(Photo Credit: Time Magazine)
THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF FEMININITY:
HOW TO BE A WOMAN IN TENNIS...
THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF FEMININITY:
HOW TO BE A WOMAN IN TENNIS...
“I am Serena… But can everybody be me?”
In this argumentative piece, Haoming Tang demonstrates three barriers for female tennis players that reinforce existing societal gendered perceptions of women and prevent them from achieving success and self-actualization: Institutionalization of the rules of tennis, players’ internalizations of gender roles, as well as athletes’ intersectionality such as race and sexuality.
Serena Williams, in this year’s US Open final, completely lost her temper after umpire Carlos Ramos penalized her by taking a point from her. She abruptly threw her racquet on the ground, trampled it underfoot repeatedly with rage, ran back and forth screaming for fairness from God, and left the entire audience, including her opponent Naomi Osaka, completely dumbfounded. She went on a nonstop rant, where she glowered at Ramos and accused him of being a “thief” and “liar”. Near the end of her tirade, she pointed and yelled at him again: “There are men out here that do a lot worse and because I’m a woman you’re going to take this away from me. That is not right. And you know it and I know you can’t admit, but I know you know that is not right”. She wanted to drag him off the umpire seat, grab him by the collar, and give him a good slap. She was subsequently penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in her loss. After the match, Williams was unable to calm down at all during the press conference, where she lashed out at Ramos again: “He’s never taken from a man because he’s said thief”. Williams was manifestly exasperated with the differential treatments between men and women.
Instantly, the entire drama rekindles discussions as to how women are treated in tennis and how behaviors are deeply gendered in people’s minds. The Williams incident only scratches the surface of issues in women’s tennis. In fact, responses to incidents like Williams’ outbursts within the audience are reflective of, and even reinforcing prevailing societal trends of gendered perceptions. These responses are perpetuated by the presence of femininity and masculinity policing, where the vicious cycle is enforced by the institutionalization of rules of tennis and players’ internalization of gendered roles. Athletes’ intersectionality, such as race and sexuality, also invites discussions due to the additional layer it adds to the definition of feminine identities.
The well-established institution of tennis can be observed in numerous major tournaments, including Wimbledon, one of the largest tournament with its rich history. However, it is indeed the decorum and traditions of these major tournaments that act as primary reinforcers for certain gendered perceptions. At Wimbledon, all players, male or female, are required to wear white garments from the top to the bottom, and only a slight trim of color is allowed. Players bow to the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and people who are fortunate enough to be invited to sit in the Royal Box are required to dress formally. If some of these codes are still interpreted as a celebration of the rich history of tennis, some rules are obviously anachronisms. In this year’s US Open, Alize Cornet, a top player from France, after a short break off court, discovered her shirt was backward and removed her top briefly on court to change it to the right side. However, the umpire noticed it and handed her an astounding code violation for what she did. On the other hand, male players never experience such incidents. Judy Murray, the mother of the two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, acutely observed that only the Women Tennis Association (WTA) has such regulations prohibiting female players to change their outfit, but male players are free to change their shirts and shoes without any sort of penalty under the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), men’s equivalent of WTA. Manifestly, there is still this perception in the tennis community that etiquettes apply differently to different genders. These etiquettes are enforced by the institutional rules as well as by players, coaches and spectators who simply comply with the codes.
Read the full piece here.
Serena Williams, in this year’s US Open final, completely lost her temper after umpire Carlos Ramos penalized her by taking a point from her. She abruptly threw her racquet on the ground, trampled it underfoot repeatedly with rage, ran back and forth screaming for fairness from God, and left the entire audience, including her opponent Naomi Osaka, completely dumbfounded. She went on a nonstop rant, where she glowered at Ramos and accused him of being a “thief” and “liar”. Near the end of her tirade, she pointed and yelled at him again: “There are men out here that do a lot worse and because I’m a woman you’re going to take this away from me. That is not right. And you know it and I know you can’t admit, but I know you know that is not right”. She wanted to drag him off the umpire seat, grab him by the collar, and give him a good slap. She was subsequently penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in her loss. After the match, Williams was unable to calm down at all during the press conference, where she lashed out at Ramos again: “He’s never taken from a man because he’s said thief”. Williams was manifestly exasperated with the differential treatments between men and women.
Instantly, the entire drama rekindles discussions as to how women are treated in tennis and how behaviors are deeply gendered in people’s minds. The Williams incident only scratches the surface of issues in women’s tennis. In fact, responses to incidents like Williams’ outbursts within the audience are reflective of, and even reinforcing prevailing societal trends of gendered perceptions. These responses are perpetuated by the presence of femininity and masculinity policing, where the vicious cycle is enforced by the institutionalization of rules of tennis and players’ internalization of gendered roles. Athletes’ intersectionality, such as race and sexuality, also invites discussions due to the additional layer it adds to the definition of feminine identities.
The well-established institution of tennis can be observed in numerous major tournaments, including Wimbledon, one of the largest tournament with its rich history. However, it is indeed the decorum and traditions of these major tournaments that act as primary reinforcers for certain gendered perceptions. At Wimbledon, all players, male or female, are required to wear white garments from the top to the bottom, and only a slight trim of color is allowed. Players bow to the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and people who are fortunate enough to be invited to sit in the Royal Box are required to dress formally. If some of these codes are still interpreted as a celebration of the rich history of tennis, some rules are obviously anachronisms. In this year’s US Open, Alize Cornet, a top player from France, after a short break off court, discovered her shirt was backward and removed her top briefly on court to change it to the right side. However, the umpire noticed it and handed her an astounding code violation for what she did. On the other hand, male players never experience such incidents. Judy Murray, the mother of the two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, acutely observed that only the Women Tennis Association (WTA) has such regulations prohibiting female players to change their outfit, but male players are free to change their shirts and shoes without any sort of penalty under the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), men’s equivalent of WTA. Manifestly, there is still this perception in the tennis community that etiquettes apply differently to different genders. These etiquettes are enforced by the institutional rules as well as by players, coaches and spectators who simply comply with the codes.
Read the full piece here.