Heres a headline: Serena Williams Is the Best Tennis Player in the World.
Or: Williams Serve Is Twice asFast as a Cheetah.
Another one: Maria Sharapova Has Won 35 TitlesAnd Shes Only 28.
Instead, theNew York Timespublished anarticleon the body image issues facing female athletes, stressing Serena Williams athletic build.
That would have been absurd.
That logic is what needs to be eradicated.
Wheres the article on Roger Federers body shape?
British weightlifter Zoe Smith asked me over the phone.
Men are allowed to justbeathletes, whereas women have to look perfect.
Rothenbergs piece doesnt exist in a vacuum.
Its reminiscent of a culture that emphasizes womens bodies over their skills, especially in sports.
Yes, how dare she lift twice Conans body weight and not be a size zero?!
Even winning doesnt spare women athletes from having their bodies picked apart.
Serena Williamsdeclinedwhen she was asked to do the same, but Smith describes the situation as a Catch-22.
Protesting only draws more attention to appearance and less to the game.
Its a balance female athletes are constantly forced to navigate.
I weighed 172 and they wanted me to get to 185.
Smith described similar feelings of self-doubt about her body when she was ranked in categories according to her weight.
When Im in the heavy category, I find it hard, she confided.
Although both Smith and Knight admit to feeling apprehensive about bulking up, theyre both unapologetic about it.
Words matter because they have material consequences for female athletes.
I know, shocker!
Leaders of athletic organizations are responsible for perpetuating the idea that looks matter more than skills.
I personallyfoughtto prevent that from happening, but frankly Im tired of fighting.
Its 2015; its time we change the tune.
The fact is that performance matters much more than pulling off a crop top.
Thats whats awe-inspiring, not whether they are feminine enough to wear hot pants.
Id like to advocate for another measure of success for female athletes: badassness.
Its a metric that transcends shape and size and one that assesses heart, tenacity, and grit.
In a perfect world, we would be able to focus solely on performance, Smith says.
Women in sports dont want special treatment.
Actually, its the exact opposite.
Its high time we treat all athletes the same.
Its not asking for much.
In the words of Zoe Smith, Yeah, equality would be pretty nice.
