MAGAZINE IRKS SERENA FOLLOWERS

NEWYORK:GQ did not name Serena Williams its 2018 Woman of the Year on its cover. It named her its 2018 “Woman” of the Year and the quotation marks made a troubling difference to her fans.

The men’s fashion magazine unveiled the covers of its upcoming issue this week — one cover for Williams, three others for GQ’s Men of the Year — and was denounced on social media. Williams, one of history’s most accomplished tennis players, has a muscular physique, which she said last year has resulted in people calling her a man or telling her she belongs in men’s sports.

Critics said the magazine’s use of quotation marks around “woman” on Williams’ cover appeared to call into question her gender or her femininity, a trope with at least a touch of transphobia.