At the 2022 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion, a director, screenwriter, and producer, decided the best way to highlight her accomplishment was by taking a dig at two Black sportswomen.
In her award speech for Best Director for the film, The Power of the Dog, Campion said unprovoked, “Serena and Venus you’re such marvels. However, you don’t have to compete against the men like I do.”
Venus and Serena, who are on the awards campaign trail in support of their film King Richard, had their reactions captured immediately following the remark. Though only the sisters know what went through their heads and hearts at that moment, watching Campion’s speech leaves me cringing every time.
“You don’t have to compete against the men like I do,” was not only unnecessary, but it also negates the sisters lived experiences as Black sportswomen in what has historically been the very white space of tennis, and thus their encounters with racism and sexism in the form of misogynoir. When I say tennis has historically been a “white space,” I say so in the way that Dr. Elijah Anderson described them— spaces that are seemingly off-limits to Black folx.
White spaces, like tennis, are spaces in which Black folx are either absent, not expected, not welcomed or marginalized when present (2015).
It is fair to say that tennis constituted a white space for decades, and the changes that we have seen to that effect, are due in large part to the sacrifices made by Black sportswomen such as Venus and Serena.
With her words, Campions belittle all that the sisters have lived through, fought against, and endured with grace. Now, I am by no means surprised that this white woman carelessly and senselessly put her whole foot in her mouth. Rather I find it quite telling of the moment that we are in.
Women’s History Month follows Black History Month, and yet (certain) people remain inattentive to the various ways that race, gender, and sex intersect to shape our lived experiences.
Campions remarks come on the heels of Naomi Osaka’s experience of heckling while playing at Indian Wells, the very same space where Venus, Serena, and Richard Williams were confronted with blatant racist remarks and abuse two decades prior.
Contrary to what’s being peddled, we are not living in a post-racial society, nor has sports managed to excise misogynoir, racism, sexism, or the many other ‘isms’ that exist within.
In the age of dog whistle campaigns against critical race theory, and targeted attacks against trans children and athletes, we cannot ignore the continuation of racial, gendered, and sexual tensions that exist within our society.
Campion’s words and Naomi’s hecklers revealed, once again, that white feminism so often forgets that while social structures may have defined white women as the norm/ideal/model, they do not stand in for the rest of us.
And sh***ing on Black women even in what you may imagine in your mind is a playful way is not cute but violent.
Serena, Venus, Naomi, and countless other Black sportswomen don’t compete against men in the way Campion insinuated.
Black sportswomen have to contend with having their womanhood constantly called into question, their concerns for their mental and physical well-being ignored or pushed aside, and their liberties being stripped away quietly in a Russian prison even when they are a star in their sport.
In a world where folx want Naomi Osaka to “suck it up,” because Serena and Venus endured worse, or where a white woman drags two Black women for no reason, it’s not surprising that a superstar like WNBA player Brittney Griner was secretly imprisoned in Russia. Griner was detained in February, and it wasn’t until March that the news was released (by Russia) for the world to learn about.
Would the situation have been different if Brittney wasn’t a Black, queer woman?
The answer is absolutely, and for those who say that this and various other situations aren’t about race—wake up and smell your privilege because racism, sexism, heterosexism, and misogynoir are very real.
Look at the young women of UCLA gymnastics. After complaining about the racist remarks they had to endure from a former teammate, the administration gave them a limited response and even less support.
Black gymnasts like Sekai Wright and Marzgetta Frazier should not have to seek outside help to address what they’re experiencing at UCLA. Naomi Osaka shouldn’t have to suck it up because others have been through worse. Serena and Venus shouldn’t be the butt of a joke because they are in the room. Brittney Griner shouldn’t still be in a Russian prison.
Yet here we are.
For what remains of Women’s History Month, I encourage everyone to pay attention to the powerful intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality before making flippant remarks, downplaying literal hostage situations or diminishing the everyday lived experiences that Black, and other women of color, face on a daily basis.
Black women in sports and society deserve better. Even if we have to break down all of the barriers ourselves.
