Feminism, WOW! (Part 1)

I don't think women's wrestling should exist.

(Interesting remark, let's see where this goes.)

Whenever you talk sexual politics you're in constant danger of appearing as either:
a.) a preachy, left wing, arsehole
or,
b.) a preachy, right wing, arsehole

Right now, I probably appear to be the latter of the two. But I'll do my best to win the feminists back over (hi mum!), as well as make a coherent argument.

Anyone reading this will be predisposed to think one way or another about gender roles. If you're hardline one way or another in your beliefs, then I don't think anything I can say will talk you around; if you tutted at that opening statement, and have only read this far out of spite, or some other misplaced ill will, then this post not for you; if you were roused to a cheer at what you believed to be open misogyny, then this post is also not for you. This post is for simple consideration.

Now that that's out of the way, let's return to the opening line and condense it. Focus on the term "women's wrestling" and really think what that means. Intrinsically, it's sexist. Why? Because of the need to include the modifier "women". When men wrestle it's called "wrestling", when women wrestle it's called "women's wrestling". So? Well, by needing to qualify that it is indeed women wrestling, and not feel that same need to do so when men wrestle, there's the implication that the wrestler is a role to be taken up by a man.

Consider the term "male nurse" - it's the same idea. The norm is that "she is a nurse, and he is a male nurse". The implication is that a nurse is job for a woman, and when a man takes up this position it is a break from the norm.

To allow the label of "women's wrestling" to continue, is to preserve the idea that women are, at best, a special attraction i.e. they're not normal wrestlers.

Some promoters boast of having an all women wrestling show, as if this is truly better than the usual cards which limit themselves to one "women's match". Both types of show just prolong the separation of male and female wrestlers, by the continued import of the idea that the gender divide is vast. Men and women are different - clearly. But the difference is only as significant as the difference between weight divisions. Lightweights are not considered to have any more or less claim to being a wrestler than the heavyweights (most of the time, I concede).

The problem is "the male gaze", which is the idea that entertainment is presented to the audience through the perspective of the heterosexual male. Straight men are the main demographic targeted in most forms of media, and wrestling is certainly no exception to this. The "gaze" of a wrestling show presents a vision of a world which attempts to pander to the wants and values of its audience - or the majority of it, at least. Difference is exploited and made apparent, for the sake of entertainment. And being a woman is different to the majority of a wrestling crowd.