Comedian Amber Ruffin alerted me via Late Night with Seth Meyers that horrible human beings have recently been insulting Serena Williams for her physical appearance, specifically related to a black body suit that she wore at the French Open but also for her physicality in general.
In the words of Amber Ruffin, “When you’re skinny, people let you live, but when you’re a curvaceous black woman, people feel like it’s okay to tell you to cover up.”
If you think Ruffin is wrong, look at this. On the left is Serena Williams wearing her now banned outfit.
On the right, Anne White’s perfectly legal outfit at Wimbledon in 1985.
What’s the difference between these two outfits?
I know what’s different. Anne White is white, and her outfit is white. Serena is black, and her outfit is black.
That’s the only objective difference.
Or what about these outfits? Are these outfits, also worn my professionals on the tour, less revealing than Serena William’s outfit?
I’m so annoyed by this news that I’ve decided to violate my strict policy on never commenting on physical appearance to say that I think Serena Williams is an incredibly beautiful woman.
I’m also quite certain that anyone who insulted Serena Williams’s appearance is ugly (at least on the inside and possibly the outside) and stupid. Also probably jealous, possibly racist, and definitely awful.
We have a President who constantly insults women (and women of color, in particular), brags about sexually assaulting women, and silences porn stars through hush money. The last thing we need in this country is a bunch of morons insulting a world class athlete and genuine humanitarian because her physical appearance does not conform to their predefined definition of beauty.
To these monsters, I say this:
Shut up. Go do something productive. End this junior high nonsense. Stop contributing to a culture where women are objectified and there is only one definition of beauty. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, “What is so broken inside of me that causes me to insult the appearance a woman like Serena Williams? Am I filled with racial bias or just a horrible human being? Or both?”
Then go do something good and decent for the world. Something that doesn’t involve insulting women for the way they look.
