{"id":781,"date":"2021-04-08T12:26:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T10:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/?p=781"},"modified":"2021-07-16T11:02:24","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T09:02:24","slug":"elena-cadamuro-black-venus-black-gazelle-the-black-female-sporting-body-in-italian-popular-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/?p=781","title":{"rendered":"Elena Cadamuro: Black Venus, Black Gazelle. The Black Female Sporting Body in Italian Popular Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On February 20th, 2021, the Italian long-jumper Larissa Iapichino set a new under-20 long jump indoor world record at the national championships in Ancona, equalizing the Italian long jump record achieved by her mother, Fiona May, in 1998. The following day, together with several displays of enthusiasm, an article published by Corriere della Sera<\/em> in 2018[1]<\/sup><\/a> has been called to the public attention because of the author stating that Iapichino was the expression of \u201cFiona\u2019s wild beauty\u201d \u201ctamed by her father\u2019s Caucasian chromosomes\u201d. The outraged comments on the social media[2]<\/sup><\/a>, aimed to underline the racial legacies conveyed by this phrase, led the Corriere della Sera<\/em>\u2019s staff to adjust the text to a milder version, where Fiona\u2019s beauty, now defined as Caribbean, is just<\/em> \u201cmixed with the father\u2019s European chromosomes\u201d: a superficial revision incapable of truly modifying the structure of the article, still containing many traces of the most popular stereotypes attributed to the black female athletes. Despite the revision, in fact, Iapichino turns out to be a charming \u201cgazelle\u201d with \u201cebony skin\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case of Larissa Iapichino is a clear expression of how a racist colonial heritage still operates today. It also provides evidence of how colonial cultural representations survived through the post-war period, being transmitted and thriving in an almost uninterrupted chain of cases like this one. More specifically, this case appears to be particularly significant since it evokes the encounter between the idea of a hypersexualized black woman and the attribution of animalistic features to the black body in general. That merging of the \u201cblack Venus\u201d and black athlete\u2019s stereotypes is at the core of my current research project which aims at studying how issues of race and colonial heritage were represented in popular culture, in particular through the lens of Epoca <\/em>(1950-1997), one of the major Italian newsmagazines of the post-war period. I\u2019m focusing on how Africa and people of African descent were portrayed, in order to analyze the hetero-referred side of the Italian identity building process as well[3]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixty years ago, Epoca<\/em> published an article entitled \u201cThe \u2018black Venus\u2019 is the fastest of the world\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a>: the topic was the new 100m world record set in Stuttgart by Wilma Rudolph (later also remembered in Italian popular culture as the \u201cblack gazelle\u201d) on July 19th, 1961. According to the magazine, Rudolph was a \u201csimpatica \u2018negretta\u2019 americana\u201d [nice American \u201clittle negro\u201d girl] who finally gained the world record she was denied the year before, during 1960 Olympic Games, due to excessive tailwind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of the Sixties, Italy had just ended its postcolonial experience in Somalia (the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration, 1950-1960) and, although it did not experience the significant migrations other former colonial powers did, \u201cthe country was not white, homogeneous and \u2018blemish-free\u2019 as the national self-narrative had long claimed\u201d[5]<\/sup><\/a>. The corollary of this misleading narrative was the belief that Italians did not have the chance to dwell upon \u201crace\u201d, since there were no black people in their country[6]<\/sup><\/a>. People from the former colonies \u2013 as well as groups of African Americans from the U.S. settled in Italy after WWII \u2013 were not many and mostly concentrated in specific geographical areas, yet that assumption is quite inaccurate: first of all, an examination of Epoca<\/em> shows indeed that \u201cmeticcio\u201d Italians, as well as black people in general, were absolutely present both in the Italian society and in the Italian popular culture. Secondly, it could be argued that Italians were fully aware of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to the Stuttgart race, it is remarkable how Epoca<\/em>\u2019s editorial staff did not give specific information about the event, nor mention any of this