Racism’s impact on women athletes

I REALLY enjoyed the article written about the sex testing of South African runner Caster Semenya ("The idiocy of sex testing"). My only slight issue with the article was that more could have been written about the racial dynamics of the gender inquiries of Black women athletes in particular.

While the authors quoted an Olympics officials suggesting that Black women athletes were "hermaphrodites," the balance of the article focused on the issue of gender. Clearly, gender is a central issue at stake in the "gender testing" of Semenya, but that she is being singled out is also deeply connected to the reality that she is a Black woman as well.

It is often the case that elite Black male and female athletes are lauded for their "athleticism" while much less attention is paid to their mental capacity for the strategic elements of sports.

This is why historically there were and continue to be fewer Black quarterbacks in football--Black players are just not smart enough to play what is considered to be one of the toughest position in all sports. Michael Jordan used to bristle at the constant accolades for his ability to "fly" through the air and to acrobatically contort his body in mid-air, while failing to mention the thousands of hours of practice that went into his "miraculous" athletic abilities.

But when it comes to Black women, the questioning of gender is connected to a long social history that has questioned Black women's femininity. Whereas, historically, concepts of "white womanhood" or "white femininity" were ideologically constructed to cement a sexist order in society--one in which white women were conceived of as homemakers and mothers, and whose physical attributes were elevated as universal standards of beauty.

To be sure, most white women did not fit into this category, but Black women were excluded completely. From the earliest days of slavery throughout the Western hemisphere, Black women were expected to work and perform hard labor--a role that some white women as indentured servants in the 17th century endured, but over time were increasingly excluded from outside of the home. Black women's lack of a feminine identity meant that Black women worked as field labor, and were beaten and killed as field labor as well.

What distinguished Black women's experience as slaves was their endurance of field labor in day, housework in the evening, and their vulnerability to be raped. Thus, racism and sexism in the lives of Black women are deeply entangled.

Because of the toil Black women historically have been forced to engage in because of racism that both limited the income of Black men and made it socially unacceptable for Black women to work in the home exclusively, the questioning of Black womanhood and Black femininity persisted into the 20th century.

In the world of sports, these gender questions have overlapped with Black women athletes, leading to particular questions about their physiques, femininity and proximity to masculinity intended to diminish the work and sacrifice that lead to excellence in athletics. Black women's success in sports, as is often the case with Black men as well, is naturalized and seen as animal-like while white athletes are often praised for dedication and work ethic.

Caster Semenya is just the latest victim of this racism. In this country, Serena and Venus Williams, who mutually dominate the world of women's tennis, have consistently been mocked, belittled and questioned about their dominance in their sport. Recently, the Australian Open--a Grand Slam tennis tournament--listed the 10 most beautiful women's tennis players at the tournament and failed to list either sister. Instead, the list was a who's who of failed European players.

A popular Chicago radio station referred to the Williams sisters as "booty and the beast" to underline the contempt and hostility directed toward the physically fit and muscular tennis players. While Martina Navratilova may have been denied commercial endorsements for her muscular physique--and probably her homosexuality more importantly--the Williams sisters are dehumanized and degraded because of their race and gender.

Black womanhood is constantly impacted and reshaped by racism in the United States and throughout the West. Think about the last time you read about a first lady's contoured arms, the way we have been assaulted with stories like this about Michelle Obama. It is part admiration for her physical fitness, but have no doubt--it is also part spectacle and intrigue in this Black woman's body that seems "other" and different from the "norm." In the West, there is no gender without race.
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Chicago