Celebrating Surya Bonaly: The Trailblazing Figure Skater's Legacy

Advocacy
Written By Kristina Gisors

Despite her impressive accomplishments, Bonaly never won an Olympic gold medal. She competed in three Winter Olympics (1992, 1994, and 1998), earning a fifth-place finish as her best result in 1992. Her unique style and controversial moves sometimes led to lower scores from judges.

The last time I saw a black woman for an Olympic medal in figure skating was in 1998. I remember her face, I remember her "onlyness,"

Surya Bonaly's Olympic career in figure skating is a poignant reminder of the racism and sexism that continue to pervade many sports today.

As the only Olympic figure skater to land a backflip, Bonaly's incredible athletic prowess was often met with criticism and rejection from judges who deemed her performances too athletic.

A coded language deeply ingrained in figure skating that exclude black bodies based on the stereotype that black women are too muscular or masculine for the discipline.

Surya Bonaly's performances were breathtaking and her athleticism only added to the beauty of her movements on ice.

Unfortunately, the judges' biases prevented her from receiving the recognition she deserved. No one can deny that race has played a big part in the development and advancement of Bonaly’s career.

Bonaly's experience highlights the rigid white standards of grace, elegance, and beauty that have defined figure skating for so long.

Despite being a sport that marries artistry and athleticism, figure skating has struggled to embrace diversity and inclusion.

Bonaly's attempts to please the judges was painful to watch by changing her costumes and performances a form of code-switching in order to not come off as “the angry black woman”.

A trope used to dismiss and belittle any black women' achievements and talents, not just a form of racism, but also a way to silence powerful and successful women who dare to speak up and assert themselves.

I know how code-switching can be draining and have harmful psychological and emotional effects.

Surya was fighting against the assumptions that black bodies were unsuited to the lines of the discipline, unlikely, figure skating's scoring system is very subjective.

You need to please the jury, please the white, please whiteness, but how when you only presence is seen as a threat? For the judges, the presence of a black woman in a white-dominated sport was a symbol of black advancement and a hard pill to swallow.

Despite these challenges, Bonaly remained true to her identity and never saw whiteness as aspirational.

She did not conform to the expectations of the judges by straightening her hair, lightening her skin, or losing weight.

She was a three-time world silver medalist, five-time European champion, and nine-time French national champion.

Yet, her name is often absent from lists of the best figure skaters, which shows how athletes' careers depend on conformity, especially for black women athletes.

Bonaly's decision to take off her silver medal in 1994 World Championships was a powerful statement . she knew she deserved gold it shows her determination and courage. Her refusal to diminish herself, a testament to her resilience and strength. Bonaly's legacy as a trailblazer in figure skating should not be forgotten.

Despite being banned, Surya performed a backflip at an event, driven by the fact that she had nothing to lose as she knew the judges would not reward her anyway. She didn’t become a gold medalist that day, but a LEGEND.

Surya Bonaly is a relevant figure for all the people who feel that they cannot be themselves and succeed in life without conforming to certain standards

It is important to remember that sport often perpetuates the exclusion or exploitation of black bodies.Black athletes are often subjected to double standards or held to higher behaviour and performance expectations than their white counterparts.

Black skaters still face discrimination and stereotyping within the sport, with judges and coaches dismissing their athleticism and favoring more traditional, white-skewing styles.

We need to acknowledge how whiteness has been central to modern sports, from the exclusion of Black athletes in the past to the ongoing challenges they face today.

The construction of sports as a "white" domain has been used to uphold white supremacy and maintain racial hierarchies, and that the idea of athletic ability as a product of biological race has been used to justify discriminatory policies and practices.

Delves into the history of the stereotype and how it has been used to marginalize black women throughout history, from the days of slavery to modern times.

REFERENCES :

Kristina Gisors https://www.theblackletter.club
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