athlete\u2019s skills. Apart from the fact that she had already participated at the Olympic Games in 1956 and in 1960, and some additional information around her biography (mostly about her large family and her childhood marked by polio), the author decided to highlight that, \u201cbecause of her attractiveness, she is defined by sportsmen as the \u2018black Venus\u2019\u201d. What Epoca<\/em> is recalling here, just like in the title of the article, is the old and powerful stereotype, deeply rooted in the colonial past, of a hypersexualized woman, \u201cthe epitome of the collective unconscious fantasy and equally of the primordial fear of the Other\u201d[7]<\/sup><\/a>. Like in the Iapichino case, although the reference to the \u201cblack Venus\u201d does not appear in that context explicitly, this image overlaps and merges with another widespread stereotype: the \u201cnatural prowess\u201d of the black athlete[8]<\/sup><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As previously mentioned, Wilma Rudolph participated in the 1960 Olympic Games and, in that year, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games. The competition took place in Rome and Epoca<\/em> noted her successes. Looking at the article published on that occasion[9]<\/sup><\/a>, once again the editorial staff points to her physical appearance: they write that Wilma Rudolph combines \u201ca remarkable feminine charm\u201d with \u201can exceptional athletic ability\u201d, and furthermore they state that somebody, talking about her, used to remember Josephine Baker, the pre-eminently \u201cblack Venus\u201d. The entanglement between sexual dimension and natural inclination to physical activities results reinforced when the author writes \u2013 in order to emphasize her unprecedented achievements \u2013 that \u201cnobody has ever seen a woman running so lightly\u201d: \u201cwithout any effort, without any orgasm\u201d. Thus, rapidly escalating, the focus is moved from the generic stereotype of the \u201cblack Venus\u201d, although definitely rooted in the sexual sphere, to an explicit and rough reference to the apex of the sexual act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
fig. 1: Wilma Rudolph, Epoca<\/em>, no. 520, September 18, 1960, 62.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Looking also at the pictures chosen to illustrate the article, it can be noticed how, beside two images of Rudolph portrayed out of the race context (hugging the American athlete Earlene Brown and carrying some presents received by her admirers), the predominant picture portrays her in the crouched position of the sprinter, staring at the ground (fig. 1). In this case Epoca<\/em> selected a figure unbalanced and bent down, instead of showing the athlete in the act of running. The idea conveyed is that of an explosive performance, where sporting and sexual prowess are connected and where the structure of the image can potentially evoke a sexual and even animalistic position[10]<\/sup><\/a>. Looking at the pictures from the article published in 1961 \u2013 together with an image of a running Rudolph, this time \u2013 the second picture chosen to celebrate her world record portrays the athlete with an arm pointed on her hip and a clearly protruding tongue (fig. 2). Although this photo does not evoke evident sexual references, it is significant that the editorial staff decided to pick a picture that emphasize her feminine figure, in a way that is rather distant from the celebrative iconography of the sporting body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
fig. 2: Wilma Rudolph, Epoca<\/em>, no. 565, July 30, 1961, 12.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the context of an athletic competition, where the only element qualifying the winner appears to be her identification with the \u201cblack Venus\u201d stereotype, colonial heritage comes to light in an even more disruptive way when Abebe Bikila is mentioned. His success is in fact celebrated by Epoca<\/em> in the very same article where Rudolph is compared to Josephine Baker: the Ethiopian runner was the winner of the Olympic marathon in Rome 1960 and the editorial staff notes that everybody acclaimed him \u201crecalling in the picturesque jargon the colonial memories and calling him Ras Tafari, affectionately\u201d. Furthermore, the athlete who won the silver medal in the same competition was Rhadi Ben Abdesselam, a Moroccan long-distance runner. Referring to the two African winners Epoca<\/em> quotes that somebody stated: \u201cNoah\u2019s Ark arrived\u201d. This phrase sheds light on one last aspect, already pointed out in the Iapichino case: the central role played by media in biologizing black performance using animalistic similarities[11]<\/sup><\/a>, in this occasion strongly linked to the idea of an a-historical and mythological living condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, going