Le Tennis!!!

This week is the second week of the Australian Open Tennis grand slam. I've been keeping up with one of my favorite players, Serena Williams, and while watching one night one of the commentators made a reference to her physique, and it just got me thinking about the sport and its players. Men and women do not play each other in singles, and only in mixed doubles - this already suggests a view of unequality among men and women. I must say, however, that I agree that men are physically different from women and ultimately, can play harder, longer, and better. What struck me as interesting though was Serena Williams herself. Many commentators and others thought that she, a very atheletically built woman, was too "beefy." They felt that she had too much muscle mass. I really don't understand why they would feel this, when Serena is currently ranked 2nd in the world in women's tennis and could possibly be 1st by the weekend. The funny thing is, the same amount of muscle on a man is...expected. So why is it a problem on a woman's body? I will admit, that I personally wouldn't want to be that cut but as a professional tennis player I would love it. Also with tennis and gender, there is a definite increase use of power on both the women and men's side. Yet, women and men are starting to play more and more like each other - almost as if the rise of women in society trickled over to the atheletic world too. Though there are significant differences among women and men, women are steadily able to do everything that men do.