One+Standard.+Over+The+Line+Is+Over+The+Line

Catherine Cannon Mass Media and Society Professor Hobbs Due: September 16, 2009

__**One Standard: Over The Line Is Over The Line**__ New York Times writer, William C. Rhoden wrote an article this past week entitled, “One Standard: Over the Line Is Over the Line” which was a commentary on female tennis player, Serena William’s, outburst during the United States Open as well as on her apology and the standards that society has set for men and women and the boundaries of their “competitive edge” while competing. What caught and kept my attention as a reader was that I noticed that the author himself was a man and when the article began questioning society’s stereotypical views of how comparing how men are celebrated and commended for their outburst while competing and women are frowned more upon. “With one stunning outburst, Williams barreled into the hallowed Men Only Hall of Intemperance reserved for John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase, great players who became legendary for their rampages against line judges, umpires and each other…McEnroe’s youthful intemperance is celebrated in series of entertaining commercials; Connors’s intensity is heralded as symbol of competitive fire” (Rhoden). I for one was surely not expecting such comments from a male because just as society judged Williams for her outburst by stereotypes while I similarly judged and stereotyped the article by it’s content. Rhoden brings to attention that it is unfair that men are allowed to have outbursts due to their “raging testosterone and machismo” (Rhoden) and outright says that those who looked down on Williams’s outburst are sexist. He concludes with, “There is no room for a gender-based double standard. There is one code of conduct: civility in victory and graciousness in defeat” (Rhoden). Which I thought was very enamoring because even though he defended Williams in a sexist light he did not commend her for her actions and that his hope was to bring men and women to an even keel when displaying good sportsmanship. Other people might interpret this message differently by taking what Rhoden’s article as one that is sympathizing with Serena more than wanting to change the sexist stereotype due to his opening when he focused so much on Serena’s public announcement explaining her behaviors and her apology. Additionally, the article never did articulate exactly what Serena did at the US Open so therein lies another reason why some might believe Rhoden was sympathizing because some do indeed feel that William’s behavior at the US Open in her match against Kim Clijsters. During the match Serena had received a warning after smashing her tennis racket in frustration because she lost a heated point and then following this she disagreed with a line judges call on a foot fault, which resulted in her losing a match point, so she screamed at the line judge, “If I could, I would take this f-king ball and shove it down your f-king throat” (EON). This story is newsworthy because it gives a rounded perspective of stereotypes found not only in the media but also in our world around us. The author of the textbook, “Introduction to Mass Communication Media Literacy and Culture”, Stanley Baran, I believe would not consider this hard news as he described in his chapter on newspapers because it does not keep the readers informed on very important ideas and issues that are facing our world today (Baran, 110). However it is notable due to its popularity in public commentary.

Works Cited Baran, S. (2009) Introduction to Mass Media Communication Media Literacy and Culture. (6th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill. EON. (September 15, 2009). What Did Serena Williams Say At The US Open Tennis – EON. EON-Keeping Ontario Connected. p. 1.  Rhoden, William C. (September 15, 2009). One Standard: Over The Line Is Over The Line. The New York Times. p. 1. .