What Pop Culture Rivalries Say about Race

Pop culture thrives on rivalries; the more dramatic the more memorable, and in the capitalist scheme of things, more marketable. It always feels great to have someone to root for, but when someone's race is used as a tool to undermine their success, rivalries become less enjoyable and more frustrating.

First in the ring on the uneven ways race affects a public rivalry is Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. Their ridiculously hyped August fight was filled with the usual trash talk that's omnipresent in all competitive sport, but McGregor's taunts were rife with racist undertones. "Dance for me boy," he said to Mayweather, a phrase that might seem irrelevant if you are unaware of the historical American context of white men and women using words like "boy" to infantilize black men. McGregor being Irish could be somewhat forgiven for the geographical ignorance had he not later used "monkeys" to describe black boxers. The fight was set up as black vs white; a fist sport favoured by the immigrant working-class viewers vs. white ultimate fighting; and fans on both sides reacted accordingly with Mayweather's camp heavily invested in his win as validation of a black man triumphing over mainstream whiteness, while McGregor's people wanted to see a very white man beat (literally) a very successful black athlete.

White people are often offered the benefit of the doubt in times when they've made racist comments and are painstakingly asked to clarify if what they said was what they actually "meant." McGregor clarified that he was not a racist but was in fact, "half-black from the belly-button down," "did not even see colour," and was madly in love with "all his beautiful black female fans." His use of language meant to be comical was ill-advised, exasperating and criticized as racist, yet his comments were quickly filed away as forgettable quotes from an aggressive competitor trying to get under his opponent's skin. He said racist things, but hey, he's a fighter, this is sport, it's just words. People quickly forget that it was/is just words that perpetuate the oppression of black people. "Monkeys, slave, confederate, union, history, segregate, rights, criminal, police." Just words. McGregor lost the fight, but he also should have lost public support from those who claim to denounce racism in all forms, and not received a free pass because he happens to believe that making sexually suggestive statements on the virility of black men will absolve him of any fault.

A longstanding and talked-to-death example on the role race plays in a rivalry is that of Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Much of Swift's career has been aided by her whiteness on which white America has projected all the virtues seen as befitting a young, successful white woman. Next to Kanye's black, abrasive and unrepentant demeanour, she's charming, politically neutral to the point of being politically complicit and agreeable. This was only heightened in 2009 when Kanye's honest speech about mainstream award shows mistreatment of black artists, turned Swift into white Middle America's most beloved pariah and Kanye became the uncouth black man who ruined her special moment. America's understanding of African-American men and their interactions with whiteness, specifically white women, is a racial minefield. In the worst of scenarios it is violent and at it's most petty and superficial it looks like Kanye's legacy being defined by a two minute call-out, while Swift continues to spout contrived statements insisting on being "excluded from the narrative." All the vile and racist stereotypes attached to black masculinity inevitably come to the surface in mainstream conversations regarding the artistic rivalry between West and Swift, and even at her most undeserving Swift is still viewed as the better person. When she's not the better artist her mediocrity remains more palpable than West's genius, simply because his audacious blackness seemingly overshadows his talent, while her whiteness keeps her immune from publicly acknowledged failure.

The supposed rivalry between tennis icon Serena Williams and tennis player Maria Sharapova is a 21st century fixture that is unmistakably linked to race. It's an interesting relationship in that it's one sided, and Williams successes are always stated begrudgingly with some type of caveats attached to the praise. In her recently released autobiography, Unstoppable: My Life So Far, Sharapova spends an obscene amount of time writing about the "rivalry" between her and Williams, but it's the language she uses to describe Williams that is telling. "First of all, her physical presence is much stronger and bigger than you realize watching TV," Sharapova writes. "She has thick arms and thick legs and is so intimidating and strong. And tall, really tall." Keep in mind that Williams is 5'9 and Sharapova is 6'2 so her attempts to make Williams seem physically daunting are baffling and pathetically misguided. Consciously or not Sharapova uses racially coded language to describe Williams, with words like thick, intimidating and strong constantly used to dehumanize black women while simultaneously asserting their proximity to the masculine and unattractive.

Sharapova has met Williams 21 times and won twice. That means Williams has defeated her 19 times. Whatever rivalry exists clearly lives in Sharapova's head. With a career spanning almost two decades and 39 Grand Slam Titles (2nd highest in the open era), Serena Williams has proven with each groundbreaking serve, that she is one of the greats. Yet her wins are constantly made to seem unfairly inevitable because of her built and "manly " strength. For 11 years Sharapova was the highest paid female athlete in the world and It took a failed drug test for sponsors to think twice about offering money and visibility to someone who did not even come close to being the best. Some rivalries exist merely because the world needs to see a white body in some proximity to greatness, so as to ensure that the default excellence attached and expected of whiteness is never forgotten. Sharapova's failed drug test led to a 15-month suspension from the sport, and endorsement losses from some of her biggest sponsors, including Nike and Tag Heuer. This ultimately led to Serena Williams becoming the highest paid female athlete in both 2016 and 2017, and she's also the only women on the latest Forbes 100 highest paid athletes' list.

Using blackness to undermine someone's work and achievements is not a modern phenomenon and as far back as the late 18th century, black people were always seen as the lesser matches to their white peers. Take a look at the rivalry between social activist, Frances Willard, and NAACP co-founder and journalist, Ida B Wells. Even 18th century media was not immune to manufacturing this "rivalry" as a minor disagreement between two women that could be fixed with a call for unity, not realizing that the presence of unity does not mean the beginning of justice.

To look at these rivalries is to understand the West's struggle to fully make room for visible and successful black people, without resorting to racist and painful stereotypes dressed up as entertainment or opinion. Rivalries between black people and their white counterparts will always leave them lacking, even when they are evidently more talented, more deserving and just simply more. Whiteness will always be set up to overshadow black excellence and in a white supremacist world, the chips will never fall in the black.

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