In a wide-ranging interview with espnW, Dunham said she believes men turn to body-shaming strong female athletes like Rousey and Williams because they are intimidated.
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“With Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey, men are thinking, ‘You could beat me up, that f—ing scares me, you have achieved more than I ever will in my lifetime, so I’m going to get online and tell you that you don’t look like someone I want to f—,’” Dunham told espnW. “That is where I believe it comes from. And it’s so unenlightened. And man, it’s a bummer.
“The fact is, Ronda Rousey could punch you in the face anytime she wanted, and she has completely created her own life and she’s having an incredible career that most of us could only dream of and she doesn’t give a s— what you think. And that point of view is really, really threatening to certain people, especially when it comes in the form of a woman, because to a man, a woman not caring what you think means that all your power is gone. You can’t control her anymore.”
Give credit to both athletes for brushing off body-shaming barbs thrown their way.
Williams has said she looks “like a normal athlete, a normal woman walking down the street, a thicker one. I’m OK with that. I love that.” Rousey has never hesitated to openly talk about her sex appeal or her love life.
The snarky Internet comments keep coming, but Williams and Rousey keep dominating. Lather, rinse, repeat.
