Chris Evert is all about policing gender norms
All the rhetoric about trans and intersex athletes affects the way ciswomen in general but, in this situation, cis women athletes, are being discussed--and criticized. This is not new nor is it a revelation. Activists and scholars have been trying to make people aware of this for years. But it was on display at this year's US Open, when one of the vocal proponents of banning trans women in sports, made comments about a cis woman playing like a man. I missed Chris Evert's on-air comments about Karolina Muchova because I have made a concerted effort to watch the women's matches on ESPN3 where Mary Carillo has been doing actual good commentary. When I have had to listen to Evert (yes, I know mute is an option), it is just painful. In general, I don't see what her appeal is. The majority of her comments are guesses at what the players are thinking. But her comments this year (and likely in the past--there is some rich discourse analysis to be done I suspect) have been espe...