Venus and Serena Williams’ dominance of professional women’s tennis at the dawn of the 21st century may well signify progress in a sport that typically privileges Whiteness. What happened at Indian Wells, California, in the spring of 2001 suggests otherwise. After advancing to the semifinals where they were scheduled to meet, Venus defaulted to Serena and thus incurred the wrath of fans at Indian Wells. Two days later, when Venus and her father Richard entered the stadium to watch Serena play, they encountered boos and racist epithets. Similar to other “racialized incidents” that occurred in the United States during the 1990s, the episode at Indian Wells signals the continuance of racism in the new millennium. Although contemporary terms have shifted from “scientific racism” to “cultural racism” and “commodity racism,” the underlying dynamics of White racism persist.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Andrews, D. L. (2001). The fact(s) of Michael Jordan’s Blackness: Excavating a floating racial signifier. In D. L. Andrews (Ed.), Michael Jordan, Inc. (pp. 107-152). Albany: State University of New York Press.
2.
Andrews, D. L., & Jackson, S. J. (Eds.). (2001). Sport stars: The cultural politics of sporting celebrity. London: Routledge.
3.
Bodo, P. (2001, November). Perfect match. Tennis, pp. 22-27.
4.
Brooks, K. (2002, May). Training day. Tennis Magazine, pp. 34-39.
5.
Carrington, B. (2001). Postmodern Blackness and the celebrity sports star: Ian Wright, “race,” and English identity. In D. L. Andrews & S. J. Jackson (Eds.), Sport stars: The cultural politics of sporting celebrity (pp. 102-123). London: Routledge.
6.
Carrington, B., & McDonald, B. (Eds.). (2001). “Race”, sport, and British society. London: Routledge.
7.
Cashmore, E. (1997). The Black culture industry. London: Routledge.
8.
Celizic, M. (2001, April 1). Richard Williams damaging his daughters’ careers. MSNBC.com. Retrieved August 12, 2001, from http://msnbc.com/news/553159.asp?cp1=1
Clarke, S. A. (1991) Fear of a Black planet. Socialist Review, 21(3-4), 37-59.
11.
Cole, C. L. (2001). Nike’s America/America’s Michael Jordan. In D. L. Andrews (Ed.), Michael Jordan, Inc. (pp. 107-152). Albany: State University of New York Press.
12.
Cole, C. L., & Andrews, D. L. (2001). America’s new son: Tiger Woods and America’s multiculturalism. In D. L. Andrews & S. J. Jackson (Eds.), Sport stars: The cultural politics of sporting celebrity (pp. 70-86). London: Routledge.
13.
Cole, C. L., & Hribar, A. (1995). Celebrity feminism: Nike style post-Fordism, transcendence, and consumer power. Sociology of Sport Journal, 12, 347-369.
14.
Collins, B. (1995, August 17). 20th century Venus. Tennis Week, 22(5), 8-9.
15.
Collins, B., & Hollander, Z. (Eds.). (1994). Bud Collins’ modern encyclopedia of tennis (2nd ed.). Detroit, MI: Visible Ink.
16.
Daniels, D. (2000, Spring). Gazing at the new Black woman athlete. Color Lines, 3(1), 25-26.
17.
Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (Eds.). (1997). Critical White studies: Looking behind the mirror. Philadelphia: Temple University.
18.
Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory. New York: New York University Press.
19.
Denzin, N. K. (1991). Images of postmodern society. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
20.
Dyson, M. E. (1997). “Race” rules: Navigating the color line. New York: Vintage.
21.
Evans, R. (1997, September 18). Open emotions. Tennis Week, 24(7), 20-21.
22.
Feagin, J. R., & Vera, H. (1995). White racism. New York: Routledge.
23.
Fleming, S. (2001). Racial science and South Asian Black physicality. In B. Carrington & I. McDonald (Eds.), “Race,” sport, and British society (pp. 105-120). London: Routledge.
24.
Frederickson, G. M. (2002). Racism: A short history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
25.
George, N. (1998). Hip hop America. New York: Penguin.
26.
Gibson, A. (1958). I always wanted to be somebody. New York: Harper & Row.
27.
Goldberg, D. T. (1997). Racial subjects: Writing on “race” in America. New York: Routledge.
28.
Goldman, R. (1992). Reading ads socially. London: Routledge.
