This undoubtedly affects how people are perceived in the world, and the figure skating world is no exception. There is always a greater level of acceptance for people of color who are fair-skinned and/or white-passing. And she is not only a figure skater, but a Black figure skater, and a dark Black figure skater at that. A three-time World silver medalist, a five-time European champion. And it makes me wonder: once you’ve made it, have you really made it? Whether Surya Bonaly’s second-place score was a result of unconscious bias, a poorly-designed scoring system, or simply how she skated, we may never know. When I think of professional skaters of color, I immediately think of French figure skater Surya Bonaly, who infamously skated a flawless program at the 1994 World Championships and placed second. VINCENT AMALVY/AFP via Getty Images Skating offers precious few role models for people of color Suffice it to say that my suspicions were confirmed when I looked at the professional world of figure skating.įrench skater Surya Bonaly performs her short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Birmingham, Britain. But who was I here? This seemed like a mold I just could not fit into.ĭid I even belong there? Was I crazy? Was my mother crazy? Was my coach crazy? Quite literally, these questions would run through my mind as I looked around, chugging water along the boards. There was the “me” I was at school, and the “me” I was at mosque. I struggled with finding myself and who I was as a skater and performer. There were no figure skaters of South Asian descent and a limited number of skaters of color. My happy place.īut looking back, how happy was this place? Though I admired several skaters, I realize now that I always had to be my own role model. Gliding along swiftly, dancing melodically, or racing in circles just for the adrenaline - it was an extraordinary feeling. But I never let this stop me from participating. In a sport that caters to wealthy, white, feminine participants, I always felt out of place. The intersections between race, socioeconomic class, and gender are obvious, and this becomes more apparent when it comes to figure skating. Is it this legacy that creates such divides? Is it simply the standard Eurocentric preference for those who are blond-haired, and blue-eyed in the West? Or is it the stark economic divide, given the expensive nature of the sport, that embeds racial disparities? The earliest figure skating clubs in Europe, America, and Canada did not permit Jewish people, people of color, or lower-class people, and it seems that the sport unintentionally continued to develop in this manner. Like other sports played by the aristocracy, figure skating is essentially a product of white privilege, and its history is rooted in centuries of racism. Jackson Haines, an American ballet dancer, is credited with modernizing the sport. It was popularized amongst Western aristocrats in the 1700s. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it was something else.įigure skating’s origins are in Scandinavia, where skates made of animal bone were a popular mode of transportation. Maybe that was because, essentially, we were each in competition with each other. ![]() There were definite cliques and not a great deal of comradery. I didn’t have any friends in my club except the other person of color, a Chinese skater who also brought her own Chinese snack from home. I always brought my own snack, which was undoubtedly something Indian (rotli, dhokra, chilla, samosa) that my mom chucked at me in the car ride, and I never used the vending machines. I usually came in like a hurricane, running late because I came from a single-parent household. I was aware that I looked different, and I think everyone else was aware, too. And I was the only one who never skated on Fridays because I had to attend prayers. I was the only one who had rotli for a snack. I was the only one who wore black opaque tights with a long sleeve dress. Growing up, I was the only South Asian person in my figure skating club. How does one find role models, acceptance and identity as a person of color in a historically white and upper-class sport like skating?
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