Serena Williams was recently asked to “twirl” during an interview and the tennis star wasn’t impressed. And we get it. But the social media freak-out wasn’t necessary.
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“A commentator asked me to twirl. I wouldn’t ask Rafa [Nadal] or Roger [Federer] to twirl,” Williams said in an interview with the Guardian. “Whether it’s sexist or not, I don’t know.”
Actually, under some circumstances, if the athletes are rocking a really great sponsored outfit, the guys might just join in the twirling, as well. They sure do on the red carpets during awards season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s not an uncommon question.
Twitter definitely took a stance, though, and it wasn’t positive for the interviewer.
https://twitter.com/MorenikeAdebay0/status/558208054253338624
I'd like to see someone ask the fierce and fabulous #SerenaWilliams to twirl!?Perhaps sports commentators need media training. #twirlgate
— Nic Carrington-Sima (@NicCarrington) January 22, 2015
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Fellow player, Eugenie Bouchard, got the same question after an Australian Open match. And she practically told the interviewer that he had to ask Williams the same question since Bouchard thought her competitor’s outfit was the best.
www.youtube.com/embed/r35Dyk9fze4
I’m all for the feminist push of equality these days, but just like there’s a difference between sexy and sexist, there’s a difference between feminism and nit-picking.
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“I didn’t really want to twirl because I was just like, you know, I don’t need all the extra attention. But, yeah, it was fine,” Williams continued in the Guardian interview. “I don’t think and look that deep into it. Life is far too short to focus on that. We have so many other problems we want to deal with that we should focus on. Whether I twirl or not, it’s not the end of the world. It’s about being positive and just moving forward.”
I think we should all take Williams’ advice and let it go and move forward. Plus, life is too short. Embrace it. Go with it. Give it a twirl.
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