Emma Stone was among the many celebrities who brought feminist activists to this year’s Golden Globes, and her choice of date was absolutely perfect. Stone was accompanied by former World No. 1 professional tennis player and pioneer for gender equality and social justice, Billie Jean King. The pair was fitting because Stone was nominated that evening for her portrayal of King in the recent biopic, Battle of the Sexes, which is based on the 1973 tennis match between King and Bobby Riggs. While having such influential women of different disciplines and generations together for the occasion was lovely, it was also an important reminder of the reach of gender inequality across industries, and of how much there’s still left to do, even 45 years after King’s historic win.
As I watched the Golden Globes this year, I felt like history was being made before my eyes. With so many celebrities standing in black-clad solidarity with victims of sexual assault and Oprah Winfrey promising that “a new day is on the horizon,” I felt uplifted and empowered. It gave me hope that social equality could be possible, if not foreseeable.
I can’t help imagining that this is how spectators of the Battle of the Sexes tennis match felt in 1973. Billie Jean King’s win against Bobby Riggs was a victory for all women, as it disproved Riggs’ claim that men are inherently superior athletes. Since then, great strides have been made to support female athletes. For instance, King herself founded the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation, organizations that have enabled female tennis players to develop and display their skills.
Still, Serena Williams, who is widely considered to be the best female tennis player in the world today, faces sexist comments. Recently, John McEnroe belittled her talent and accomplishments by claiming that her all-star status would mean nothing in the men’s circuit. The fact of the matter is, Billie Jean King’s story remains incredibly relevant today, and this proves that our work is not done yet.
Having Emma Stone and Billie Jean King together on the Golden Globes red carpet emphasized important parallels between the sporting world and the entertainment industry. Over 45 ago, King helped to form The World Team Tennis league, because, at the time, professional female tennis players were only being offered 9% of the of prize money that was being offered to men for winning a tournament? The same tournament?. This year, actresses such as Eva Longoria and Debra Messing used their time on the red carpet to bring attention to E! News’ failure to pay former Daily Pop host, Catt Sadler, the same amount as her male co-host, even though both hosts started on the show around the same time.
Though Billie Jean King was the main breadwinner in her family, she lacked opportunities to profit from her hard work and talent, simply because she was a woman. Today, despite countless examples of female directors, such as Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman, 2017) and Jennifer Lee (Frozen, 2013), who have attained great success at the box office, female directors still face a similar barrier as they are seldom given opportunities to create big-budget films. As IndieWire reported, only 12 of the 149 studio films slated for production over the next three years are set to have female directors.
As Oprah and Connie Britton pointed out during the Golden Globes, it is important to note that these patterns of inequality are not unique to sports and entertainment—they exist across disciplines and social classes. While it is disappointing to see that women today are still facing several of the same social injustices that they faced 45 years ago, we can’t discount the progress that has been made and that is still being made. Just as Billie Jean King responded to the poor treatment of female tennis players by creating her own tournament, actresses and filmmakers like Charlize Theron, Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon are taking matters into their own hands by creating their own studios and financing their own projects in order to create opportunities for women. There are signs of progress in the tennis world as well, as people like Andy Murray are speaking up to ensure that female athletes are recognized for their accomplishments.
For me, seeing Emma Stone and Billie Jean King together reminded me that, though we have taken major steps towards gender equality in many disciplines and industries, our progress has been slow. In the midst of all of the grandeur and excitement of this year’s Golden Globes, I hope that we will not sit back in contentment and mistake the event for an indicator of absolute success. Rather, I hope that the event serves as a source of momentum as we continue our important efforts towards social and gender equality.
Picture sources in order: 1/2/3