“When we think of police brutality, it’s normally men we envisage as the victims” Olivia Marks. This has been a huge concern of mine in regards to the black lives matter movement. Black men who suffer brutality at the hands of police are, more often than women, shoved into the spotlight of national media. We see these images and hear their names so often that it can be easy to forget about the women who are also victims.
And while some would argue that women suffer a different type of racism at the hands of police, insinuating that it’s not as brutal as what men face, gender often plays a small role when it comes to racism in the police force.
If you haven’t read the Guardian piece on Sandra Bland and Serena Williams yet, Olivia Marks does a much better job at describing each incident in detail.
Let’s start with the best athlete of all time, Serena Williams.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you know that she won the Wimbledon championship for a 6th time during her illustrious athletic career. Think about a time when you felt confident, powerful, and strong, characteristics I’m sure Williams feels as she dominates on the court.
Now, imagine someone coming along to belittle you in your moment of confidence. Maybe they comment on your performance, or give a particularly mean-spirited criticism. Or even worse, they criticize you for something you have no control over.
The amount of hateful criticism Serena faced after her most recent win is disgusting. The main gripe among these critics, who I can only imagine are adolescent white teenagers in denial about their physique, is that she is “built like a man.” Since when did having a visibly strong physique equate with looking masculine?
Oh yea, I forgot. Women who body build have to wear bikinis so we can delineate their gender.
This obsession with “body image” shone through in The New York Times most recent piece that focused on Williams. In the article, white, petite, young tennis players are asked about their bodies and how they look/play in comparison to Williams.
One notable quote from the highest paid female athlete, Maria Shirapova:
“I always want to be skinnier with less cellulite; I think that’s every girl’s wish,” she said, laughing.
I can’t get through that one without cringing. As Amelia McDonnel Perry mentions in her criticism of the article, the most frustrating part of the piece is how it focuses on Williams. If it had simply been an article on body image and sports/tennis, using a plethora of viewpoints of tennis players, the writer could have pulled it off well. But because the piece makes Serena’s body type the “other” in this homogeneous group of athletes, the obvious racial undertones creep to the surface. While this piece doesn’t go so far as to equate Williams with a “gorilla” like those on Twitter did, it hints at the idea that black women do not fit into the metaphorical box of predominantly white female sports.
If you’re still unclear on all the issues here, watch this video:
How does this relate to Sandra Bland?
Once we as a society have a group which we can call “other,” these attitudes become dangerous. Those who equate Serena’s physical strength with masculinity no longer see her as a woman. Instead, they see her as an animal with brute strength and who, potentially, could be dangerous. When this erroneous stereotype is applied to all women who look similar to Serena Williams, it’s problematic. Those in power who hold this perspective are the most troubling.
The police involved in Sandra Bland’s tragic death claimed that she was combative on the side of the road when they pulled her over for improper signalling. If the police were exposed to the derogatory comments about Williams earlier that week, those racist and sexist undertones were present in their consciousness. Even if they didn’t agree with the criticism, they viewed Sandra Bland in a different light then they might have before. If she was combative, they saw her as a threat. One police officer very clearly slams Bland’s head against the concrete, in an attempt to subdue her. Why would he need to use such brute force in this situation?
The police officers didn’t see Bland as a person; they saw her as a part of the other who didn’t belong. This dangerous concept ultimately led to Bland’s sudden and unexplained death. The claim that she committed suicide is an obvious ploy of the police department hoping to avoid any serious investigations.
For many reasons, police brutality against women of color is swept under the rug quickly after it occurs. The archetype of the “angry black woman” often goes as justification for police officers to handle women with undue force. Layered with the inappropriate discussion of black women in the media (conversations which usually focus on their hair, dress, physical physique, and behavior), misogyny is as detrimental as ever to black women’s well being. It’s critical to be aware of what’s happening and to stay vocal.
“If you are a Black person, you can be one police encounter away from death. Any age. Any gender. Any class background.” -Jamilah Lemieux
Musings of a Burgeoning Brooklynite 