Fact: sexism is still a problem

Yeah, I’m back on that hobby horse again. Feel free to roll your eyes and click away, but that doesn’t mean sexism is any less of a problem.

I’m writing this blog post now because of an incident at last night’s Fight Club Pro, where a female wrestler – a very young female wrestler – was invited to get her tits out.

The culprit has been boasting about it, arguing that this and similar calls (“get back to the kitchen”) are just “banter”.

“Banter” is a word I hate. It’s a term that’s come to mean “things that we know are unacceptable to say, but we wish they weren’t, because we like being grossly offensive to attempt to assert our power”.

It’s to FCP’s credit that they’ve told that fan he isn’t welcome back; and it’s entirely delightful to see Jimmy Havoc as the voice of reasonable people, with Chris Brookes backing him up.

Hey guys! If you shout “Get your tits out” at a show to a girl in the ring, and get called out for it, don’t argue your case. You have none.

— Jimmy Havoc (@JimmyHavoc) September 23, 2017

They’ve both been told that it’s ridiculous for “heels” to object to such catcalls and comments; someone even suggested that the entire episode, with wrestlers calling out unacceptable behaviour, is indicative of how “gay” wrestling is becoming.

Well, here are some thoughts.

• Wrestling is one of the most homoerotic pastimes on the planet, let’s face it. I’ve always been surprised that more straight women and more gay men aren’t drawn to it. There’s a nasty streak of misogyny and homophobia running through it, though, as straight men try so desperately to prove their “macho” credentials aren’t ever in danger, even though they enjoy watching the men in the ring, sporting their skimpy and tight clothing. Constant complaining that women shouldn’t be wrestling, and should be decorative, smiling, passive and quiet, goes hand in hand with that.
• I’m not sure it’s entirely a “gay” characteristic to want women in general and female friends and colleagues in particular to be treated with respect. I’m pretty confident the majority of straight men would want that too.
• Shouting sexist, sexualised abuse at a woman isn’t “banter”. It’s a reminder to that woman – and all women in the room, and all women who hear about it afterwards – that whenever we are in that situation again (whether that’s at a wrestling show, in a football ground, or just walking down the street) we can never fully relax, never fully enjoy ourselves, because we’re always on guard. Just in case. Even if it wasn’t directed at us, because next time it might be.

  Sometimes we might ignore it, and just pretend we haven’t heard. Sometimes we might laugh it off. But we’ll always remember it. And if you try to say, “Well, you came back to the next show, so it couldn’t have upset you that much,” you’re wrong. We just don’t want awful human beings stopping us from being part of the thing we love, even if you might have soured it a little, for ever.

• It is always heartening to see men calling out this kind of behaviour, primarily because sexists aren’t going to listen to women, only the people with the XY chromosome stamp of approval. Similar to Andy Murray consistently arguing for equality in tennis, high-profile men making it clear that misogyny and sexism are not welcome in wrestling has a huge impact.

  Everyone can do better with this, as well. If you’re at a show and some idiot is shouting comments like that, say something to them. They need to be made to feel as uncomfortable as the woman they are trying to embarrass, shame and reduce to the sum of her body.

And just to note: a policy of equal respect and fairness for all is the guiding principle of feminism. Guess what, you’re probably a feminist – hooray for you! If you’re a man, it doesn’t make you any less of one for thinking and showing that a woman deserves to be treated the same as you; if you’re a woman, it doesn’t make you bossy or “unfeminine” to demand equality, nor does it make you weak for appreciating men’s support.

This kind of behaviour is not a joke; it’s not funny, and it’s not to be dismissed or ignored, because that way nothing will change. It needs to be confronted, and challenged. We do not live in a perfect world, but we can certainly try to improve our little corner of it by making wrestling a place where men and women are treated with equal dignity and respect, whether they are wrestlers or fans.

 

 

 

King of Trios; or how I learnt to stop worrying and love CHIKARA

When I first started watching CHIKARA, a friend of mine offered to lend me his collection of DVDs so I could catch up. He began going through the storylines, filling in the history, trying to make sure I knew as much as possible about all of it before I got any further into it.

