Femspiration
Femspiration

We Need to Talk About How We Treat Women of Color in Athletics

We Need to Talk About How We Treat Women of Color in Athletics

The fights for gender equality in athletics has been a long one, from the fight to just allow women play sports to fighting the stigmas against athletic “tom boys” and the need to be girly.

Related Articles

But gender disparities in athletics are also strongly tied to racism, particularly the subjugation of people of color.

In her article, “3 Stereotypes About Women Athletes of Color: Debunked”, Seaira Christian-Daniels, the fellowships and grants program assistant for the AAUW, deconstructs three stereotypes, aided with expert advice from the star tennis player herself, Serena Williams.

The best way to fight these sexist and racists prejudices? Acknowledge women of color and invest in them, not just in the sport but also in the science. All the technology, mainly created by men, needed to support athletes is not always available to women of color who have a different health needs.

Cover image courtesy of Shutterstock.

By Lacy Wright on February 3, 2016
Lacy Wright is much like her coffee, short, hot, and comes with quite a kick. A second year at UC Santa Barbara studying Art History and History of Public Policy, she has been a long time advocate for consent education, teen dating violence awareness, and expanding mental health services for high school and college students. A gastrotourist stricken with a constant case of wanderlust, you can always find her setting off on some new crazy adventure, searching for the next best meal.