back to the article appeared on Corriere della Sera<\/em> it is relevant to underline that the author dedicates the last paragraph to considerations concerning racism in Italy, quoting Fiona May who stated \u201cItaly is not racist. I have lived here for 20 years, thus I can say that\u201d. On the contrary, the colonial legacies evoked by the very same article show how colonial (and racist) cultural representations still resound in our contemporary society. Considering an event occurred sixty years ago and representative of a long-term trend \u2013 such as the Wilma Rudolph case \u2013 helps us to fill the gap between colonial past and postcolonial present and to shed light on the paths followed by colonial and racist stereotypes in the long post-war era. It also allows us to reflect upon the relationship between a colonial past made present and active by the ongoing presence of people considered colored<\/em> and an enduring narrative of an alleged homogenous body of the nation[12]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> Gaia Piccardi, \u201cFiona e Larissa May: i segreti del salto (e della vita) di madre in figlia,\u201d Corriere della Sera<\/em>, August 9, 2018 (modified on February 21, 2021), https:\/\/www.corriere.it\/liberitutti\/18_agosto_06\/fiona-larissa-may-segreti-salto-vita-madre-figlia-78abb2ba-998b-11e8-93a8-0c8df24d38b5.shtml<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> The first comments appeared probably on Twitter, when Oiza Q. Obasuyi posted a screenshot of the Corriere della Sera<\/em> article highlighting the phrase: \u201cLarissa, in addition to Fiona\u2019s wild beauty (who was born to Jamaican parents in UK) tamed by her father\u2019s Caucasian chromosomes [\u2026]\u201d. On February 22nd, Obasuyi posted about deleting the previous tweet, since she had the chance to talk to the author who proceeded to modify the article (although Obasuyi considered the adjustment superficial and not complete).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> Cf. Gaia Giuliani, Cristina Lombardi-Diop, Bianco e nero: Storia dell\u2019identit\u00e0 razziale degli italiani<\/em> (Florence: Le Monnier, 2013).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> \u201cLa \u2018venere nera\u2019 \u00e8 la pi\u00f9 veloce del mondo,\u201d Epoca<\/em>, no. 565, July 30, 1961, 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a> Valeria Deplano, \u201cWithin and Outside the Nation: Former Colonial Subjects in Post-war Italy,\u201d Modern Italy<\/em> 23, no. 4 (2018): 397.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a> Cf. Cecilia Brioni, Simone Brioni, \u201cTransnational \u2018Italian\u2019 Stardom: Lara Saint Paul and the Performativity of Race,\u201d Italian Studies<\/em> 73 (2018): 351-364.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a> Sandra Ponzanesi, \u201cBeyond the Black Venus: Colonial Sexual Politics and Contemporary Visual Practices,\u201d in Italian Colonialism. Legacies and Memories<\/em>, ed. Jacqueline Andall and Derek Duncan (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2005), 176.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a> Cf. Kevin Hylton, \u201cRace\u201d and Sport. Critical Race Theory<\/em> (London and New York: Routledge, 2009).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/sup><\/a> Ezio Colombo, \u201c\u00c8 finita la meravigliosa festa delle Olimpiadi,\u201d Epoca<\/em>, no. 520, September 18, 1960, 60-65. Pictures by Mario De Biasi, Tazio Secchiaroli, Sergio Del Grande, Angelo Cozzi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/sup><\/a> Cf. Ben Carrington, \u201c\u2018Race\u2019, representation and the sporting body,\u201d in CUCR\u2019S Occasional Paper Series <\/em>(University of Brighton: Brighton, 2002).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/sup><\/a> Cf. Ben Carrington, \u201c\u2018Race\u2019, representation and the sporting body,\u201d in CUCR\u2019S Occasional Paper Series <\/em>(University of Brighton: Brighton, 2002).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/sup><\/a> To explore the connections between Italian black female athletes and our current society: Sandra Agyei Kyeremeh, \u201cSportive nere in maglia azzurra. Un approccio intersezionale allo sport italiano,\u201d Africa e Mediterraneo<\/em> 84 (2016): 46-50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On February 20th, 2021, the Italian long-jumper Larissa Iapichino set a new under-20 long jump indoor world record at the national championships in Ancona, equalizing the Italian long jump record achieved by her…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=781"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870,"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781\/revisions\/870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.centrastudies.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}