Marion Bartoli

No matter how accomplished or how talented a woman is, her appearance is always treated as relevant. Here's one example. BBC tennis commentator, John Inverdale, had this to say about France's Marion Bartoli who just won Wimbledon's women's singles title:

"I just wonder if her dad, because he has obviously been the most influential person in her life, did say to her when she was 12, 13, 14 maybe, 'listen, you are never going to be, you know, a looker. You are never going to be somebody like a [Maria] Sharapova, you're never going to be 5ft 11, you're never going to be somebody with long legs, so you have to compensate for that."

 

Bartoli took this powerful swing in response:

Tennis_MarionBartoli
  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Tumblr
  • jessica

    What an ass! So, the only reason a woman would compete and strive to be amazing at something is if she’s not going to be 5’11” and a “looker”?!? Thank God I’m not 5’11”, cause I’d hate to be confined to accomplishing nothing with my life other than being “attractive”. I wonder what he’s compensating for, since clearly it’s a subject on his mind.

  • Ukumbwa Sauti M.Ed.

    What an insensitive and disrespectful thing to say! Great patriarchal story, arrogant mantasy there. I hope someone in his corporation spoke to him about the major faux pas his statement represents.

Buy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee