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Quote:
[Women’s] tennis is full of lesbians. Even when I was playing there were only a couple there but those couple that led took young ones into parties. And what you get at the top is often what you’ll get right through that sport. – Margaret Court, Tennis Legend
Artist:
Ethan Perushek
Artist Statement:
What I wanted to accomplish with highlighting this quote is that sexism can come from anywhere and often has multiple layers of exclusion. Margaret Court has more major tennis titles than anyone (some were won before the Open era of tennis as we know it started) and should be a role model.
But she recently has been using her platform to fight hard against marriage equality in her home country of Australia. Her quote strips these women down to their sexuality, which is irrelevant to their greatness or their sport. But it more so highlights the grim reality that LGBTIQ women are often excluded from the traditional "sisterhood" of women by many. Furthermore, the quote also continues the false and dangerous narrative of predatory behavior in the LGBTIQ community.
I wanted to take Ms. Court's words remove them of their homophobic and sexist power. By choosing this hateful rhetoric Ms. Court has tarnished her own legacy. In saying these things it would appear that she forgets that it doesn't matter if women's tennis is full of lesbians, because each and everyone of these amazing women is a champion first.
