Can’t See Her

The left has put out a marketing campaign called, “if you can see her, you can be her.” They run ads highlighting women, especially women of color, who are CEOs of big companies, Hollywood producers, doctors, women in all sorts of professions. The message is; if you can see someone who is of your same demographic group in a profession that is typically not performed by those in your demographic group, that would give you the inspiration and motivation, to choose a career in that profession. That is why there is such a strong push for diversity in all types of professions because the left hopes that younger people of all races and genders will pursue careers that they would have otherwise believed were not open to them. 

So, the “see her” media campaign is designed to bring gender and racial equality to all different career paths. The message can become somewhat perverted because it is claiming that a person can only be inspired by or identify with someone who shares their same gender, same race, or same sexuality. So, a black female would not be inspired to enter a career by seeing a white male do it. A member of the LGBTQ community would not be inspired by a person who is straight. That is the subliminal message of this ad campaign which promotes race, gender or lifestyle above all else.

NBA Hall of Famer turned broadcaster Charles Barkley echoes this message when describing the difference between visiting white schools and black schools when he explains, "I do this science experiment when I am in school. Let's say I am in a White school, I say 'how many want to play pro sports?' Less than 10% raise their hand. 'I wanna be a doctor, I wanna be a lawyer, I wanna be an engineer'. When I speak at Black schools, 90% of the kids want to play sports. 90%... Our kids are brainwashed if they think they can only play sports or be entertainers. You have a better chance of being a doctor than being in the NBA." He is making the point that most black kids aspire to be professional athletes because that is what they see black people excelling at, whereas white kids aspire to professions like being a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer because those are what they see white people excelling at.

This brings us to WNBA player, Caitlin Clark – the women’s NCAA all-time leading scorer and first overall pick in this year’s WNBA draft. She has become one of the most publicized and polarizing female athletes in our country today. Many are asking why is there so much hype around her? Why would she get a $20 million shoe contract, when other great players in the WNBA have not?  Former ESPN sports commentator, Jamil Hill, commented on Clark’s popularity by saying, “We would all be very naive if we didn’t say race and her sexuality played a role in her popularity… there is a part of it that is a little problematic because of what it says about the worth and the marketability of the players who are already there.” Why would Clark’s race and sexuality – white and straight – be “problematic”? That was what was said about Jackie Robinson in 1947 – his race was problematic for MLB. That was what was said about Billie Jean King in the 1970s – her gender was problematic for professional tennis. That was what was said about Martina Navratilova back in the 1980s – her sexuality was problematic for the WTA. I thought we were done with all of this. I thought we were done with viewing people as their race or as their gender or as their sexuality and are judging people for who they are and how they achieve in their specific professions.

Then why is Caitlin Clark so popular and worthy of  big-time endorsement deals when other great WNBA players have not been getting those types of rewards? The answer is, “if you can see her, you can be her”. Like it or not 65% of America is white and only 13% of America is black. And we’ve been told for generations by people on the left that individuals can only identify with and be inspired by people of their own race and gender and sexuality. That is the message of, “if you can see her, you can be her.” That is why the left is always talking about the first woman to do this or the first black person to do that or the first member of the LGBTQ community to do this other thing.

In 2021, Joe Biden proudly told the entire country that he was going to select a cabinet that “looked like America”, which meant choosing people based on skin color, genitalia and lifestyle. He didn’t say I’m going to choose a cabinet which is the smartest, the most capable, the most experienced, but rather one that “looks like America”. He was choosing based on outward appearance. He prioritized selecting candidates who were minorities or women or people in the LGBTQ community. The message was clear. It doesn’t really matter how good you are; it doesn’t really matter how smart you are or how capable you are, what matters most is your skin color, your gender, and your LGBTQ status.

