https://www.essence.com/celebrity/venus-williams-doesnt-call-herself-feminist

Venus Williams is not only one of the best tennis players in the history of the game, but she’s also a businesswoman and role model for young women and girls. In spite of her massive achievements, there’s one thing she’s not: a feminist.

In a recent interview with Elle UK, Williams explained why she doesn’t identify with the F-word.

“I don’t like labels,” the tennis champ said. While she doesn’t like putting herself in a box, that doesn’t mean Williams isn’t down with empowering women.

“Though I do think as women we have much more power and opportunities in our hands than ever before. We truly don’t know how powerful we are. There’s nothing like a powerful woman walking into a room; her presence is like nothing else,” she said.

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In the tennis world, women have often had to advocate for pay equity with their male peers. Williams, along with her younger sister Serena, has been outspoken about the need for equitable prize amounts in the game and she feels other women should also stand up for themselves.

“There are always challenges that you have to overcome on a daily basis,” she said. “Unfortunately, people have the tendency to want to dominate one another, but fortunately, there are people who want to build other women up. It’s up to those people who want to build to hopefully eliminate all that negativity.”