Ilona Maher has been on my mind for years. During the 2021 post-pandemic paralysis, I became smitten with her while sitting on my couch in my Lincoln, Nebraska apartment just before Christmas. I had a spiked Diet Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite in hand and my husband had tested positive for Covid-19. Quarantine blues were strong so naturally, I was glued to my TikTok FYP where Disney’s Encanto was trending and someone had likened Ilona Maher to a real-life Luisa Madrigal.
Soon I was typing her name into the search bar. Even in 2021, Ilona Maher was the purest form of an icon, a rugby center with a growing platform of positive messaging. Skip to the summer of 2024, she dons a bronze medal and is soaking up the French rays and the Olympic limelight.
In her interview above with Seth Meyers, Maher waltzes across the stage in a sleek black jumpsuit, a whispy black scarf and golden hoops, a big smile, and her iconic red lip. If you know anything about this Olympian, you know her red lip is a staple of her branding, something she equates to confidence and a feminist statement.
There’s a lot to respect about Maher, but her token ability to converse with anyone about anything, well, it’s the reason we all stick around and continue to follow her along on social media. So, stand aside Sanda Bullock, we’ve found a new Miss Congeniality.
Her talent on the rugby field and her personability only touch the surface of her potential. Ilona Maher has spent years developing positive body imaging as a cornerstone of her platform. She doesn’t run from unattainable beauty standards, she squares up to them.
She claps back at those who comment on her body with the best of her humor, sending the message that her body has a place in our society and that women don’t have to take the comments that come with the territory of simply having a female body. She challenges the notion of “taking the high road” because why should women remain quiet when we want to scream? Why take the high road rather than take the opportunity to teach others what is appropriate and what is not?
I know I’m about to sound preachy here so sit tight. We cannot control the comments of others, but we can control how we react to them. However, know that our reactions don’t have to be demure. They’re allowed to be in their purest form and this is what Ilona Maher has mastered.
By turning the tables and serving a reaction that empowers and humors us, she reminds us what we should focus on, which is how we view ourselves, not how others view us.
Back in the day, to have complete peace with one’s body image is a trait I would have thought to be akin to a unicorn, a creature living in a world where marketers don’t push Photoshop like drugs and where the male gaze doesn’t dominate our psyche or our safety. I would have thought you’d have to sell your soul or your kidneys on the black market to feel a little less self-conscious. And we practically do. Think of the amount we spend as women toward our appearance.
Don’t get me wrong. I love a pamper sesh, a four-hour hair appointment, overpriced eyebrow waxing, and endless scrolling through Sephora’s website. Give me the lip and hair gloss, give me the bleach until I’m up to my neck in purple shampoo. These things boost my confidence.
And that’s just it. Ilona Maher capitalizes on the fact that women enjoy these things. Her signature red lip says enough. But just because a woman wears makeup doesn't mean it’s for anyone else but herself. You can tackle someone in the grass and look hot while doing it. A simple bit of pigment can go a long way as a symbol of feminism, she’s made that clear.
Ilona Maher is womanhood in its rightful power, a role model that shows us we can be red-lipped and strong as long as it’s authentic to ourselves and the energy we want to put out there.
After Paris, Ilona Maher has since locked down a place on the next season of Dancing with the Stars and endorsements with L’Oréal Cosmetics, Secret Deodorant, and Brooks Running. These partnerships are well deserved and no doubt the start of more to come from this bronze medalist. Do I see an Ilona Maher lipstick shade in the future? I think yes.
WHAT’S NEXT: What’s happening in the SLIGHTLY SOUR Universe?
Fiction Pairs Well with Feminine Rage (FPWWFR- yes I know it’s a long acronym): Our first-ever book club pick has been chosen! The October pick is finalized and in true fall fashion, we will be reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley! Get your copy now or be doomed to read the dry CliffsNotes!
New season of Selling Sunset (Season 8) releases TODAY, September 6th, on Netflix. Expect me to discuss this to death. Will I love or hate Chrishelle this season? Only time will tell. (See the trailer here)
Much anticipated Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases TODAY, September 6th, in theatres. Yes to Michael Keaton. Yes to Winona Ryder. Yes to Jenna Ortega, the new-age scream queen. (See the trailer here)
Who is still on repeat with Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet release? Another Jenna Ortega project. Death Becomes Her and Juno references. As much as I act like I’m not a pop girly, I am only lying to myself. If you haven’t watched the ‘Taste” music video, here it is, and you’re welcome. It is now your entire personality.
Time to queue up Noah Kahan’s Stick Season and Phoebe Bridgers’s Stranger in the Alps. Fall is a state of mind, forget the calendar.
That’s it for this week!
Toodle-oo, Kat