i'm loving your basketball fashion coverage!! as you mention, many of these women are gay gay gay, and many of them (including some straight ones, imo) are specifically and successfully thirst trapping the lesbian community (reliable and longtime wnba fanbase) with these looks. and god bless them for it!! many of these matching sets reference (or are) menswear, but with elements of playful femininity/queerness mixed in. also i'm seeing that many of these outfits emphasize players' tallness, strong shoulders, muscular arms/legs etc - physical features that are VERY much seen as hot and desirable in queer women's communities. basically, i'm suggesting that many if not most of these outfits are catering to the lesbian (and bi women/nonbinary people!) gaze, haha.
Thank you! You’re so right about all of this - and hadn’t even thought about that angle of straight players purposefully trying to appeal to their (large) queer fan base for those same reasons. I think for a while the WNBA was trying to promote itself to appeal to straight men and “dads w daughters” demographics and pointedly ignoring that growing queer fan base and it’s really interesting (and refreshing) to see the org evolving and trying to appeal (and not pander) to the lesbian/bi/nb communities as well
Also comes back to capitalism (doesn’t it all) w that financial incentive to appeal to the people with power (refreshing to have that power be in the hands of anyone but straight men, though, so it hits differently..)
Totally!! another way that this current era of image-making is different from appealing to the dads-and-daughters audience (love them, for the record) through biz casual clothes is that it can be about Being Hot!! Which it really looks like so many of the WNBA players are having a lot of fun with. The divorce revenge leather look, HELLO.
Truly will never be a group sports human despite multiple attempts but I am obv an outfit person and forever a hot person appreciater so this was a delight to read. can’t wait for the follow up!! Also wow ty for introducing me to courtney williams 🫡🫡🫡
this was so in-depth and well-researched!! i get so much fashion inspo from the WNBA now, especially as someone who wants to look sexy and powerful but not in a traditionally feminine way. the intersection of sports and fashion will always fascinate me as a lifelong sports fan/somewhat athletic person and clothes obsessive. can't wait for more posts like this!!
i'm loving your basketball fashion coverage!! as you mention, many of these women are gay gay gay, and many of them (including some straight ones, imo) are specifically and successfully thirst trapping the lesbian community (reliable and longtime wnba fanbase) with these looks. and god bless them for it!! many of these matching sets reference (or are) menswear, but with elements of playful femininity/queerness mixed in. also i'm seeing that many of these outfits emphasize players' tallness, strong shoulders, muscular arms/legs etc - physical features that are VERY much seen as hot and desirable in queer women's communities. basically, i'm suggesting that many if not most of these outfits are catering to the lesbian (and bi women/nonbinary people!) gaze, haha.
Thank you! You’re so right about all of this - and hadn’t even thought about that angle of straight players purposefully trying to appeal to their (large) queer fan base for those same reasons. I think for a while the WNBA was trying to promote itself to appeal to straight men and “dads w daughters” demographics and pointedly ignoring that growing queer fan base and it’s really interesting (and refreshing) to see the org evolving and trying to appeal (and not pander) to the lesbian/bi/nb communities as well
Also comes back to capitalism (doesn’t it all) w that financial incentive to appeal to the people with power (refreshing to have that power be in the hands of anyone but straight men, though, so it hits differently..)
Totally!! another way that this current era of image-making is different from appealing to the dads-and-daughters audience (love them, for the record) through biz casual clothes is that it can be about Being Hot!! Which it really looks like so many of the WNBA players are having a lot of fun with. The divorce revenge leather look, HELLO.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I F*CKING LOVE THIS. Only an expletive could handle my delight. The only thing even better than fashion is fashion + probing + learning. Thank you.
😊 thank you!
Truly will never be a group sports human despite multiple attempts but I am obv an outfit person and forever a hot person appreciater so this was a delight to read. can’t wait for the follow up!! Also wow ty for introducing me to courtney williams 🫡🫡🫡
Courtney Williams and the scarves … 🤯
Not only bringing the fashion from an oft overlooked subgenre but also bringing the receipts? I stan.
Thank you!
this was so in-depth and well-researched!! i get so much fashion inspo from the WNBA now, especially as someone who wants to look sexy and powerful but not in a traditionally feminine way. the intersection of sports and fashion will always fascinate me as a lifelong sports fan/somewhat athletic person and clothes obsessive. can't wait for more posts like this!!
Thanks! I know; I’ve been taking a lot of inspiration from those WNBA tunnel fit instagrams.
I am LOVING this!
Thank you!!
This was fantastic, can’t wait for the follow-up!
Thanks!
A++ analysis, Eleanor!!!