The Venus’ Rise to Fame (introduction)
Venus Williams is arguably the greatest African-American tennis player in the history of the game. Winning 17 singles titles in the Southern California 10 and under championships, she was featured on the front page of the entire paper of The New York Times. At age 10, she was described as “the most hotly pursued preteen in U.S. tennis history”. However, the sudden rise of Venus to prominence was surrounded with gender equality and racial associations. Despite all that, Venus was the centre of attention for the media during her prime. Sports Illustrated called her, “a brilliant new talent – witty, intelligent and charismatic – a streetwise child of gang-plagued Compton, who could be the Tiger Woods of tennis”. Venus was a “Party Crasher” and she was definitely a tennis prodigy.
Being heavily criticized for her physical appearances, Venus still appeared bold and strong in all her matches. Venus, who was well known by her beaded hair, was the talk of the town for not conforming to the typical societal roles of women. Being more masculine than any other sports women made her more athletically talented and an advantage in the sport of tennis.
Literature Review
Oxford dictionary defines discrimination as “the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex”. Discrimination can also be defined as treating someone differently and/or unfairly, setting barriers and denying them rights as they are different from the majority. Discrimination of skin colour is widely known as racism and against gender is known as sexism. Gender discrimination and racism are present in all societies worldwide and it is an issue in the sporting context a...
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...entful impact to send the message across the world that gender inequality is evident and it still exists in the sporting context.
Conclusion
Venus Williams have been one of the many sport celebrities that received a lot of media attention. Yet, amongst all these attention, she stood up strong in the face of adversity.
The success of Venus Williams in tennis has helped move American sport forward into a new era, with the hope in which that the athlete’s race would be little or no consequences no matter the sport. The rise of Venus Williams also helped reconstruct the public perception of female athletes also have equal accomplishments as to male athletes. During her prime, women’s tennis ratings on television regularly exceeded those of the men’s. Despite the trials that Venus Williams faced, she became a crusader for equality, especially in the sport of tennis.
...ennis, basketball, soccer, and martial arts—have come from the days of cheerleading and synchronized swimming when she was growing up in the ’70s.” Disparities in media coverage and over-sexualized female athletes on magazine covers is something that needs to come to an end because of its effects on both male and female viewers, young and old, athletes and non-athletes. Both female and male athletics influence young people and shape their personality and morals as they mature. Retired WNBA player, Lisa Leslie credits her participation in basketball with shaping her character, as well as her career. “Sports can also help teenagers during an awkward time in their development.” (“Women’s Athletics: A Battle For Respect”). The solution is to come together as a society and identify how to balance the respect for female and male athletes in the media.
The Williams Sisters: double trouble on the tennis court, Gabby Douglas: 2 times Olympic Gold Medalist, and Lolo Jones: a fierce Olympic competitor in hurdles and now bobsledding are all present day athletes that have captivated headlines with their accomplishments through sports. The Civil Rights Movement altered everyday life for all African Americans and soon other minorities in America. The movement also changed the world of sports for African American legends to come as well. Previous accomplishments of African Americans in sports propelled Althea Gibson to make her mark in history. Althea would change the world of sports, impact future athletes to come, and leave her mark in history. Her athletic greatness would not only be bestowed on the tennis court, but golfy would receive its fair share of Althea’s greatness as well. None of her accomplishments would have been made possible without the Civil Rights Movement that allowed African Americans to enter the world of sports.
Diana is an excellent illustration of the many struggles of women to find a place for themselves in sports. On an individual level, defying societal stereotypes is extremely difficult. The buriers that the first person must overcome are often extreme. However once the first person breaks down those buriers, it becomes increasingly easier for others to follow in their footsteps. Diana's struggle demonstrates both how far women have come and how far women still have to go.
United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young once said, “he took the burden of race and wore it as a cloak of dignity” (Bradley). A promising career as a tennis player, being the first African American tennis player to be ranked number one in the world, was paralleled with success in the battle for racial equality around the world (“Achievements”). People were touched and impacted, yet they only know him for his tennis accomplishments. He, Arthur Ashe, dedicated his life to helping others, as his life was goal was to help the poor, unfortunate, and misinformed (Carter). Arthur Ashe’s advanced coaching, competition, and acceptance into UCLA all led to his successful tennis career, including playing in the Davis Cup for the US and coaching the US Davis Cup after retirement, that enabled him to establish organizations, comfort minorities, and inspire others.
...more free to develop their game plans rather than their outfits before the match, but hopefully their sexuality will not be completely submerged by the game either. In an article entitled, "Absent Anna Has Sexy Impact," it was noted, "Serena Williams has no problems with Kournikova's beauty bringing a tennis boost even if the subject herself cannot take a title....The majority of the credit pretty much goes to the Williams sisters and Kournikova. Those three have really made the biggest difference in the amount of publicity, the amount of popularity in the sport." Hopefully, there will come a time in women's sports when all women will be recognized for their superior athleticism, and the unique sexuality of each individual female athlete will be appreciated for how it transforms, challenges, and redefines the social, political, and intellectual dimensions of sport.
