Serena Williams opens up about body image struggles: ‘I didn’t see people that

Serena Williams has opened up about her body image struggles and the impact of growing up in an era without ‘body positivity’.

Reflecting on her childhood in a new interview in British Vogue, the 23-time Grand Slam champion noted the absence of people and women who looked like her in the public eye.

“When I was growing up, what was celebrated was different. Venus looked more like what is really acceptable: she has incredibly long legs, she’s really, really thin,” Williams, 39, says.

“I didn’t see people on TV that looked like me, who were thick. There wasn’t a positive body image. It was a different age.”

Despite being a world tennis champion with far more important things to talk about, Williams has been the subject of numerous attacks on her body over the years.

The athlete previously opened up about her childhood to Harper’s Bazaar UK, detailing the taunts she’d been subject to her entire career.

“People would say I was born a guy, all because of my arms, or because I’m strong,” she said.

In 2018, Williams previously shut down a reporter who questioned whether she was “intimidated” by her opponent Maria Sharapova’s “supermodel good looks”.

Another opponent, Caroline Wozniacki, once imitated Williams’ body by inserting padding into her on-court outfit in what many perceived to be both a racist and body-shaming attack on the athlete.

While increased representation and visibility has helped Williams celebrate her body’s power, she also cites her daughter Olympia, three, as her greatest source of inspiration.

Telling Vogue the birth of her child made her “thankful” for her body, the athlete explains her appreciation for her physique comes “full circle when I look at my daughter.”

“I only wish I had been thankful sooner.”

The fashion designer has also consistently used her platform to call out systemic racism, both on and off the court, since her sports debut in the mid-90s

Despite the barrage of criticism she has faced, Williams has been vocal about the injustices faced by the black community in the US, telling Vogue, “Now, we as Black people have a voice.”

In the wake of the death of George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter protests, Williams is aiming to break the status quo, both through her sporting and fashion endeavours.

“Someone in my position can show women and people of colour that we have a voice, because Lord knows I use mine,” she explains.

“I love sticking up for people and supporting women. Being the voice that millions of people don’t have.”