are you ready for some discourse?
are you ready for some discourse?
also, links!
The link roundups this month are free because it’s Pride Month and since my content is queer year-round, that feels like one thing I can do to mark the occasion for my free subscribers. Thank you for being here! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription if you like what you read! Paid subscriptions allow me to dedicate more time to this newsletter. It’s not just the time I spend writing, but the time I spend planning, researching, and reporting that is supported by upgrading.
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Last week I had a piece of cultural criticism over at ESPN’s Andscape, about the way the narrative surrounding Caitlin Clark’s treatment in the WNBA reinforces the queer villain trope, and more specifically, the trope of the predatory lesbian.
Portraying Clark as the victim in her interactions with fellow players is an extension of this idea that a certain kind of woman should be safe to play and excel in women’s sports. It not only relies on the concept of white female victimhood but also of predatory lesbians.
I also got to highlight Diana Taurasi as a reclamation of the queer villain trope, which is fun imo:
Diana Taurasi, a 20-year veteran known for being a league heel, was attacked in the media for allegedly hating on Clark ahead of the WNBA season as if Taurasi hasn’t “hated on” everyone she’s played against for the last couple of decades. The difference, however, is that Taurasi has embraced the role of the villain for herself, and it wasn’t placed on her by outsiders, akin to what writer Mark Harris has called “a joyous reclamation of the idea of gay monstrosity.”
“I’m not a marketing major,” Taurasi recently told Rolling Stone. “I don’t f–king know how all this s— works. I’m here to ball out and try to kill whoever’s in front of me. You know what I mean?”
You can read the whole thing over at Andscape. I’m glad the piece found a home because it was actually rejected by five different publications. I was getting ready to run it here when an editor from Andscape reached out and asked if I had any Pride Month content. I was like… I suppose this could be Pride Month content because it’s about queerness?
Of course, as soon as the piece was published I realized that I should have mentioned the WNBA’s Skims campaign when talking about the league’s history of struggling to market queer and/or gender non-conforming players and immediately began beating myself up for failing to do so because I am a perfectionist. But you can read more about the pitfalls of that Skims campaign here, if you’d like.
I also want to highlight one other piece that feels like a companion piece to mine (and not just because I am quoted in it, I promise). After the Chennedy Carter/Caitlin Clark discourse began (aren’t you so excited for more of it after today’s game between the Sky and the Fever???), Shakeia Taylor wrote a really great column at the Chicago Tribune about the whole mess.
The WNBA is predominantly Black and substantially queer, and most discussions surrounding the league lately try their hardest to avoid those facts. Any attempt to bring this up in conversation is met with “Why is it always about race?” or “It’s not that deep, it’s just sports.” But as WNBA veteran Imani McGee-Stafford wrote on social media, “It actually IS that deep.”
When we talk about why the WNBA was largely ignored for decades or even the language used in defense of Clark, you have to mention the Blackness and queerness. It would be naive to act as if these aren’t important layers to the nastiness we’re seeing. The truth of the matter is until we stop acting as if these aren’t issues — whether conscious or subconscious — we’ll never be able to move forward.
Onward!
Sports-related reading for your Sunday
The finalists for the inaugural Billie Jean King Award for Excellence in Women’s Sports Coverage from the Associated Press Sports Editors were announced last night and friend-of-the-newsletter Marisa Ingemi is one of them! Congrats to Marisa and if you want to read more about the kind of work she does as the women’s sports writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, you can read my interview with her!
Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud will not be silent about a ceasefire in Gaza: “Since October 2023, Cloud has used her social media platforms to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas now in its eighth month. In doing so, she’s been one of few WNBA players, let alone pro athletes, who have consistently been outspoken about their support of Palestinians.”
At CBC Sports, Shireen Ahmed writes about the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team in Gaza, many of whom became disabled as a result of Israeli violence
At the Paris Olympics, Sex Testing Will Be in Full Force. How Did We Get Here? (you can read more via my interview with Michael Waters about his new book, The Other Olympians.)
Natasha Cloud invited Megan Thee Stallion to a Mercury game and then Megan invited the whole team on stage.
On the latest episode of the PANTS podcast, hosts Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig (yes, The L Word actors and BFFs) talk about the WNBA (Leisha is a new season ticket holder and explains to Kate what the draft is, also Rosie O’Donnell is a season ticket holder, and Kate is much more interested in what snacks you can get at the Sparks games than she is about the basketball itself which is a mood tbh!). Here are cute photos of them being sporty gay children.
Speaking of podcasts, Christen Press and Tobin Heath have re-launched their RE-CAP SHOW and the second episode consists of a segment with Press dragging the USWNT for auctioning off Korbin Albert’s Pride jersey whewwwww
And speaking of Press and Heath, a new version of “sportsmanship” has dropped, with ESPN referring to the couple as “fellow long-term injury victims” lol
The Seattle Storm are selling these “Protect Trans Youth” t-shirts, with 100% of proceeds benefitting the Seattle Storm Foundation Force4Change efforts
The Phoenix Mercury dance team also wore shirts in support of trans kids:
Drag Race star Kelly Mantle opened up about her uncle Mickey Mantle’s support of her: “I was always his favorite when we would have little family events and stuff because I always made him laugh and I would perform for him … he always said, you know, ‘You’re gonna be a star,’ ” Mantle told PEOPLE1. She added that the New York Yankees Hall of Famer, who died in 1995, would be proud of the career she’s built if he were alive today: “Like my parents and everyone else, he would fully embrace me.”
This TikTok of a woman asking male Celtics fans which player they would make out with is perfect.
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I love this list of PWHL teams as Chappell Roan songs (PWHL Boston is “Femininomenom,” which yes)
A fan gave Nika Mühl a friendship bracelet that says “I can switch” [on defense] and she laughed VERY hard (“I’m 5’11, I can switch,” she said):
Sha’Carri is Sha’Carri-ing
Speaking of PEOPLE,
did a massive deep dive into what’s become of the publication in recent years over at Culture Study this week.
Baby Shane and Alice!!! 😭😭💗💗