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Williams is attractive, but has more masculine features than the svelte Sharapova, who looks like a model. It has nothing to do with race. Sharapova is simply more traditionally attractive.
This is nothing more than someone once again trying to interject race into a matter where it doesn't belong. The highest paid athletes are mostly Black. The athletes who make the most off endorsements are mostly Black. You're stirring the pot because you need to create controversy where it doesn't exist. Its no wonder that race relations are getting worse when you have people like this manufacturing outrage.
Traditional for who? That's the point. Race is important in this case because the advertisers are using the woman athretes looks for profit.
I see nothing wrong with the professor discussing these matters with those students.
The students have the option of believing or not believing the theory, however, to pretend that this is totally outside the realm of possibility is rather narrow-minded.
The fact remains that Ms Williams has been subjected to racial taunts during her career and she continues to be criticized for not meeting some subjective standards for how women athletes should look and behave.
The playing field (pun intended) is not equal by any stretch of the imagination.
Too often the endorsement route is just lazy marketing. That’s especially true in the case of celebrity endorsement when brands pay a lot of money to try and hitch a ride on a celebrity’s fame and hope some of it rubs off on them.
In the worst case scenario, the people chosen are not a good fit, not credible, would never be seen using your product in real life and will be pitching all sorts of other things at the same time or soon after.
She should be able to sell more tennis shoes than anybody in the world. But if she is selling cosmetic, not a good fit. Why is it so hard to understand?
How well did Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova or Steffi Graf do in endorsements versus their peers. And despite her glamour poses how is Serena doing compared to Venus?
Tiger Woods played 18 holes ... and beyond. Wife wasn't happy about that. But prior to that, Tiger Woods was easily the highest paid athlete on the planet. Most of that was endorsements. Floyd Mayweather Jr has been the highest paid athlete for the past couple years now.
Okay race-baiters, tell me how racism did that??
Yep, Serena must be the victim of rampant sexism.
She is just victim of not being "hot" in the eyes of the public.
i see nothing wrong with the professor discussing these matters with those students.
The students have the option of believing or not believing the theory, however, to pretend that this is totally outside the realm of possibility is rather narrow-minded.
The fact remains that ms williams has been subjected to racial taunts during her career and she continues to be criticized for not meeting some subjective standards for how women athletes should look and behave.
The playing field (pun intended) is not equal by any stretch of the imagination.
I think this statement is the real reason she isnt making Sharapova money when it comes to endorsements.
Some people like to make fun of her appearance and call her a man.
Black male athletes can sell anything to America but Black females? You have to look like Halle Berry to make good coin selling products.
AND co-incidentally; it's the same for white females.
You have a clash of perspectives here with the fashion industry among a host of others indoctrinating us all as to what constitutes an attractive entity of the female species, white or black. Serena does not fit that mold at all.
All those young aspiring female tennis players or young female consumers of any goods advertised or endorsed by Serena give pause for thought to whether they want to look like a "Serena" rather than a Halle Berry or a Sharapova.
Actually, yes. The public can be easily cajoled for that. And this takes me to my following argument.
Serena Williams is a better tennis player than many. Being a good tennis player gets you wins. Ot gets you accolades. It may or may not help for an endorsement.
Race and gender can play a role. Black men such as Ken Griffey Jr, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant could get endorsements. Why? Males athletes have a different kind of value. Even women who weren't into Black men considered Griffey to be "fine". I know from personal experience. Men are endorsed for products that everyone buys, or men's stuff. Kobe and Sprite, Jordan and Hanes/Nike stuff, Griffey and Nintendo.
With women, it is different. The endorsements are different. I remember seeing a commercial with Maria Sharapova in it. A camera commercial. In commercials, people go for those who they see as attractive. Sharapova is described by many as attractive. A lanky 6'3" woman with blonde hair. The Williams sisters are described as good athletes, but not described as attractive. Alot of companies want to appeal to the public's ideal of beauty when sponsoring a female athlete. This leaves Serena Williams out because Black women are often considered by many as not attractive. There are people who describe Williams as "manly looking".
In short , the public's ideal of race and gender play a big part.
Williams is attractive, but has more masculine features than the svelte Sharapova, who looks like a model. It has nothing to do with race. Sharapova is simply more traditionally attractive.
This is nothing more than someone once again trying to interject race into a matter where it doesn't belong. The highest paid athletes are mostly Black. The athletes who make the most off endorsements are mostly Black. You're stirring the pot because you need to create controversy where it doesn't exist. Its no wonder that race relations are getting worse when you have people like this manufacturing outrage.
Your view is virtually the same as that of the professor. Where you attempting to manufacture outrage?
And then there was Dr. Brooks, a 43-year-old African-American who teaches “Race and Ethnic Relations” and challenged the students to think about race through the prism of sports. He offered a gentle explanation of the Williams/Sharapova discrepancy: “Maria is considered a beauty queen, but by what standards of beauty? Some people might just say, ‘Oh, well, she’s just prettier.’ Well, according to whom? This spells out how we see beauty in terms of race, this idea of femininity. Serena is often spoofed for her big butt. She’s seen as too muscular.”
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