GQ woman of the year Serena Williams. puts "woman" in quotes. WTF?

[Demovictory9]

Why Serena Williams' Woman of the Year GQ Cover is Sparking Major Backlash

https://www.wgrz.com/video/syndication/veuer/why-serena-williams-woman-of-the-year-gq-cover-is-sparking-major-backlash/602-8311858




https://dankanator.com/10097/why-fans-furious-gq-magazine-cover-serena-williams/

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. It's no excuse but

that is a hand written piece of text by an artist who always uses quotation marks around everything he does. I don't know why. I don't understand it. And in this context it's offensive. But that's the explanation.

[NurseJackie]

3. Absolutely offensive. But your explanation makes sense. This...

Absolutely offensive. But your explanation makes sense. This type of unnecessary use of quotation marks is common enough that an entire book has been compiled to show the often humorous and eyebrow-raising examples.

[jcgoldie]

2. I agree putting woman in quotes like that is offensive

... do they think there's some way in which she is not really a woman... too strong or not feminine enough perhaps? Screw GQ... Serena is an awesome woman.

[Codeine]

4. I would assume illiteracy

before malice. The number of people who abuse quotation marks is astonishing. They seem to think it’s some sort of indicator of emphasis.

Hell, just watch how people here at DU misuse commas and ellipses.

[Merlot]

7. This is GQ, not some newbies blog

GQ has the resources to know this is wrong. They chose to ignore it.

You really think in all the editorial meetings someone didn't bring this up?

[tymorial]

5. Context is everything

Wont stop the flaming though

[Javaman]

6. 1) I also find it very offensive

2) society over use of quotation marks, in recent history, is fucking bizarre.

3) unless it was truly malicious, I would like to chalk it up to someone just being fucking stupid.

[hack89]

8. Apparently something to do with her apparel designer

GQ did not immediately return an email seeking comment. But Mick Rouse, a research manager for the magazine, said on Twitter that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation: The word “woman” on the cover was handwritten by Virgil Abloh, a celebrated designer who created Ms. Williams’s apparel at this year’s U.S. Open, and who frequently uses quotation marks in his work.

Mr. Abloh, a longtime creative director for Kanye West and founder of the streetwear label Off-White, is a familiar name to many of GQ’s fashion-conscious readers. In March, he was named Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of men’s wear.

Indeed, the items Ms. Williams wore during the U.S. Open had quotation marks around words like “LOGO” and “SERENA.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/business/media/serena-williams-gq.html

Even if it was innocent, GQ should have seen this coming.

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

9. The use of quotation marks sometimes seems to be meant as emphasis.

In my opinion, this is only semi-literate, but, alas! it seems to be coming more common. That may have been what was meant on the cover and in the other examples.