Saturday, February 19, 2011

"Sister Act VI" Reading

I found the concept of “commodity racism” in Nancy E. Spencer’s 2004 article, “Sister Act VI: Venus and Serena Williams at Indian Wells: “Sincere fictions” and white racism” to be very interesting.  The idea of consuming race in culture, especially in sport, is a significant one.  As I read this article and pondered, I realized that the vast majority of athletes that I am aware of are African-American, especially from sports that are traditionally played by white athletes.  This may be due to my lower consumption of sports than the majority of other students in this class, but when I think of tennis, my first thought is the Williams sisters because I have seen them marketed so much.  When I think about basketball, I think Shaq, Jordan, and Kobe.  When I think baseball, I think Bonds.  When I think golf, I think Tiger Woods, through his African-American heritage is only one aspect of the race he considers himself to be a part of.  However, it is especially telling that although he has a broad racial heritage, I consider him to be African-American first.  I don’t know if this is my own bias or something beaten in to me from sports talk and advertisements, though now that I do think about it I feel ashamed that if asked to name Woods’ race, I would likely only say African-American prior to last week.

Race is such a difficult and sensitive subject.  When the subject was brought up in class last week, I was not surprised that it took a while before anyone was willing to talk and in the end, only several people did discuss their opinions.  As a white, middle-class, straight American male I rarely enjoy discussing any of these categories.  I think my distaste for these subjects is due to the overwhelming blame that is put on a person with my background.  How can someone who is white, when confronted with white superiority and racism, not feel guilty?  When hit with arguments of the oppression of women, homosexuals, non-Americans and other groups who have been oppressed and continue to face challenges, how can one not feel crushed by the weight of that guilt into silence?  How can one not feel put off when it is always stated that they are advantaged, that in some way they are getting a free ride through life?
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4 comments:

  1. The Tennis Prof ChroniclesFebruary 20, 2011 at 9:06 PM

    I really appreciate your sharing about the difficulty a lot of people have when discussing issues of race and/or racism. I think an important point to emphasize is that we live in a culture that perpetuates inequality. But I believe it is incumbent upon all of us to acknowledge how that society operates so that we can become advocates for anti-racism--whether we are white, black or Cablinasian.

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  2. Chellsie SFebruary 21, 2011 at 4:17 AM

    I agree with you at feeling guilty. Anytime the subject of race comes up, I feel like I should just keep my mouth shut because even if I have good intentions, I feel like my background will not help my chances of others as not seeing me as racist.

    This article made me take a look at sportscasters unkowingly talk differently about different athletes. It is isntersting that they speak of black athletes in more of a "raw talent and strength" aspect and white players seem to be more "finess and skill".

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  3. MattFebruary 21, 2011 at 10:49 AM

    Studying racism is one reason that I enjoy this class and have enjoyed similar classes in the past. I think that sports are an invaluable resource to study because they reflect societies (and our own) prejudices and opinions. This article is a great example of that. While on the surface it may appear that we as a culture have moved past such petty beliefs that a person's physical characteristics define them completely, it manifests itself on the court/arena/stage for everyone to see.
    It would be interesting to see a study of how race applied to LeBron James and his "decision."

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  4. The Tennis Prof ChroniclesMarch 13, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    Thanks for your comments Chellsie and Matt. I too have wondered how people would analyze Lebron's "Decision." I know that the PTI guys have talked about it a lot and Michael Wilbon is adamant about the disrespect that Gilbert showed toward Lebron. Of course, Jesse Jackson also spoke out about the "planatation mentality" that Gilbert expressed in his letter to fans. I had not considered that but thought that I was responding like a 'fan who was scorned.' It's hard when there are so many different layers.

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