Issues and Arguments Analysis
Black women in sports have faced the uphill climb of various forms of discrimination, this is no secret. They take on battles of sexism and misogyny, while also tackling racism and prejudice towards their skin colors. While these women face the brunt of the negativities in the world of sports, they have overcome these various challenges with grace and power. Female athletes such as Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Wilma Rudolph, and other famous black female athletes paved and continue to pave the way for women like them to thrive in the world of sports. But that does not mean that this comes without a cost. The pressure on these athletes builds up as they face the hardships our society brings upon them, while another battle forms through their rise in fame; responsibility.
Women in the spotlight often feel the responsibility of representing others in a positive way. They feel expected to speak on issues of feminism, equality, and more. While black female athletes relate to these expectations as well, they also feel the need to represent women of color that face the discrimination they do. This brings up the question of whether or not they have a responsibility to do so. Do black female athletes have an obligation to act as representatives and advocate for their black female community?
Serena Williams has become a star in a sport that was not only unwelcoming to women at first, but that was not inclusive of black people for a while either. The first women’s Olympic tennis match was not held until 1900 while the first black women to play in a U.S. national tennis competition did not occur until 1950. While Williams, like any person, struggles with her own insecurities, she never fails to support the black female community. When discussing the societal responsibility placed on her she claims, “‘I embrace it and I love that I have an opportunity to do it because a lot of people don’t. And I don’t have to be anyone different, ’cause this is me. And it really fits well with me’” (Herman). Williams also uses storytelling as a form of taking over the narrative of a black woman. She finds herself telling stories of the lack of care she received as a mother in labor, not to gain pity, but to take control over her personal narrative. In “The Embodied Maternal Rhetorics of Serena Williams”, the author Jennifer L. Borda examines the ways in which Serena Williams uses rhetorical strategies and her status to change the narrative behind maternal bodies, specifically to change the white normative model of motherhood. The author explains the three rhetorical strategies used by the famous athlete; maternal vulnerability, maternal ambivalence, and maternal empowerment, to change the narrative norm behind motherhood. Serena uses her platform and status as a black celebrity and a working mother, along with her personal experience to advocate for better understanding of maternal bodies, better healthcare for expecting mothers and black mothers specifically, and for social changes around the ways mothers and black mothers are treated.
Female athletes, like Serena Williams, take on the role of activists because they want to and because they can. Not every black female is allowed a platform they can use to shape the society around them, therefore when they create one for themselves, they take advantage of their ability to change the narrative around their race and gender. In an interview with Stacey Abrahms, a board member of the WNBA, Abrahms states how black female athletes in the WNBA use their platforms to speak out against injustice done to women in their community. “They are using the WNBA’s platform to take a stand in a way Black women are not often allowed to in this country” (Kleen). These women are not just handed athletic platforms, they work hard and diligently to create a name for themselves that can be used in society as a pressin factor towards equal rights for black females everywhere.
We see black athletes standing up for their community in all sectors, within all sports. From Colin Kapernick to Lebron James, the support black athletes have for their community is evident. However, black female athletes face racial discrimination, sexism, and more. As women of color in a male dominant space, they find themselves advocating for both their black community and women of color everywhere.
Works Cited
Herman, Lily. “7 Reasons Serena Williams Is a Rockstar on and off the Court.” Teen Vogue, Teen Vogue, 26 Aug. 2016, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/7-ways-serena-williams-is-role-model.
Jennifer L. Borda (2021): The embodied maternal rhetorics of Serena Williams,
Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14791420.2021.1905167
Kleen, Brendon. “Stacey Abrams Q&A: On the Power of Black Female Athletes, Her Role on WNBPA Board of Advocates.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Aug. 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brendonkleen/2020/07/31/stacey-abrams-power-black-female-athletes-wnba-wnbpa-board-advocates/?sh=24463d2632e0.
