By Piper Sartison
Despite being one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, Serena Williams has been negatively depicted by the media for decades. During the 2018 US Open final, Serena was in controversy. The umpire accused her of being illegally coached on the sidelines. Williams defended her stance, calling the umpire a liar for contradicting her. As a result of her outburst, the US Open fined her $17,000 for verbal abuse against the umpire. In addition, the media published multiple images and cartoons of the situation that unfolded. Many of these images, such as the one published by The Herald Sun and drawn by Mark Knight, portray Serena as hostile, furious, stubborn, irrational, and aggressive. The specific image that I will be analyzing is one that perpetuates the Sapphire stereotype, as this image causes harm to Serena’s reputation and ultimately dehumanizes her.
Stoll, Katy. “Mark Knight’s caricature of Serena Williams in the US Open final”, The Week, September 11th, 2018, https://www.theweek.in/news/sports/2018/09/11/racist-sexist-cartoon-on-serena-williams-under-fire.html
The image pictured above perpetuates the Sapphire stereotype. Serena is taking up most of the image, as she appears to be jumping in the air, with her feet hovering over a broken tennis racket (there is a visible hole in the center of the strings). Her hands are formed at her sides and are in fists, her mouth is drawn to be wide open, her tongue is visible, her eyes are closed, and her eyebrows are scrunched together, resembling a furious facial expression. The drawn facial features are dehumanizing. With the intense exaggeration of Serena’s facial features and posture, Knight has depicted her to be aggressive, chaotic, and irrational. There is also a pacifier located on the ground, next to her broken racket. One can infer that this adheres to the idea that Serena is throwing a hysterical tantrum. With no one able to control her or calm her down, the audience, the umpire, and her coincidentally white opponent must observe her episode of rage.
Knight has drawn her opponent as a tall and slim white woman. In reality, Serena’s opponent during her 2018 US Open final match was Naomi Osaka, who was of Japanese descent. By drawing her opponent as white, Knight is contrasting the figures, victimizing her opponent, and exaggerating his perception of what he considers to be Serena throwing a tantrum. Additionally, in this image, the umpire is asking the opponent for advice; he doesn’t know what to do, as he does not know how to handle the sassy loud, angry, and crazy black woman. Putting the umpire in a situation where he is at a loss dehumanizes Serena, as it depicts her as unhinged. Relating this back to the Sapphire stereotype, African American women have been depicted by the media as aggressive, agitated, and irrational. This stigma ultimately paints figures such as Serena in a harmful light, as throughout the decades, her reputation and perception through the eyes of the media have altered significantly.
Overall, the image of Serena is incredibly damaging, as she is and should be considered an inspiration to all athletes. Her legacy, motivation, and strength have deemed her as one of the greatest athletes of all time. In contrast, however, Serena has been endlessly scrutinized by the media. An additional example of this criticism was when Serena was fined $2,000 for shouting “Come on” during a rally against her opponent during the 2011 US Open Final. The media also erupted after this dispute, as they released countless images of her being depicted as utterly irrational.
When pictures of Serena and cartoons such as the one drawn by Knight are published, the public’s perception of her alters, as the Sapphire stereotype is damaging to African American females in society. These images persuades the public into believing that Serena is an aggressive and hysterical athlete, instead of an inspiring, ambitious, and monumental figure in society. Without presenting Serena’s perspective on the situation and instead, depicting her as hysterical and chaotic, Knight is further signifying the gravity and harm of the Sapphire figure.
Black Men & Women 