ABSTRACTSOUTH AFRICAN & U.S. BLACK FEMALE ATHLETES COMPARED: A CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY FOCUSED ON IMAGE, PERCEPTIONS, AND NARRATIVES By Rachel Gayle Laws An athlete is a human being that participates in some form of organized sports competition as an amateur or professional, at local, national, or international levels .The historical and present experience of the Black female athlete is not the same as her male counterpart. This is a comparative case study that critically examines the past and present state of the Black female athlete in the United States and South Africa, primarily within the 1990s and early 2000s, focusing on image, perceptions, and narratives. Unique and interdisciplinary, this study draws upon oral interviews, archival research, images, and cinematic and literary theory and analysis. Much can be gained from a comparative pairing of Black women's lives at a specific historical moment using a particular method of analysis. Ultimately, this project argues that the ideological beliefs and values of white supremacy--the doctrine that places the White race as superior to all other races, but especially the Black race--in South Africa and the U.S. has shaped the (under)development, image, and daily experiences of their Black female athletes. For both Americans and South Africans, this study should be especially illuminating because it allows each country to view each other's gendered, racial, and class issues through the lens of their own female athletes' experiences, images, and narratives. I aim to present and challenge the acceptance of the current perceptions and imagery surrounding the Black female athlete, and unearth and identify the shared experiences and narratives of these athletes in the U.S. and South Africa; a connection that has not yet been explored through scholarship. The significance of this study lies in its implications for the construction of a new voice, vision, and theoretical framework for a group of women athletes who have largely been ignored, forgotten, and oppressed by two similar, yet distinct nations. Additionally, this study has the power to spark a deeper appreciation and investigation into the power of biographical and autobiographical narratives produced by athletes themselves, as most famous athletes' stories are presented to the public via secondary and tertiary interpretations. It is important to allow Black female athletes the vital space in which to define for themselves the contours of their experiences, aspirations, and opinions. The chapters of this study explore a wide-range of issues, relationships, themes, and theories concerning modes of understanding and analyzing Black female athletes and their role within the sports world and society in general. Significant historical periods and events, Black-White race relations, media and visual modes of cultural production, perceptions, and narratives, are presented and analyzed. The concluding chapter of this study offers insight into the future state of Black female athletes specifically and female athletics generally, in the United States and South Africa.
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