29.
hooks, b. (1989). Talking back: Thinking Black. Boston: South End.
30.
hooks, b. (1990). Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. Boston: South End Press.
31.
Jenkins, S. (1994, May 9). Is tennis dying? The sorry state of tennis. Sports Illustrated, 80(18), 78-86.
32.
Johnson, R. S., & Harrington, A. (1998, June 22). The Jordan effect. Fortune, pp. 124-138.
33.
King, J. E. (1997). Dysconscious racism: Ideology, identity, and miseducation. In R. Delgado & J. Stefancic (Eds.), Critical White studies: Looking behind the mirror (pp. 128-132). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
34.
Kirkpatrick, C. (1997, September 18). Whinespotting. Tennis Week, 24(7), 22-23.
35.
LaFeber, W. (1999). Michael Jordan and the new global capitalism. New York: Norton.
36.
Levin, S. (1992, April). The spoils of victory. Women’s Sports and Fitness, pp. 62-69.
37.
Light, A. (Ed.). (1999). The vibe history of hip hop. New York: Three Rivers Press.
38.
Lipsitz, G. (1997). The greatest story ever sold: Marketing and the O. J. Simpson trial. In T. Morrison & C. Brodsky Lacour (Eds.), Birth of a nation’hood (pp. 3-29). New York: Random House.
39.
Lury, C. (1996). Consumer culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
40.
Malik, K. (1996). The meaning of “race”: “Race,” history, and culture in Western society. New York: New York University Press.
41.
Marable, M. (2000, February 25). We need new and critical study of “race” and ethnicity. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved September 28, 2002, from http://chronicle.com/weekly/y46/i25/25600401.htm
42.
McClintock, A. (1998). Soft-soaping empire: Commodity racism and imperial advertising. In N. Mirzoeff (Ed.), Visual culture reader (pp. 304-316). London: Routledge.
43.
McDonald, M. G., & Andrews, D. L. (2001). Michael Jordan: Corporate sport and post modern celebrity hood. In D. L. Andrews & S. J. Jackson (Eds.), Sport stars: The cultural politics of sporting celebrity (pp. 102-123). London: Routledge.
44.
McEnroe, J., & Kaplan, J. (2002). You cannot be serious. New York: G. P. Putnam.
45.
Mewshaw, M. (1993). Ladies of the court: Grace and disgrace on the women’s tennis tour. New York: Crown.
46.
Nichols, R. (2001, November). The Supremes. Tennis, pp. 30-35.
Osumare, H. (2001). Beat streets in the global hood: Connective marginalities of the hip hop globe. Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, 24(1&2), 171-181.
49.
Pentz, L. (1997, September 18). Dealing the “race card”—Part II of our investigation. Tennis Week, 24(7), 26-27, 52.
50.
Peyser, M., & Samuels, A. (1998, August 24). Venus and Serena against the world. Newsweek, pp. 44-48.
51.
Potter, R. A. (1995). Spectacular vernaculars: Hip-hop and the politics of postmodernism. Albany: State University of New York.
52.
Price, S. L. (1997, September 15). Venus envy. Sports Illustrated, 87(11), 32-37.
53.
Rare tennis treat: Williams vs. Williams. (2001, March 15). USA Today, p.1C.
54.
Reeves, J. L., & Campbell, R. (1994). Cracked coverage: Television news, the anticocaine crusade, and the Reagan legacy. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
55.
Roediger, D. R. (2002). Colored White: Transcending the racial past. Berkeley: University of California Press.
56.
Rosaforte, T. (1997). Tiger Woods: The makings of a champion. New York: St.Martin’s.
57.
Schoenfeld, B. (1999, February/March). Serena Williams: Moving beyond the orbit of Venus. Tennis Match, 7(1), 56-61.
Willis, S. (1995). I want the Black One: Is there a place for Afro-American culture in commodity culture? In E. Carter, J. Donald, & J. Squires (Eds.), Cultural remix: Theories of politics and the popular (pp. 141-166). London: Lawrence & Wishart.
71.
Wimbledon fixed? Venus and Serena Williams in tennis shocker. (2001, March 27). National Enquirer, pp. 24-25, 28.
72.
Wolverton, B. (1997, September 29). So far, she’s not the Venus de moola. Business Week, p. 140.
