Sophie Cunningham did not flinch when the subject of her status as a sex symbol came up.

Instead, she embraced the description with confidence, humor, and a blunt defense of women who want to look feminine while competing fiercely on the basketball court.

The moment unfolded during a recent interview with sports talk show host Colin Cowherd.

As Cowherd cautiously approached the topic of Cunningham's appeal, she encouraged him to stop hesitating and simply say what he meant.

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"You are kind of viewed as the league's … ummm," Cowherd began as he looked around the room for help. He eventually completed the thought with two words: "Sex symbol."

Cunningham appeared relieved by his answer and immediately responded with a joke.

"That is way better. I thought you were gonna go somewhere completely different," she quipped.

Her answer did not stop there, because Cunningham went on to explain why she is comfortable leaning into a feminine public image.

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She described dressing up, wearing dresses, and choosing high heels as interests she has had since childhood.

"For me, the reason why I really lean into that is, first of all, I've always been super girly. Since a little girl, I've always loved to dress up. I love dresses. I love high heels. I love all of that," Cunningham explained.

She then rejected the notion that a woman who plays basketball cannot also present herself in a traditionally feminine way.

Cunningham argued that nobody has directly stated such a rule, but she believes there is still a feeling that women cannot fully embrace both sides.

"For some reason, our society, if you play basketball, you can't dress that way, or you can't be girly. No one's ever said it, but it's like, they kind of feel that you can't be both. Screw all that," Cunningham declared.

"Yes, you can. You can be girly, and you can go out and kick someone's a**."

Cowherd highlighted the contrast between Cunningham's polished arena entrances and her confrontational approach during competition.

"You're tough. You'll fight anybody. You'll taunt anybody," Cowherd said. "But you'll make sure coming into the arena, 'I look good and I want you to know I look good.'"

Cunningham also made clear that her point was not limited to women who dress like she does.

"You can go and dress a little more masculine and go out there and still kick a**," she added.

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Her profile has grown since she was traded to the Indiana Fever with the stated purpose of serving as Caitlin Clark's enforcer.

That reputation received another boost following an incident involving Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon during a game last season.

Sheldon poked Clark in the eye, after which teammate Marina Mabrey slammed Clark to the floor.

Cunningham later delivered a hard foul on Sheldon in retaliation, a move that resulted in Cunningham being ejected from the game.

This year, Cunningham generated another viral moment during an altercation with DeWanna Bonner.

Her persistent finger pointing throughout a 22-second staredown visibly got under Bonner's skin and quickly became one of the league's most widely memed sequences.

That confrontation began after a scramble in which Clark was throat-punched by Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas.

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Cunningham's reaction once again reinforced the combative role that has helped make her increasingly recognizable to sports fans.

Cunningham has also drawn controversy for comments concerning women and girls in sports and locker rooms.

"I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men," she said.

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Now, her declaration that women can be feminine, attractive, and physically imposing has supplied another likely flashpoint.

Cunningham is not retreating from the sex symbol label, and she is just as unwilling to accept the idea that being girly somehow conflicts with toughness on the court.