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The Performance of Blackness and Femininity in Postfeminist Times: Visualising Serena Williams Within the Context of Corporate Globalisation

2018; Springer International Publishing; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-319-72481-2_4

2522-0349

Kristi Tredway,

Cinema and Media Studies

Serena Williams has been the most dominant player in the history of women’s tennis. As the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rapidly expands across the global marketplace, it is faced with contradictions of the deep-seated racial issues stemming from the origins of tennis and forms of the exotic Other which have heightened value in the global marketplace. The WTA’s “Strong is Beautiful” advertising campaign and the WTA’s lack of reprimanding Caroline Wozniacki when she impersonated Williams’ physical appearance during an exhibition tennis match highlight these contradictions. These contradictions are thrust upon Williams herself as she is expected to operate in both arenas: the space of corporate advertising where she is the exotic Other and in the space where she bears the brunt of the racist mocking of her body.