Within the few previous centuries, major strides had been made to better, if not attempt to entirely eliminate the oppression that exists between the sexes and the races. Politically, socially and economically, the two most historically disadvantaged demographics (women and black individuals of African descent) have had tremendous achievements in attempting to become completely equal to their white male counterparts. The sports world, particularly, reflects said changes, with both women and blacks being able to compete in the Olympics for the first time in 1900 and more momentous strides being made in the years onward. The sport of tennis, tracing as far back as the twelfth to thirteenth century , has long been seen as an athletic activity
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With commentators and committee members likening their appearance to that of a male, the societal expectations that have come to exist for a woman’s body become glaringly apparent. With “culture still widely advertising domestic conceptions of feminity, the ideological mooring for a rigorously dualistic sexual division of labor…require that women learn to feed others, not the self,” with the obvious differences between what women are meant to look like in today’s society as opposed to the muscular strength exhibited by the tennis player, they fail to fit the mold that has been created. Athletically speaking, the players being likened to men comes from the overarching belief that men are meant to be physically stronger, “similar in size and shape and different from all women” . Their potential to be physically stronger than a man creates a rift in the precedents already set in the world of both athletics and general physical appearance. Paired with “competitive sports hav[ing had] become, for boys and men, as players… a way of constructing a masculine identity ,” the two women find themselves target of criticism by perpetrating the male goal of superior athletic prowess and muscular …show more content…
Although these traits are applicable to all races, black women in particular have come to be associated with them. With female sexuality having been heavily associated with “to the image of the buttocks,” black women have been subjected to the stereotype of being overly sexual. Similarly to how Sarah Bartmann was observed for her backside and breasts, “this association of sexuality with Black women helps create ideas about racial difference ”. The assumption and developed cultural belief that black women are overly sexual has created the opportunity for the two tennis women to be parodied due to their celebrity status. By positioning them against the norm that has been deemed as the body of a white woman , such as that of competitor Maria Sharapova, their differences become glaring. The Williams’s bodies fit the hyper sexualized characteristics that are perpetuated by society in which black women with large butts and breasts exhibit them. Their race, combined with their muscular bodies, place them far from the norm of what women, especially those in a predominantly Caucasian sport, are meant to look like. With the gravity of the differences, their appearances are critiqued, belittling the success that they have achieved and barring them from profiting in the same manner that their white counterparts that fit the
With commentators and committee members likening their appearance to that of a male, the societal expectations that have come to exist for a woman’s body become glaringly apparent. With “culture still widely advertising domestic conceptions of feminity, the ideological mooring for a rigorously dualistic sexual division of labor…require that women learn to feed others, not the self,” with the obvious differences between what women are meant to look like in today’s society as opposed to the muscular strength exhibited by the tennis player, they fail to fit the mold that has been created. Athletically speaking, the players being likened to men comes from the overarching belief that men are meant to be physically stronger, “similar in size and shape and different from all women” . Their potential to be physically stronger than a man creates a rift in the precedents already set in the world of both athletics and general physical appearance. Paired with “competitive sports hav[ing had] become, for boys and men, as players… a way of constructing a masculine identity ,” the two women find themselves target of criticism by perpetrating the male goal of superior athletic prowess and muscular …show more content…
Although these traits are applicable to all races, black women in particular have come to be associated with them. With female sexuality having been heavily associated with “to the image of the buttocks,” black women have been subjected to the stereotype of being overly sexual. Similarly to how Sarah Bartmann was observed for her backside and breasts, “this association of sexuality with Black women helps create ideas about racial difference ”. The assumption and developed cultural belief that black women are overly sexual has created the opportunity for the two tennis women to be parodied due to their celebrity status. By positioning them against the norm that has been deemed as the body of a white woman , such as that of competitor Maria Sharapova, their differences become glaring. The Williams’s bodies fit the hyper sexualized characteristics that are perpetuated by society in which black women with large butts and breasts exhibit them. Their race, combined with their muscular bodies, place them far from the norm of what women, especially those in a predominantly Caucasian sport, are meant to look like. With the gravity of the differences, their appearances are critiqued, belittling the success that they have achieved and barring them from profiting in the same manner that their white counterparts that fit the