Is Serena bleaching or is it just a lighter make-up? Lets talk about it!

Serena Williams is a multiple winner of the highest tennis game awards in the world. She is undeniably the Queen of Tennis. She is the Queen of Fashion in Tennis. She is an empire owner and a mother. Again as always, this article is written for teaching and entertainment purposes only. Please read with ease.

Serena is a Beautiful Black Woman

Serena Williams has been a role model to many black girls, particularly the dark-skinned ones. This has been the same ever since we got to know about her and her sister, Venus. They were dark, chocolatey, and full of melanin. They were running the Tennis world …in their full melanin form. They represented unsaturated power. They were fierce. And we (the unproblematic ones) were all living for it. Because they were breaking glass ceilings while being black. Not just black, but dark black.

This is a big deal — being dark skinned and breaking boundaries. And it was even a bigger deal back then because being black was not as fashionable as it is today …in the media world.

Then what changed?

Then …the mean people started mocking Serena and Venus Williams. They were doing it on and off the media. Viciously. The media vilified their assertive and statuesque beauty. They vilified them for being successful while being black. They were called all sorts of names. From being ‘ugly’ to being ‘man looking‘ (as if that’s a diss).

Black men said that Serena was too masculine to date. In fact, the social media had many bad things to say about her looks. She had all of that success but was still being devalued. She also dated some of the black celebrities, such as Common and Drake, and those relationships didn’t last.

In essence, no black man was brave enough to choose her and marry her. To choose her with all that negativity she had inherited because of her mesmirising looks. To choose her and protect her. To choose her and show the world that she was desirable. To show that she was desirable because of her looks. Black men failed her in that aspect.

So, the Queen of Tennis went on and dated white. She married Alexis Ohanian, who, in my opinion, was brave. Brave to date a woman who was publicly humiliated for her looks and strength. He was brave to choose an option that was being looked down upon …by the society.

It’s brave to have selected an ‘outsider‘ knowing that his choice could (negatively) affect his place in the ‘media society’. He chose a woman, who in her might and fullness, was seen as nothing but a (s)crumb. Maybe, Serena also chose Alexis because he did not feel intimidated by her wealth, strength, and unpopular beauty.

Big lips, big thighs, toned muscles, and a dark chocolate skin. Thick skinned. A melanin Queen. She is the epitome of beauty. And we’re not going to place her beauty next to anyone’s. In comparison. No! She is full and beautiful just as she is.

The Teaching Moment from her life

It’s important for people to realise and accept that we come in different shapes. As people, we have different skin complexions, body types, and hair textures. The old stereotyping days are long gone now. Don’t find yourself stuck in that world. Today, we’re in times where we acknowledge, boldly, that:

A woman with toned muscles is feminine.
A woman who is dark-skinned is beautiful.
A woman with a strong jawline, or a wide forehead and nose is gorgeous.
A woman with a big toned bum is attractive.

Proof: Look at this queen, in her darkness, and feeling herself

From Serena’s Instagram account, one can understand that she is not ashamed of her dark skin. Yes! She posts some of her pictures with filters. But, she also posts some f them as raw and beautiful as she was born. It’s normal.

Why is she choosing a lighter make-up or filter ?

Now, we’re not going to deny that in some of her Instagram pictures, Serena looks way lighter than we know her to be. Some have accused her of bleaching her skin to appease her white husband. But, in this day and age, many people use filters …including white or light skinned looking people. It is not about appeasing their white or lighter skinned partners. It’s just using an option that’s easily available to “boost” the appearance of a picture.

NOW… I have a problem with the society’s view. They say that the lighter the picture looks, the prettier the person is. But that’s another topic for another day.

To me, as a project manager who graduated from Business School, I look at it from a marketing point of view. The society, at this point, still believes that the whiter or lighter it looks, the more marketable it becomes. Yes, the view is problematic, but it is also the reality that we’re facing today.

We must remember that Serena Williams is not just a Tennis Queen. She is also a successful entrepreneur. She is running a successful self-named sporting apparel. Thus, for her to win the market which is still believing that “white or light is right“, she has to appeal to, and appease, that market. That’s just a business and marketing strategy. Marketing 101. There’s no proof, in her Instagram posts, that indicates low self-esteem, …or anything that these people are saying on social media.

Now, Serena in her marketing mode

Marketing and feeling insecure can go hand in hand. As a result, many successful businesses use that knowledge to their advantage. The cosmetic industry being the best example.

Serena Williams. This beautiful woman here has turned all her insecurities into a money-making empire. She has used all the negativity that she received in her career to build a legacy. To create a heavy bag.

With that in mind…

I also understand, as a black writer, the importance of raw representation. The importance of showing our black people that we can be successful without saturating ourselves, or our looks. It’s important to know that being successful while being fully black is more than possible.

But, we must also analyse the intention of our role models. And in the case of Queen Serena, by just studying her Instagram account, it becomes easy to tell. She is proud of her skin, but she is also a business woman who is talking to her market.

Go on Serena, keep on doing it big and beautifully. I’m here for all of your success.