At the French Open this weekend, Venus Williams had the media talking when she crushed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in little more than a lacy slip and nude colored booty shorts. Many called foul over her racy attire, saying that it was inappropriate for the game, and for at-home viewers (read: children).
On a news article covering the lack of covering, one commenter noted that the public only raises a stink whenever a black athlete is concerned, and that white tennis "beauties" get away with wearing whatever they please. ("When Anna Kournikova was at the top of her game the cameras ate her up and there were no complaints about her revealing outfits.")
An interesting point to consider. True, it can be argued that Venus' outfit took it to another level. But what of the extracurricular outfits worn by Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova in their Maxim and Sports Illustrated shoots, respectively?
Clearly, these two tennis superstars are branding themselves as sex symbols, as well as athletes. Why can't Venus do the same? Are we offended because she brought the pages of Maxim onto the court in an international tournament? Or are we strangely off-put by the lingerie on a more robust, muscular body that doesn't quite fit the Western ideals of beauty?
One more thing to note. Venus did model some swim suits for Sports Illustrated in 2005. However, she never made the cover. A quick comparison of Venus, Anna and Maria's SI covers (while not the cover model, both blonds made the cover inset) tells the same race vs. athlete vs. sex appeal story:
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