女网“黑珍珠”塞雷娜·威廉姆斯健康问题备受关注

AS IT IS 2015-07-17 More Focus on Serena Williams' Body than Victory

On Saturday, July 11, tennis player Serena Williams won her 21st major competition. The American athlete defeated Spanish player Garbine Muguruza in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon, England. The win means Williams is just one step away from completing a women’s singles Grand Slam.

In tennis, the Grand Slam is composed of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Only three women have captured the Grand Slam by winning all four tournaments in a calendar year. The last was Germany’s Steffi Graf in 1988. And Williams will have her chance at the U.S. Open coming up in September.

Body image over body performance

Even with the possibility of William’s making tennis history, the main subject of women’s tennis in the last few days was not Williams’ victory. Instead, newspapers, broadcasters and social media have focused on Williams’ appearance, especially her muscles and the shape of her body.

On Friday, the day before her Wimbledon win, The New York Times published a article called “Tennis’s Top Women Balance Body Image With Ambition.” Ben Rothenberg wrote the article.

Mr. Rothenberg begins the article by writing that Serena Williams wears long sleeves to cover her “large biceps.” He goes on to write that many female tennis players do not seek large muscles even if it would improve their game. He writes that “body image issues” lead them to “avoid bulking up.”

The writer questioned several professional tennis players about developing a more muscular¹ body to compete.

Andrea Petkovic of Germany was not in favor of it, saying “I just feel unfeminine.” Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland said she cares about how she looks, in her words, “because I’m a girl.” Radwanska’s coach said to the writer, “It’s our decision to keep her as the smallest player in the top 10. Because, first of all she’s a woman, and she wants to be a woman.”

‘Absurd³ and insulting’

So, the implication is if a woman is muscular and powerful, she is not womanly. And, the report suggests that this thinking is common in the world of women’s tennis.

The New York Times report caused a widespread and angry debate on social and traditional media.

Salon⁴.com writer Mary Elizabeth Williams protested the “body-slamming” of Serena Williams as “an absurd and insulting” habit that must end. She told critics of Williams’ body that they are free to judge the athlete by the size of her arms but she wrote “history will remember her by the length of the list of her victories.”

Even The New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan took issue with Ben Rothenberg’s article. Her column raised the question whether the article was a “double fault.”  Ms. Sullivan wrote the article was “a missed opportunity” and that it “didn’t find a way to challenge the views expressed, instead of simply mirroring them.”

On social media, author J.K. Rowling praised Serena Williams’ victory with “What a woman!” tweet. A Twitter user from Manchester, England, called it “ironic.” He tweeted that Serena was successful because “she is built like a man." Rowling answered with pictures of Serena in a dress and high heels. She tweeted, “Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress. You're an idiot⁵."

History repeats itself

Criticism about the appearances of female athletes is not new. Tennis champion Martina Navratilova was the subject of insults and jokes throughout her career. She was called “manly” and was accused of having male body parts. She was also accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, like steroids.

Some people in the media have raised similar suspicions about Serena Williams. Just two days after Wimbledon, David Frum of The Atlantic suggested on Twitter that Williams might use steroids. And, in his tweets he included several references⁶ to Ben Rothenberg’s article in the New York Times.

Words in This Story

tournament – n. a sports competition or series of contests that involves many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days

bulk up – phrasal v. to gain weight often by becoming more muscular

feminine² – adj. of, relating to, or suited to women or girls

implication -– n. something that is suggested without being said directly

double fault – n. in tennis, two bad serves that result in the loss of a point

ironic – using words that mean the opposite of what you really think especially in order to be funny

1 muscular   

adj.肌肉发达的，强壮的，（有关）肌（肉）的

参考例句：

• He is a muscular young man.他是个健壮的年轻人。
• The player is tall and muscular.那名运动员身高力大。

2 feminine   

adj.女性的，女子气的

参考例句：

• He has a very feminine voice.他的声音非常像女人。
• She was a very feminine person.她是个很有女性气质的人。

3 absurd   

adj.荒谬的，荒诞的，荒唐可笑的，不合理的

参考例句：

• It is ridiculously absurd to believe that the number 13 is unlucky.相信数字13是个不吉祥的数字是荒唐可笑的。
• It was absurd of you to do such a thing.你做那样的事是愚蠢的。

4 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

5 idiot   

n.白痴，傻子，笨蛋

参考例句：

• Only an idiot would make such a thoughtless remark.只有草包才会说出这样没有头脑的话来。
• You are behaving like a perfect idiot.你表现得像个十足的白痴。

6 references   

n.参考( reference的名词复数 )；证明书；（为方便查询所用的）标记；（帮助或意见的）征求

参考例句：

• Applications with a full curriculum vitae and two references should reach the Principal by June 12th. 申请书连同完整个人简历和两份推荐信必须在6月12日以前送达校长处。
• The book is full of references to growing up in India. 这本书谈到许多在印度怎样长大成人的事。