Gender equality and the LGBTQ+ community weren’t socially accepted before and through the 70’s. Most people were afraid to stand up for these movements, but every once in awhile, someone or a small group of people decided to speak up. One of them was Billie Jean King, former World No.1 Professional Tennis Player, and the movie Battle of the Sexes brings her story back to life.
Battle of the Sexes, which was released on September 22 of 2017, is a “dramedy” film, based on a true story. It’s about the story of Billie Jean, played by Emma Stone, and her personal story fighting for women’s rights by playing a tennis match versus Bobby Riggs, played by Steve Carrell, that was publicly titled “The Battle of the Sexes.” The film takes place in 1973, a time when women were still fighting for equal pay and their rights.
—Spoiler Alert—
It kicks off with a scene in which Billie Jean finds out that the women’s tennis tournament winning prize is about 8 times less than the men’s winning prize. She then decides to do something about it and starts an all women’s tennis tour as a boycott to provoke attention.
While on tour, she gets a call from Bobby which ended up in planning a tournament to prove, once and for all, that women can be just as skilled as men and don’t just belong in the bed and/or kitchen. It was Bobby vs. Billie Jean, man vs. woman, hence the name “battle of the sexes.” As expected, she wins the tournament and, therefore, helps the women’s rights and equality movements be heard during that time.
The movie also points out Billie Jean’s sexuality story, and how she realizes she is homosexual. Billie Jean was married to a man, but during the tour, she meets a woman who she instantly falls in love with. She decides to experiment that side of her, and discovers her true sexuality, but had to do it non-publicly (it could have hurt her career, especially with all the tour sponsors on the line).
Her husband finds out about the affair but reacts in a totally mature way. He knew the tennis tournament and all the women’s rights movement was too important for Billie Jean, so he continued to support her and help her win. That’s what I call a quality husband (even though they end up getting divorced after).
The fact that this movie is based on a true story makes me love it so much more. It’s an amazing story that deserves to be heard all over the world, especially when us women are still, to this day, fighting for the same rights that Billie Jean King fought for 40 years ago.