M3(2) Gender, Sexuality, and Colonialism

Media and Interlocking Oppressions

Tennis and race

• Tennis has historically been associated with whiteness, upper-class culture, and strict Western traditions which exclude Black Women

Athlea Gibson

Gibson broke through tennis’ racial barriers in the 1950s but continued to face racism, sexism, and hostility

Recognition does not necessarily mean equality:

• Gibson appeared on a Wheaties box despite discrimination

• Greg Louganis (~1980s), a gay athlete whose career came later than Gibson (and which we would figure there’s more openness around homosexuality), did not receive the same recognition, illustrating how different forms of marginalization intersect with media visibility

in post-civil-rights era, racial anxiety still persisted, particularly among those seeking to maintain existing racial hierarchies

Concepts for Analyzing Media Representations

Race Talk

White Fright

New Racism

Interlocking System of Oppressions

Racially Minoritized

Misogynoir

Race Talk

Media emphasis on racialized signs and associations

• For example, coverage of the Williams sisters often highlighted Compton’s associations with gangs, crime, and violence, even when the story was about their tennis achievements

White Fright

Fear that historically white spices are being “overrun” by marginalized groups

• Similar logic appears in claims that women’s sport is threatened by Black athletes, African athletes, or athletes with high testosterone

New Racism

Racism may appear in subtle or coded forms rather than explicit statements

• Serena Williams was criticized as “too muscular” or described as playing “like a man,” connecting her body and athletic power to racialized ideas about Black Women

Racial Antipathy

Hostility, antagonism, hatred, or dislike toward racialized groups—the opposite of empathy or sympathy

Racially Minoritized People

People positioned as disadvantaged or disenfranchised through social, political, economic, and cultural forces

Misogynoir

Term coined by Moya Bailey for the distinctive combination of anti-Black racism and misogyny directed at Black women

Interlocking Systems of Oppression

Interconnected forms of marginalization based on identities such as race, gender, sexuality, ability, and social class

• These systems reinforce one another and are difficult to dismantle as they operate across multiple sites

Media Framing and Containment

Delia Douglas argues that media coverage of Venus and Serena Williams involved racialized scrutiny and surveillance

• The sisters’ close ties to family and community were sometimes framed as self-indulgent or as evidence that they were not sufficiently focused on tennis

• Their expressions of care and affection challenged stereotypes portraying Black communities as lacking love or support

• Their success, wealth, and business ventures may also have provoked jealously or intensified efforts to contain their public image

New Politics of Containment

Describes how media and other institutions restrict what certain groups are allowed to be, or how they are permitted to appear

• Repeated coverage can narrow the audience’s understanding of a group by emphasizing some traits and obscuring others

Questions for Media Analysis

When analyzing a story, consider:

• Who published it, and who is its intended audience?

• What perspective, assumptions or interests may shape the story?

• What does the article emphasize or omit?

• What language and evidence does it use?

• Does it challenge dominant norms or reproduce them?

• How might its framing affect what readers believe or imagine about the people represented?

Representation alone does not demonstrate that racial, sexual, or gender equality has been achieved. Analyze the language, assumptions, and evidence through which representation is produced.