Why every Black Woman must stand up for Serena Williams

Serena Williams recent record-breaking Wimbledon victory was fantastic to watch but also raised some negative comments…

Some of the comments in the mainstream media seemed to show that there were some who weren’t happy that she won Wimbledon (again)! Even more so it made alot of us question if they simply didn’t want to see a black woman receiving all of this acknowledgment, applause and being in such a powerful position (as one of the world’s top athletes).

What really annoyed me even more were the negative comments about her body – with some referring to her as ‘being like a man’! There seemed to be an undercurrent of some who wanted to undermine her win and destroy her achievements and morale at any cost. This brings me to my point – I felt more than ever that all black women must stand-up for her – not only her brilliant achievement of winning another Grand Slam, but her ‘body’.

We were led to believe for many years that our beauty was not good enough and that it didn’t count. Our body shape of wider hips, a rounder bottom and strong muscle definition, was treated like something that didn’t deserve to be recognised by mainstream media.

So when I saw these comments, it reminded me that now more than ever we have to stand-up for her because her body shape is a reflection of every black woman on this earth. If we allow Serena to be portrayed as not feminine enough or beautiful in anyway, that too will be levelled at all of us. So stand up for Serena!

I found this video of her below – great to watch and congratulations again Serena!