You Have to Watch Serena Williams’ Incredible New Nike Ad
Serena Williams is pretty much the definition of G.O.A.T.: She’s propelled herself to (literally) the top of her game, won the Australian Open while pregnant, and, following the birth of her daughter, has spoken out about the (sometimes scary) realities of childbirth. Now she’s rightfully showing it off: In a new ad for Nike, called “Until We All Win,” she draws upon her successes—especially those that some claim hold contradictions—to support, lify up, and encourage other women. It might be the most empowering thing you see all weekend.
In the ad, Williams narrates the contradictions that she’s faced while carving out her own path in the world and the obstacles people have tried to put in her way.
“I’ve never been the right kind of woman,” she says in a voice-over layered over shots of her absolutely smashing it on the tennis court. “Oversized and overconfident. Too mean if I don’t smile. Too black for my tennis whites. Too motivated for motherhood. But I am proving, time and time again, there’s no wrong way to be a woman.”
Let’s clarify here: These are all things that society constructs around how they (wrongly) imagine a person to be. Motherhood, as some pointed out on Twitter, has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of motivation—having kids doesn’t mean that you’re not dedicated to your career (tennis pro or otherwise), your side hustle, your hobbies, your activism, or the development of your identity as an individual.
Sorry to butt into this late convo but I think it was acknowledging the assumption that ppl think women who want to advance in their careers can’t also want/have families. Like “oh she’s really moving up. pft. no way she’ll stop to take time for family”
— stanley cup champion lars eller (@whatadani) March 11, 2018
What does resonate is the fact that, as Williams says, there is no wrong way to be a woman.
— AkuaSaa (@tennis4ever2) March 11, 2018
That should be the mindset we teach our girls "THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO BE A WOMAN"
— kande17 (@1017kanderson) March 11, 2018
She should have been Wonder Woman. Seriously.
— Iain 🛫🚥🛬 "IDENT if you support Ukraine…" 🇺🇦 (@GrinningNumpty) March 11, 2018
Despite the mixed messaging and conditioning we still receive—that which tells us that being a woman is about performing femininity or carrying the emotional labor of running a household—being a woman can mean an infinite amount of things. And it’s what it means to each individual one of us that matters.
Related Stories:
-Alexis Ohanian Bought Billboards for Serena Williams, and I Can’t Even Get a Text Back
-Serena Williams Surprised a Group of Girls With a ‘Black Panther’ Screening
-Serena Williams Got Extremely Personal About the Scary Circumstances of Her Daughter’s Birth
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