I don’t know if anyone will see this post but I’ve had this thought for a while now and want to voice it.
I am a girl who lives in a small town in New Zealand, and am like 5% indigenous to New Zealand (Māori), and this context is necessary because when my family found out my great-great-great grandmother was fully Māori, my small, white, rural town kind of lost it? People treated me differently, despite me looking 100% european. I’m not going to downplay the racism black women in the wnba receive and say the discrimination I received was anything like their’s is, but I think that having this context may help with my take (but also I think anybody with an EQ will agree).
When I first began liking the WNBA (very recently, I joined with Paige), I immediately saw the racism in the league. The way people like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Kate Martin are WORSHIPPED by fans, but black players who are on par (or higher) skilled in the game are far less worshipped. But it’s not just that. It’s the way that when the Unrivalled teams were announced this year, people were immediately fans of the Breeze because of Cameron Brink, Paige and Kate. I see edits online of the white players far more than the black. Like this level of racism in the league has been talked about for many years.
But what I’m also trying (and clearly failing) to articulate here is that not only do people value the white players more, they also crush on them harder? Not that the amount of queer teenagers crushing on a fully grown woman is a measure of the love for them, but it kind of is. I think that there is a deeper level, subconscious prejudice against being attracted to, liking and valuing the black players. As a New Zealander, I didn’t have slaves. As a Māori, it breaks my heart to see the prejudice that Māori people are trying to break through is also being seen in something as mainstream and well-viewed as the WNBA.
Now to get less deep and liberal, I also just don’t see how people think that women like Rhyne Howard, Gabby Williams, Dijonai Carrington, Nalyssa Smith, Napheesa Collier and SO many more, aren’t as hot as women like Cameron Brink, Kelsey Plum, Paige Bueckers and Kate Martin. Like yes, those women latter mentioned are gorgeous but so are those aforementioned? I honestly don’t know where this post was supposed to end up going, but I did want to talk about the worshipping of white players over black… i think. I have lost the plot but now I’ve spent ten minutes writing it so I’m going to post it 😭
