Serena Williams

Here's the truth, when a man argues with an umpire it's passion for the sport. When a woman does it, it's a meltdown or PMS or some nonsense. And when a Black woman does it, it's a penalty.

Watching Serena Williams’s difficult pregnancy, and health scares I saw her as a mere mortal for the first time in the documentary Serena And Me.

The last thing pregnant folks need is the message that they can (and should) be able to work at the level of professional athletes and actors while they are dealing with the life-altering symptoms that happen when you are growing a fetus.

“You know, in my next life, when I come back, I want to be someone in the WTA because they ride on the coattails of the men. They don't make any decisions, and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have.”

I wish that we inhabited the world Williams’ image depicts, where women can wear bodysuits and high heels and be considered powerful. But if I ventured into the comments I know what I would find: men saying they want to fuck her, women telling her to put some clothes on, and at least one thinly-veiled rape threat. She wants to be fucked, they will say, with her legs open and waiting. Her power and poise will become an invitation to overpower her.