Biden did the same thing when selecting his Supreme Court nominee and his Vice-Presidential running mate. He made it very clear that those positions were only going to “women of color”. Not the best; not the most qualified; not the one who has the best vision for America. He was only going to choose based on their demographics. And the people on the left applauded him loudly. That was Joe Biden’s message, and that is the message continually coming from the left. Demographics is what matters most. Who you are as an individual takes a back seat to your skin color, your gender, and your LGBTQ status. That is what intersectionality is all about. 

It works both ways, though. If black people can’t be inspired by white people, and women can be inspired by men, and LGBTQ people can’t be inspired by straight people, then it only makes sense that it works in reverse; white people can’t be inspired by black people, and men can’t be inspired by women, and straight people can’t be inspired by the LGBTQ. So, this warped mentality has pushed an organization like the WNBA into a box where their viewership would be coming primarily from the demographic that is shown on the court every night, predominantly black and female, and disproportionately LGBTQ.

So, when they ask, why is Caitlin Clark resonating so much in our country? The answer is precisely because of the mindset that the people on the left have permeated throughout our culture – you can only identify with somebody of your same race or gender or sexuality. And there are 20 times more young white straight girls in America then there are black female LGBTQ members. And companies like Nike, giving Caitlin Clark shoe deals want to sell as many shoes as possible, so they’re going to give the contract to the person who resonates with the most people in America.

It is ironic that one of the biggest controversies surrounding Caitlin Clark was her use of the John Cena gesture “can’t see me” during the final four of the 2023 NCAA tournament. Her visibility and who is seeing her is what drives her popularity, and is what’s pulling up the popularity of women’s basketball. One of her sponsors, Buick, even featured Clark in their "See Her Greatness" campaign.

So, the WNBA sees Caitlin Clark as an opportunity to reach the millions of young white girls out there to increase the popularity of the sport. But isn’t it racist to say that the WNBA needs a white star to bring the game to all those young white girls out there? Why couldn’t white girls be inspired to play basketball by the great black players like A’ja Wilson or Brittney Griner? “If you can see her, you can be her.” The left has told a generation of kids that they can only identify with people who look like them and then are angry by the popularity of a white star in a predominantly white country playing in a sport dominated by people of color. 

It should not be this way. But it is, and it is still this way in America precisely because the people on the left believe that focusing on race, gender and LGBTQ status helps them the most politically. And now the same people who exploit those demographic groups for their own political power, are now crying foul when a white straight female happens to be disproportionately cashing in off the very system that they created.

If this is true, then why is the NFL and the NBA – two predominately black sports leagues – the two most popular sports in America? The answer is very simple, when it comes to sports, the 21st century white male in America – the group which is driving the popularity of the NFL and the NBA – does not care about the demographics of the individuals who are participating in those sports. The group that is continually called racists and bigots, does not care about the racial make-up of the sports teams or the sports players that they root for. All they care about is how well they perform athletically in their individual sport and those are the players they will root for. Michael Jordan did not become a billionaire because the minority community bought his shoes.

I’ve always agreed with Martin Luther King, who said that people should “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  Too many people on the left, have rejected that idea of a colorblind society, and promoted an “equity” system that rewards race, gender and LGBTQ status. But the moment that the rejection of the colorblind society works against people of color, they start advocating for a colorblind society. They do not want meritocracy in professions where meritocracy does not benefit them. That is why they want quotas in college admissions, and affirmative action in hiring, but in the areas of society where meritocracy works for them, i.e. professional sports, they are 100% in favor of meritocracy. When discussing meritocracy in professional sports, minorities will sound more like Rush Limbaugh than Bernie Sanders, but they will also demand that people of color, with MCAT scores much lower than the white or Asian applicants, be admitted into Medical School because they are people of color.

In a sane world, one that is not obsessed with race and gender and LGBTQ status, there are no demographic litmus tests for inspiring someone. We should all be inspired by greatness and not by demographics because greatness transcends demographics while smallness is obsessed with demographics. And that is why the collective consciousness of America is getting smaller and smaller and smaller.

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J Garrett is a graduate of Princeton University. He has been a contributor to the website Real Clear Politics. He has recently published his first novel, No Wind.