
Hannah Botterman: It’s really nice to see how much all the different women’s sports champion each other. We were super into watching the football and cheering the girls on, and the cricket girls are at a World Cup right now. During our World Cup the support that we felt from other female sports people was insane. I think something that’s so special about women’s sport is that it’s so intertwined and everyone champions everyone. It’s a real special community to be a part of.
Does doing all of this as an out and proud queer woman make a difference?
Hannah Botterman: This tournament, I’ve received so much love, like so much love, and I think people being able to see that – like let’s say a younger me, ten, 15 years ago, that maybe wanted to chop their hair off a bit earlier but didn’t, who was scared of so many things. Seeing someone that looks like me being celebrated so openly, that’s pretty important for the younger generation.
How have you expressed your queerness?
Hannah Botterman: I had real long hair until I was like 16, and then I went past the Super Cuts and was just like, take it off. The only thing though, I can’t go to the toilet by myself in public. I’ve had some not particularly nice experiences going into women’s toilets because people assume I’m a man for some reason. I get super anxious about that, so I don’t do that. So I’m always like, ‘Do you need the toilet? Anyone? Anyone need a toilet?’ All of my close friends will know and they’ll just be like, ‘I’m going to the toilet now. Do you want to go?’
Seeing someone that looks like me being celebrated so openly, that’s pretty important for the younger generation.
Does your masc presentation ever cause problems in the rugby world?
Hannah Botterman: I just get a lot of, I don’t even know if you can even call it hate. But you know, ‘I thought this was the women’s team.’ I get so much of that on TikTok and Instagram, there’s constantly comments about me being a man. People will always have something to say. There will be someone somewhere that has something to say because you’re too feminine or because you’re too masculine.
What do you love most about the culture and community of women’s rugby?
Hannah Botterman: Within the rugby community, anything goes. It literally doesn’t matter who you are, how you present, no one cares. And it is so refreshing that everyone within that space doesn’t care. Everyone can express themselves how they want to express themselves and know there’s going to be no judgment from their peers. How I feel in a rugby setting, on a rugby pitch, is the most comfortable I feel. You can just be yourself, and it doesn’t matter what you look like. The same goes for the queer community.
Do you ever feel there’s a disconnect between how you’re perceived on the pitch versus off?
Hannah Botterman: Body image-wise, being a larger person allows me to do my job well. But within society, that’s not deemed what people find attractive. Coming to terms with that has taken a long time and it’s not just me, like for a lot of the girls within the team also.
You recently came under fire for wearing bows and make-up on the pitch – can you tell us a little bit about that?
Georgia Evans: When I was in the World Cup just before the Canada game, I wore two big pink bows on the top of my hair, as I always do for every game. After that, a picture went around social media and there was just troll after troll after troll talking about what I looked like – my make-up, the bows in my hair – that I should focus more on the rugby. Horrid comments that were just really derogatory, putting me down for my appearance.
I made a statement about it afterwards, and oh my God, did I not realise how much it would blow up. People from across the world, saying I stand with G. At the next game against Fiji, you had all the stewards, all the young girls and boys wearing big pink bows. I don’t get emotional very often but I got off the bus and I just couldn’t stop myself from shedding tears.
The bow for me, represents my femininity, being in such a male-dominated sport and keeping that part of me shining. It’s all just about self-expression and being yourself on the pitch. No matter what, there’s always a space for you. Whether it’s in rugby, or any other sport.
How did the hate make you feel?
Georgia Evans: It was disappointment. Because Wales weren’t doing well, people were trying to find any reason to blame it on something, and it just came back to my appearance. But then, within minutes of me putting that post out I had to stop going on social media because it was just blowing up. I couldn’t quite get over the amount of messages: the love was incredible. To all the haters that say I can’t wear bows on the pitch, fuck you!
How was your coming out journey?
Georgia Evans: I had no idea I was gay until I had my first girlfriend, so it was a shock to everybody, including myself. Here I am ten years later! All the way through school I had boyfriends and I slept with boys. But when I started playing rugby, I got into my first lesbian relationship. I had some trouble when I came out with my family, but after that had settled and we were on good terms, I’ve always been happy and open about being a lesbian, and it’s something that I don’t hide.
Do you think being a femme presenting rugby player makes people underestimate you?
Georgia Evans: A lot of the time you get comments, ‘you play like a girl’. I don’t understand what playing like a girl means, because to me that means that I am doing something really cool, really strong. I’m being the best athlete that I can be.
I do get underestimated a lot because I’m girly and I’m wearing a big pink bow and I’m wearing make-up, and that does change how people look at me. If you watch the full 80 minutes of me playing, your opinion will quickly change. If the bow is what offends people, but it makes people watch, keep watching because I’m still going to be on at the 80th minute and you’ll see what I can do.
Advice for femme-presenting queer women?
Georgia Evans: It’s so important to be confident and happy as who you are. A lot of people think of gay women in one specific way, and I think it’s important that young girls growing up can see that you don’t have to fit into that box. There can be femme lesbians, and you can be however you express yourself.
I express myself the same way on and off the pitch: it’s part of who I am. My identity involves me wearing a big pink bow and making sure that my femininity stays at the forefront of everything I do in a male-dominated sport. If I can just show that one young girl that she doesn’t have to change who she is, whatever space she wants to fill. There’s always gonna be space for her.
