So, some people are flippin’ the frak out over this chick, whom I’d never heard of before a few days ago, stuffing towels in her shirt and shorts to make it look like she has huge breasts and a big arse, like Serena Williams (whom is my 2nd favorite athlete, and one of my celebrity crushes).
But I must object to those online who are immediately rushing to condemn this as racist. With comments like “”This isn’t “harmless fun” as one article described it. its racist. out and outright racism. mocking and making fun of the bodies of black women for a laugh? real funny, stupid white girl. real real funny.’
I suppose I could address the issue of someone complaining about racism and then referring to the perpetrator as a stupid white girl, but my irony-meter is broken right now. But I wonder why making fun of Serena Williams’ body has to automatically equate with making fun of the bodies of all Black women? Sorry, but, no, all Black women aren’t built like Serena Williams. And there are a lot of non-Black women who are built like Serena Williams. And many of those women get made fun of, sometimes. Christina Henricks has been called fat. So have Kate Winslet, and Meghan McCain. And yet, nobody called that “racist.”
To me, the tragedy here is by trying to paint this as a racial issue, it’s overlooking the very real issue of the kind of pressure that society puts on women to look a certain way. We see this with celebrity women all the time, as in the examples I gave above. It’s absurd the way women who look perfectly fine can be called “fat”, just because they’re not a size 2. Serena Williams has spoken of her own past insercurities about her figure, and how she overcame that, which is great, and inspirational to other young women who may be facing the same doubts about themselves. And for another woman to mock that, even inadvertantly, is a shame, and just exmplifies the type of institutionalized sexism that women continue to face today.
So, call what she did STUPID, CARELESS, INSENSITIVE, and/or SEXIST. But you can leave the race card at home.
iBLOGalot 
Agreed, it ain’t racist, it just ain’t funny.
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She wishes she was built like Serena!
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I wish I was built like Serena!
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LOL! Me too!
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And here’s black-owned website mediatakeout making fun of a persian woman in a bikini, because she’s overweight:
http://cdn.mediatakeout.com/60083/oh-my-gawwwwwwwd-one-of-the-girls-on-the-mtv-show-the-shahs-on-sunset-took-some-very-interesting-bikini-pics-warning-ratchetness-inside.html
That website, and all the people commenting on it, must be RACIST too. Where’s the outrage for that?
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EXACTLY!
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LOL, well, mediatakeout has never been known for class or consideration in general. I think the complaining about that website has been around since its inception and rarely ever spikes since that type of commentary is par for the course.
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Agreed. MTO is just a Black version of TMZ, but with even less class.
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I mostly agree with what you’re saying. However, I don’t think we can completely overlook the racial implications of the act. While it’s certainly true that women of all ethnicities are scrutinized for their bodies, in America there is a particular sting leveled at Black women, for the way they look. Be it their weight, their skin tone, or their hair. So making fun of the way a Black woman looks carries a certain implication, even if it wasn’t originally intended. It’s like years ago when a White radio talk show host made what I’m sure she thought was an innocent comment about Tiger Woods. This was back when he was still dominating the sport, she joked that the only way other golfers had a chance to win a tournament was if they “lynched” Tiger in a back alley. Again, if she’d said that about any other golfer it wouldn’t have been a big deal but, lynching has a different history in connection to Blacks. So, sometimes, a little extra sensitivity before you say or do things is warranted, as was the case with this tennis player.
I agree that some people online have overreacted, but that’s sadly typical of online behavior these days.
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You make some good points.
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