TITLE:
A Content Analysis of Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber’s Racial and Sexist Microagressions
AUTHORS:
Cynthia M. Frisby
KEYWORDS:
Microaggressions, Racism, Discrimination, Restrictive Gender Roles, Microinsults, Racist and Sexist Insults
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.5 No.5,
May
23,
2017
ABSTRACT: The
primary purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if microaggressions
regularly found in sport coverage were present in stories about two elite
female tennis players. Microaggressions are subtle statements that unconsciously
communicate denigrating messages to female athletes. In recent years,
qualitative studies have introduced the types of microaggressions that female
athletes experience. In the present study, a content analysis of 643 news
stories was conducted in order to provide a quantitative measure of the
frequency in which microaggressions appear in news stories about female
athletes. Serena Williams, ranked number two in the list of top female tennis
players, was selected because several qualitative studies show this female
athlete of color is often the victim of racial slurs and epitaphs in news
stories, as well as, news reports that feature insults to her physical
appearance and body type. Angelique Kerber, the number one ranked female tennis
player was selected in order to determine if an athlete of color receives more
micro-aggresions than a top-ranked White female athlete.
Data show that Serena Williams experienced more microaggresive themes related to
gender roles and racial insults than Angelique Kerber (p 0.0000). It is concluded that future research should
explore in greater depth the microagression aimed at Black female athletes in
all levels of sports and their participation.