Gender discrimination is prominent in every industry, but it is as though the sport industry is one of the worst. Women in the work force currently receive only 80 cents to every man’s dollar (Holmes, 2016). However, female athletes both in America and internationally receive a far lesser compensation for their attributes. The only difference of the sports being played is who plays them. There should be no reason why a male athlete receives better pay simply because he had a 50% chance of being born a man. At birth, no one controls the gender, but as they grow and mature, they control their personality and development. Payment should be on personal skills and not gender. As a female STHM student focusing on sport management and a former athlete,
Glamour and money are not the only components surrounding sports; many athletes experience what can be considered the dark side of sports. In the article The Meaning of Serena Williams by Claudia Rankine, some not so glamorous aspects of her life are highlighted. One of the most prominent rough parts of her life includes the racism that constantly surrounded her as an athlete. Whether it be the name calling and humiliation, or being paid less compared to a white woman, Serena has endured it all through her career; it is how she handles such cases that promotes her positive character.
A young African-American boy walks onto some rundown tennis courts at a local park with his father in Richmond, VA. Armed with an old wooden racket and a can of white tennis balls, his father begins to feed him some different shots and tells his son everything he knows about tennis. Being an African-American, this young boy did not have many friends that were as interested in tennis as he was. Since tennis is a predominantly white sport, Arthur Ashe’s desire to play was not encouraged by either race, but instead of giving up on the sport he loved, he continued playing to the dismay of many. Little did Ashe know, however, that his persistence would change the game forever. His efforts opened doors for many of the popular African-American tennis players, such as Serena and Venus Williams, MaliVai Washington, and Bryan Shelton. The class that he brought to the game of tennis and the bravery he showed by changing a sport dominated by whites made Arthur Ashe a legend in his own time.
It’s possible that Venus simply is not able to keep up, and that once she achieved the top spot, she is not capable of keeping it. One competitor in particular stands out, as she not only holds the No. 1 spot but is also Venus’ closest partner: her sister Serena. The two are unstoppable when playing doubles, but when it comes to singles, Serena has been at the top for years. It’s possible that Venus simply cannot keep up with her sister, and as a result she is suffering drawbacks to her professional career.
Women sports have come a long way, since the days when women were only allowed to watch. “The past three decades have witnessed a steady growth in women's sports programs in America along with a remarkable increase in the number of women athletes (Daniel Frankl 2)” From an early age women were thought to be “Lady Like”; they are told not to get all sweaty and dirty. Over 200 years later since Maud Watson stepped on the tennis courts of Wimbledon (Sports Media digest 3); women now compete in all types and levels of sports from softball to National racing. Soccer fans saw Mia Hamm become the face of Women’s soccer around the world , Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most popular figures in tennis, and Indy car racing had their first woman racer, Danika Patrick. With all the fame generated by these women in their respective sports, they still don’t receive the same compensation as the men in their respective sports fields. Venus Williams, net worth is 60 million dollars; 27 million came from playing tennis (celebritynetworth 4). Her sister, Serena Williams has a tennis...
The first perspective is that women are disadvantaged at any sport. Some people reiterate the difference of men and women in sports. This is influenced by strength and the natural power men hold, comparable to women. Rodriguez questions “Is this because female athletes don’t have what it takes to make it in the world of sports or could it be more of a social issue?” This perspective seems to be a social issue based on the notable skills women acquire vs. the apparent judgments of gender issues. The second perspective is the idea that women deserve and inherently earn their right of equal attention and equal pay. “Sometimes, the secret to equality is not positive discrimination, it 's equal terms. It 's the shrug of the shoulders that says "what 's the difference?" The moment worth aspiring for is not seeing people celebrate the world-class female cricketer who competes at comparatively low-level male professional cricket, but the day when people are aware that she does, and don 't find it notable at all” (Lawson). Lawson makes it a point to confirm the biased notions against women in sports and relay an alternative worth working toward and fighting for. Both outlooks can be biased but only one has factual evidence to back it up. The second perspective reviews an ongoing gender issue. This problem is welcome for change depending on society’s
...her heritage and the rich history of womankind. The female athlete must be sensitive to this and show that, even as she succeeds in a traditionally male arena, she can satisfy this most basic of feminine ideals.
Serena and her sister Venus got steered towards tennis at a very young age. They got home schooled to ensure that they got enough time for practice. Serena’s father introduced her to tennis. He was even her coach during the initial stages. She showed her skill at a very young age. She was once ranked as the #1 player in the under 10 division. She began to play professional tennis in 1995. She broke into the top-100 bracket within a few
Whether its baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or tennis, sports is seen all over the world as a representation of one’s pride for their city, country, and even continent. Sports is something that is valued world-wide which has the ability to bring communities together and create different meanings, beliefs and practices between individuals. Although many people may perceive sports to have a significant meaning within our lives, it can also have the ability to separate people through gender inequalities which can also be represented negatively throughout the media. This essay will attempt to prove how gender is constructed in the sports culture while focusing on female athletes and their acceptance in today’s society.
Throughout history, it is easy to recognize how African Americans have triumphed in sports. It is also enlightening and empowering to see and recognize the challenges that women faced in the past with achieving recognition in sports as compared to that of men.