General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIs this impersonation of Serena Williams racist
Joan Walsh was right to publish her book whats the matter with white people http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/serena-williams-impersonation-caroline-wozniacki-racist_n_2272395.html
Marinedem
(373 posts)No exactly sure how it is racism. If she was mocking Serena Williams' ass, I see that as more of a personal insult. To see this as racism, I think you would have to have some sort of preconceived notion that all black women are supposed to have large asses, which is in ittself, racist.
So no, I don't.
Flame suit on.
cabot
(724 posts)I think she's just imitating Serena's curvier aspects. Plus, Serena and Caroline are friends and Serena tweeted the day before how much trouble she was having in Brazil finding bikinis with the hashtag #bigbuttproblems. I think Caroline was responding to that. Also - not all black women have large breasts and a large bum and not all white women have flat chests and flat bums (believe me, I can attest to that fact).
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Take the piss.
Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)And does she wag her ass on the court? I don't watch tennis, so I don't know. I can see how it could be considered just plain old silly, but when you're lampooning the physical (read: sexual) attributes of any woman, and especially a black woman, you're on dangerous ground.
Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)I'm still not 100% certain that it's racist, but I'm white. I'll take my cue from black people, especially black women, as to whether it's definitely racist. They would have far more knowledge about that than I would.
jollyreaper2112
(1,941 posts)That's a whole lotta woman. Victoria's Secret can go pound sand.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)And she absolutely plays up the fact and dresses to accentuate what a goddamn awesome athletic body she has. She is not ashamed of her body, nor should she be.
I find it strange that people are actually talking about "stereotypes" like her body is a myth or a figment of imagination or something.
jollyreaper2112
(1,941 posts)What I object is to telling someone what they should or shouldn't look like. Are you built like a gazelle, perfect for a supermodel? Fine. More curvy like an Earth Mother? That's fine, too. Big breasts? Tiny breasts? You're fine with what nature gave you. Kinky hair, straight hair, red, black, blonde, just work to maximize what you have. Eat right, exercise, take care of yourself, you'll be fine.
Hell, far as men go, there will always be beanpoles that couldn't put on a pound of muscle if they tried and guys built like fireplugs. I could never get away with that 70's skinny jean look with a 28 inch waist. Then again, my legs are solid muscle. Still working off weight from around the middle. That's within my control. No use worrying about what isn't.
There are always going to be looks that turn my head, women who make my eyes widen, jaw go slack, and tip my hat in respect. But there's a difference between having appreciation and being a pig. When you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong and telling people what they should do, you're being a pig. Telling healthy women they're fat and need to lose weight? Tabloid crap? Ugh.
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)The bulbous butt thing is over the line.
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)Not even remotely...
antigone382
(3,682 posts)I could write a whole lot more on the history of such stereotypes but I just don't have time right now. The bottom line is that Ms. Williams did not ask to have her body scrutinized and mocked in this way, and I find this incredibly inappropriate.
bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)Britney Spears I think not
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Are you seriously claiming Britney Spears has never been mocked?
Being that this is a tennis match, I don't know how Britney Spears would fit into the scenario, but still....if you are implying that white women celebrities aren't mocked all the time, I really have to ask if you've been in a coma for some length of time?
bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Britney's looks personally I think she is an attractive young lady
marmar
(77,088 posts)...... and Wozniacki and Serena's relationship. The net effect is that it plays on racial stereotypes, but Wozniacki would be rather oblivious to that.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Britney Spears is a singer.
Serena Williams is a tennis player.
Caroline Wozniacki is a tennis player.
That's like saying Brett Farve shouldn't trash talk Michael Strahan, why doesn't he go make fun of Mick Jagger instead?
RadiationTherapy
(5,818 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)I don't know, other than conjuring up the image of Hottentot Venus; but Wozniacki, how many Grandslams have you won. Maybe you should pay more attention to your ground-game and less attention to getting attention.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Now that's racist.
Marinedem
(373 posts)We're busy pointing out what a racist the white woman is.
antigone382
(3,682 posts)Oh right, it gives privileged assholes a chance to screech about "reverse racism."
*Quite* frankly, I'm glad such folks are not *quiet.* It's better for their idiotic grasping at false equivalencies to be exposed.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)It's not about being "inappropriate", is it?
Calling another player (as her father Richard Williams did) "an ugly white turkey" is most certainly racist, sexist, and most certainly "incredibly inappropriate".
antigone382
(3,682 posts)I did not hear about, read about, or see a video about that situation. I don't have the time to go look it up. I'm not commenting on it. This act has nothing to do with Serena's father. It has only to do with Serena. She may be good friends with this tennis player and it may be fine between the two of them. I don't know. But if that is not the case, if she is offended by this portrayal, what her father or her sister might have done at some point in the past has no bearing on how she feels about this situation. She is not her father or her sister. She is herself.
Marinedem
(373 posts)I misspelled a word! ON THE INTERNET!
I guess I better take my ball and go home now...
marmar
(77,088 posts)..... please get the facts straight.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Still racist, do you agree?
antigone382
(3,682 posts)Serena is not her sister, nor is she her father.
marmar
(77,088 posts)But I also think that what Wozniacki did played on racial stereotypes, even though I don't think it was her intent.
bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)marmar
(77,088 posts)nt
antigone382
(3,682 posts)I'm glad his stupid choices don't impinge on my right to be pissed when someone else is nasty to me.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Do we?
antigone382
(3,682 posts)So why bring it up?
bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)Under value underestimate and marginalize of black people
bluestate10
(10,942 posts)match wipe out?
Marinedem
(373 posts)I never realized what a racist POS Sir. Mixalot was. And sexist too!
yawnmaster
(2,812 posts)not at Serena's race.
so no, I don't believe it is racist, especially when taken in context.
msongs
(67,436 posts)thelordofhell
(4,569 posts)GoneOffShore
(17,340 posts)"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." - Sigmund Freud
TlalocW
(15,389 posts)If they're friends, this could be seen as tweaking them as an individual. Maybe at a televised game wasn't the best choice of venues.
For instance, I, a honky, was good friends with my grad school's Hispanic Student Services Coordinator and did a lot of work with him and the organizations he advised because of my interest in Hispanic/Latin culture. One time, while chatting in his office, a student came in and said there were some people walking around campus dressed in large sombreros and panchos. He went out to investigate while I went to class. They were thinking this was some sort of frat hazing, but they found out it was 3 guys from a Christian group advertising a talk about, "The Three Amigos - Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost." If it had been hazing, my friend probably would have raised a small stink about it, but these guys got a small lecture on making sure they were being respectful of the culture while doing what they were doing. Later that night, however, I went over to his house for dinner dressed in a large sombrero, Mexican blanket, etc. When he answered the door, I asked (heavily accented), "Did chu catch those pendejos making fun of la Raza?" And I did that knowing that we got each others' senses of humor, and I was tweaking him. He cracked up over it. But someone seeing that from, "the outside," could very misconstrue what was going on.
So short story long, it depends.
TlalocW
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)Has Serena made any statement along those lines?
From the other posts in this thread, it appears the 2 women are friends. If SW is offended, then I'm quite sure she will take it up with CW.
Pacafishmate
(249 posts)U4ikLefty
(4,012 posts)ecstatic
(32,727 posts)joke about another woman's body, no matter how confident she is or should be. We all have our insecurities and a true friend wouldn't do that.
However, Serena has a body that many women would love to have. Google butt lift, butt injections, or breast implants.