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| Amazing Serena |
After
winning last week at Wimbledon, Serena was subjected once again to
disrespectful remarks. The worst were on social media like Twitter where it’s
easy to lob hate bombs. I’m talking vulgar stuff. It showed up in mainstream
media too, though the rhetoric was more carefully worded.
Most
comments were centered on Serena’s race to be sure (she’s African American),
but also her gender and body type. Hecklers and haters launched scores of
taunts, barbs and criticisms. Instead of celebrating her exceptional
physicality, there were references about her, “Looking like a man” and “Playing
like a man.”
Sportswriter
Ben Rothenberg’s recent New York Times article, “Tennis’s Top Women Balance
Body Image With Ambition” is telling, for a lot of reasons. In it, he attempts
to examine the topic of body image in the context of women’s professional
tennis. Unfortunately, the piece misfires. Instead it quickly devolves into a
not so subtle reinforcement of the same tired sexist narrative that ultimately
results in oppressive judgment of how women’s bodies should look.
Perhaps
the most glaring example of this in the story is embodied by this passage: “’It’s
our decision to keep her as the smallest player in the top 10,’ said Tomasz
Wiktorowski, coach for tennis player Agnieszka Radwanska. ‘Because, first of
all she’s a woman, and she wants to be a woman.’”
“…she wants to be a woman.”
This
seems to infer that women who have or want to possess powerful, athletic bodies
do not want or cannot be women. Sickening.
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| Caster Semenya -- all woman |
Take
the woeful case of South African track star Caster Semenya. She made headlines around
the world in 2009 when it was discovered she was coerced into undergoing gender
tests before winning the 800 meters world title as an 18-year-old. Her crime?
Being fast and not having “the right kind of look and body” for a woman. The
media-fueled controversy nearly cost Semenya her career and forced her to sit
out of competition for nearly a year.
The
Sports Illustrated “Swimsuit Issue” hasn’t helped matters over the years either.
Launched in 1964, the annual pictorial of female swimsuit models is a mainstay
of the publication, though not without criticism from several quarters. Among
them conservative subscribers, sports purists, parents and feminists. The
portrayal of women as thin waifs in that sports magazine over the years has
done much to narrow the perception of what constitutes an “acceptable” female
athlete’s body.
In
2009, ESPN The Magazine launched its own annual “The Body Issue”. In it are pictorials
of both male and female athletes that depict more diverse portrayals of the
human body. Ironically, the best-selling version of the six debut covers was of,
you guessed it, Serena Williams.
At
the root of this identity mayhem is a complex tapestry of issues that span sexism,
homophobia and racism. The consequences of this plays out on and off the court.
It
comes as no surprise that as many product endorsements as Serena gets, Russian
tennis player Maria Sharapova (tall, slim, white and blond) gets twice as many. According to one report, Sharapova
received almost $22 million in endorsements last year. Compare that to $12
million for Serena. This despite Serena winning 21 Grand Slam titles versus
four for Sharapova.
Taking
swipes at natural body types that don’t conform to media, fashion and modern
cultural standards is injurious – psychologically, mentally and even
physically. Instead of divisive shaming, let’s instead embrace and celebrate the
vast diversity of what constitutes an athletic body.
Follow J.R. on Twitter @4humansbeing or
contact him at 4humansbeing@gmail.com.
You nailed this, JR!
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