The Double Standard Of The 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

On October 15th, 2025, Victoria’s Secret revived itself with a jaw dropping fashion show. Models strutted the runway, carrying angel wings on their backs that glistened with sparkles. Following the broadcast of the show, one historical moment remains the hottest topic of discussion—WNBA icon Angel Reese became the first professional athlete to walk in a Victoria Secret fashion show. Even though two-time Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee walked in the show as well, her name was left out of this discussion. Angel Reese’s name devoured media outlets for weeks after the show occurred—but I found out that Suni Lee walked the show through her personal social media. Is this an issue of a double standard that we have overlooked as consumers of the media and sports? 

Since women and people of color have been integrated into the sports industry, there has been a longstanding double standard between them and their white counterparts. Amid the 20th century, black athletes were not perceived as athletically superior like they are considered now. “This was the era of deeply racist pseudoscience. The attitude was not only that blacks were mentally inferior to whites, but also that they were physically inferior to whites. Blacks were cast as too lazy and too undisciplined ever to be taken seriously as athletes.” (Zirin, 2005). Currently, black women dominate the WNBA—but even so—they receive less media coverage than their white counterparts. In addition to this, they are taken less seriously and unreasonably compared to their fellow white athletes. Angel Reese has faced some of the largest amount of backlash as an African-American athlete—the outdated perception of black athletes comes into play as sports fan critique Angel Reese for being loud mouthed on and off the court, and not comparing in performance to her white opponent, Caitlin Clark. “Most female athletes don’t want to be associated with lingerie shows. They prefer to be taken seriously as professional athletes. WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark would never be taken seriously as a pro athlete if she wore underwear on the Victoria’s Secret runway.” (Rose, 2025). The idea that Angel Reese is now taken less seriously as a professional athlete due to her appearance at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show is a wildly racist and sexist claim that would not be as true if Caitlin Clark was the one who walked the show instead. 

The race that receives the highest level of double standards and the least amount of media coverage in American sports are Asians. This is evident in the lack of media coverage surrounding Suni Lee’s runway debut at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. In an article published by CNN Style, the author covered Angel Reese’s historical moment on the Victoria Secret runway by stating, “Soccer player Megan Rapinoe and Olympic gold medal-winning skier Eileen Gu were among them, though Reese is, to date, the only sportsperson to walk the Victoria’s Secret runway.” (Holland and Philippe, 2025). Suni Lee’s name is not mentioned in the topic of joining Angel Reese as the first two professional athletes to walk the Victoria’s Secret runway. In another article, published by the Olympic organization themselves, their coverage excludes their own athlete from this discussion. “WNBA forward Angel Reese and Olympic gymnastic gold medallist Suni Lee joined the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York this week. Women's basketball star Reese became the first professional athlete ever chosen as a Victoria’s Secret “Angel.” (Imbo, 2025). Suni Lee’s name is mentioned but not regarded on the equal level as Angel Reese. This demonstrates the concept of a double standard that commonly occurs in the sports industry that relates to the indifference in race. As an athlete, your ancestral background determines the level of media coverage you can or cannot receive. For Suni Lee, an Asian-American athlete, her media coverage is incomparable to Angel Reese, an African-American athlete. 

Despite the progressive perceptions of non-white athletes and female athletes, these individuals still face resentment that reflects their race and gender. This is evident in the event of the recent Victoria’s Secret fashion show where although Angel Reese was critiqued for choosing to strut the runway in lingerie, she was also praised for being the first professional athlete to do so. However, this created a double standard for Suni Lee, another professional athlete who received little to no recognition for accomplishing the same thing. Setting these double standards creates a ripple effect of sexist and racist inequalities amongst athletes who should not be considered for their race or sex—but rather for their athletic and personal impacts. 

Sources:

Sandra Rose. October 16th, 2025. Angel Reese faces backlash for degrading ‘304 stroll’ at Victoria’s Secret runway show. SANDRAROSE. https://sandrarose.com/2025/10/angel-reese-faces-backlash-for-degrading-304-stroll-at-victorias-secret-runway-show/ 

Oscar Holland and Joyce Philippe. October 16th, 2025. Angel Reese becomes first pro athlete to star in Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. CNN Style. https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/style/angel-reese-victorias-secret-fashion-show 

Victoria’s Secret. October 15th, 2025. Live: Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2025. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/live/SdSSPF1S-Uc 

William Imbo. October 16th, 2025. Angel Reese and Suni Lee hit runway at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Olympics. https://www.olympics.com/en/news/angel-reese-suni-lee-victoria-secret-fashion 

Emily Tannenbaum. October 16th, 2025. Angel Reese and Suni Lee Shared a Full-Circle Moment at the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Glamour. https://www.glamour.com/story/angel-reese-suni-lee-2025-victorias-secret-fashion-show

David Zirin. 2008. A People’s History Of Sports In The United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play. The New Press.