Sick of everything being about gender

After the furore around Serena Williams’ oncourt “meltdown”, I saw a shocking number of men imploring people to “not make this about gender”.

But from all I’ve seen and read on the matter, it clearly is.

When she challenged an umpire’s call, it was a “meltdown” and a “tantrum”. When so-called “bad boys of tennis” like John McEnroe or Nick Kyrgios did it, it was seen as entertainment value.

Kyrgios has had so many that when you Google him you get a 12-minute supercut of his “top outbursts”, and McEnroe’s regular tantrums made him a star.

Williams’ outburst, on the other hand, was an “embarrassment” to the sport of tennis.

The bigger problem is that this week has proved Williams is not alone. It’s been a rough few days for celebrity women and in particular women of colour.

When Mac Miller died at the weekend, the blame was laid squarely at Ariana Grande’s feet.

The pop stars dated for two years before breaking up in May, and soon after that Miller broke down and copped a DUI (driving under the influence) charge. Fans blamed Grande then, too. Barely hours after his death hit headlines, she had to disable comments on her Instagram account because fans were calling her hateful names, sending death threats and telling her that her ex’s death was all her fault.