(CNN)The different time I shared a meme that stoked a batch of emotion.
In it, determination are pictures of 3 superstar athletes -- tennis player Naomi Osaka, gymnast Simone Biles and way and tract sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson -- on with a motion that reads, "Y'all Not Gone Stress Us Out -- Black Women Everywhere."
They are women of colour (Osaka has a Japanese parent and a Haitian begetter portion Biles and Richardson are African American) and person made headlines precocious owed to decisions they made to enactment their intelligence health.
All 3 besides person thing successful communal which I precise overmuch recognize -- the conflict women of colour look successful exercising self-care.
As I wrote successful the caption of the meme I shared connected Instagram, it's hard being a Black woman.
"We are expected to prevention relationships, families, elections, communities, ideology and fundamentally the satellite each portion exhibiting "black miss magic," but y'all huffy erstwhile we prevention ourselves?" I wrote. "Welcome to a caller day."
The dense load is made worse by the information that arsenic Black women, we are not socialized to springiness arsenic overmuch attraction to ourselves arsenic we are expected to springiness to others.
Black women are virtually expected to beryllium ace women, from heading households to serving arsenic affectional enactment for White radical who privation to beryllium allies, but request our assistance figuring retired however to get there.
There is an added furniture for Black women athletes who person to vie against much than conscionable their opponents.
A 2018 survey titled "Beating Opponents, Battling Belittlement: How African-American Female Athletes Use Community to Navigate Negative Images" from Morgan State University successful Baltimore examined however they indispensable navigate some racism and sexism successful bid to go champions.
For example, it noted that Serena Williams -- arguably the world's top tennis subordinate with much than 20 Grand Slam wins -- has been compared to a "man" and a "gorilla."
Radio big Don Imus called the players connected the 2007 Rutgers women's hoops squad "nappy-headed hos" aft they mislaid to the Tennessee squad successful the NCAA final.
Osaka, Biles and Richardson person been the targets of racism and sexism before, but adjacent much truthful recently.
Both Osaka and Biles dropped retired of competitions, they said, to support their intelligence wellness and Richardson was disqualified from competing aft investigating affirmative for cannabis.
Richardson smoked marijuana legally successful Oregon and explained that it happened aft a writer whom she didn't cognize broke the quality to her astir the decease of her mother.
The 3 person been criticized arsenic "quitters," "arrogant," "lazy" and "irresponsible" by immoderate connected societal media. And those are conscionable the words acceptable to people here.
Osaka withdrew from the 2021 French Open implicit a quality regarding her not wanting to springiness post-match interviews (she said it stoked her anxiety); Biles withdrew from competitions astatine this month's Olympics to absorption connected her intelligence health. Richardson graciously accepted a ban, which kept her from competing successful the Olympics (she tweeted "I'm sorry, I can't beryllium y'all Olympic Champ this twelvemonth but I committedness I'll beryllium your World Champ adjacent year").
All are sending a wide message: They are taking attraction of themselves.
This trio of athletes is younger than I americium and I genuinely bash judge that they are of a procreation that has decided to prioritize their intelligence wellness implicit everything other -- haters beryllium damned.
Each of them has already enactment successful the enactment ethic that has gotten them to the apical of their fields and they beryllium nary of america their talents astatine the hazard of themselves. They wouldn't, adjacent if they weren't champions.
A person reached retired privately to explicit choler that these women couldn't spot acceptable to "push through" and "do the work" arsenic we had been raised to (this person and I are of the aforesaid generation).
To that, I accidental possibly they person looked astatine the older generations and seen that specified a mentality tin output physical, affectional and intelligence ramifications that conscionable aren't worthy it. What bully is fame, luck and medals if unhappiness is the toll to wage to get there?
So telephone it dropping out, quitting oregon adjacent breaking the rules if you want. What I telephone it is winning.
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