It appears that the 23-time slam champion and mother, Serena Williams found herself in the middle of yet another controversy, following her US Open loss to Naomi Osaka. Williams was featured on the cover of GQ Magazine that led many to criticize designer Virgil Abloh for putting “woman” in quotation marks. Many took to Twitter to voice their concerns on how disrespectful that choice is to Serena while others maintain that this was simply Abloh’s stylistic choice. As much as both sides make good points, it seems that this topic highlighted the era of hypersensitivity and close mindedness we live in.
Whether or not this was a stylistic mistake or an intentional disrespect does not take away the fact that if anyone is to be named woman of the year, Serena Williams is that woman. Her fight to inspire women both on and off the field, to be the greatest they could be, qualifies her for the woman of the year or whatever other title there is. Quotation marks or not, Serena Williams is and will always be the greatest of all time (GOAT) and one of the most remarkable women in this era.
The three men of the year have no quotation marks and given that Williams has been accused of being born a guy, this controversy could have been avoided with “Serena” in quotation marks. This compromise allows the designer to follow their creative style while not questioning Williams’ womanhood with the quotation marks.
Focusing on the quotation marks and whether or not it was an intentional disrespect instead of her stories and the journey she’s allowing us to be apart of, is missing the point. This is not an attack on anyone’s feelings but her message on how women do it all, from motherhood to career while suffering in silence is what we need to focus on. This is a perfect example of how people in this country view things differently and as opposed to arguing for the sake of argument, we need to sit back, think, and hear each other out without being sensitive. The hosts of “The Real” discussed this topic in a segment and within those few minutes, showed their viewers what it means to discuss controversial issues.
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