Serena Williams Crying?!

Reading this article about Serena reminded me of a few topics we discussed in class. First and foremost, women athletes have to be strong, powerful, and fierce in order to be considered good athletes. However, as we have discussed in class, this has to happen without women athletes losing sight of their femininity. The article I read on foxsports gives Serena credit for being fierce, but also puts her down for “bullying,” because she does not give credit to her opponents when they beat her or because she threatens judges. If Serena were a male athlete, bullying would not be considered a bad thing; it would simply be expected as a male athlete and probably praised and shown as a huge strength. Secondly, we expect women athletes to have a feminine side that keeps them from being labeled lesbian. This article speaks of Serena crying over the loss of the French Open and the author states “Williams returned to Wimbledon from injury, won a match and then broke down in tears afterward. That was actually a beautiful thing to see, a soft side. Williams is complex and human, and it all works together for her beautifully.” However the author ends the article by stating that Serena’s tears were not because of anger or joy, but a sign of weakness. If it were a male athlete, he would probably be praised for crying because of his passion for the sport. It seems like women athletes are stuck, if they are powerful and strong they are labeled lesbians and if they cry and show emotion they are labeled weak. It is impossible for women athletes to satisfy the public and it is unfair that they are put through so much scrutiny and compared to men on a day-to-day basis. We need to accept that all athletes are humans and that their behavior is not necessarily a definition of what they represent. Just like we stated in class, it might be best if we start seeing women sports as women sports and male sports as male sports, it might be the best thing to allow women athletes to be who they really are instead of having to pose as strong all the time in order to be valued as athletes. Diana Gonzalez KIN 577 LT22 http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/Serena-Williams-shows-different-side-in-French-Open-loss-to-Virginie-Razzano-052912