SEXISM, THEN DOWNRIGHT RACISM

The Serena Williams controversy kicked off with the game the tennis chair umpire Carlos Ramos docked the diva of women's tennis in the US Open final. “Sexism”, Serena cried and she had good reason to, for no one had been disciplined for coaching in a Grand Slam final ever. The issue didn’t stop there.

A newspaper in Australia, one of the world's predominantly ‘ white’ countries, carried a Serena cartoon that was racist. Portrayed in the cartoon with bulbous hair, bloated, outsized frame, a lolling giant sized tongue and an expansive nose, the cartoonist drew on old Black Sambo concept to racially vilify Serena. The obnoxious caricaturing of black people was justified by calling for cartoonist licence to bring the point home with sarcasm. But the portrayal was too much of characterisation of a racial stereotype of an eternally angry black woman.

The cartoon triggered a culture war with its sheer bigotry and insensitivity in a historical context to the moral responsibility for racial equality. The cartoon was just downright unfair to a black athlete thought of as not only one of the greatest players but also an icon to many young people wishing to rise and succeed in life. Serena was deprived of her dignity. Why, even in India, the Amul ad was trolled for not being kind to the issue it was trying to cast its humour on.