Now, usually I’m a completist. Let’s be real here. Words and phrases that have been used to describe me, with varying degrees of accuracy from people with varying degrees of affection for me, include “obsessive”, “nerdy”, “control freak” – ploughing through dozens of DVDs to watch something I love seems right in my wheelhouse.

I never felt like that about CHIKARA, though. I didn’t need to instantly begin to fill the gaps, to make myself as knowledgeable as possible as quickly as possible, to make myself a “better” or “more real” fan, to make myself worthy of being part of the Chikarmy.

And that interested me from an objective point of view. In my academic life, my thesis was on female soccer fans in England; and one of my arguments there was that in such a macho environment, women find themselves asked to prove their fandom again and again and again, in a way that men aren’t. There are trivia quizzes, there are interrogations of attendance, there are comments about appearance and “which player do you fancy, then?”. Fighting one’s corner is stupid, and exhausting; but so often necessary.

But it wasn’t that way with CHIKARA. I fell in love head over heels and that was it. CHIKARA asks for nothing more from me. The fact that I love it is enough. And it loves me too.

Fact: Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble is annoying – but maybe not for the reasons you think

The bookies were right. Randy Orton won the 30th annual Royal Rumble to secure his place at WrestleMania.

Except…Randy Orton was always going to be at WrestleMania. He’s Randy Orton. The Viper. The Legend-Killer. The Evolution of the Legacy. His place on the big stage is assured.

But he’s a safe choice – and when it came down to the final two, with Roman Reigns the other man still standing, an Orton win was the only way to assure cheers rather than boos as the show went off the air.

Something else that would have assured cheers would have been a more exciting, more interesting choice for the winner – somebody who’s not already guaranteed a shot at the year’s biggest show.

Fact: The WWE UK Championship Tournament was amazing – and it’s just the start

In recent months, I’ve not been overly impressed with WWE’s programming. I tend to get up on a Tuesday and Wednesday morning, glance over the results from RAW and Smackdown, and decide whether to bother watching the episode. (I remain loyal to NXT, though, which always has something worth seeing.)

And when you’re having a busy time of it at work, it’s easy to slip away from getting to too many live wrestling shows; it has to be something really special to get me through the door at the moment.

So it’s easy for me to forget how much I love wrestling.

And then there’s a weekend like this, and I remember it all over again.

Facts from WWE NXT’s UK Tour and Takeover: London, December 2015

Last weekend I went up to Blackpool for the NXT tour show at the Empress Ballroom – I thought that would be a special evening simply for the return of William Regal. (I was right.)

And on Wednesday evening I was at Wembley Arena (in the very back row) for Takeover: London.

Here follow my thoughts, for what they’re worth…

Fact: The “Divas’ Revolution” needs to be bigger than WWE thinks

“That’s a good-looking belt…that’s a women’s WRESTLING belt!” declared Alundra Blayze on the occasion of her Hall of Fame induction, holding her once-discarded women’s championship aloft.

Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, three-quarters of NXT’s four horsewomen, have now joined Paige on the main WWE roster, leading some to announce that a “Divas’ Revolution” is now under way.

Enough has been written about the way NXT treats women’s wrestling – the women are characters in their own right, with motivations beyond “jealousy” and “boyfriends”, and the belt itself is for women, rather than “Divas”. (Can you imagine the men having a “Superstars’ Championship”?)

But a true revolution will never be successful until there’s a change from top to bottom.

Facts from Monday Night RAW, O2 Arena, April 13th 2015

Well, if I type quickly, I might get this published before the show airs…spoilers, if so…

Fact: Alundra Blayze’s WWE Hall of Fame induction speech was amazing

The 2015 Hall of Fame headliner may be ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage; Connor ‘the Crusher’ Michalak’s posthumous prize of the “Warrior Award” may commandeer the most column inches.

But Alundra Blayze’s acceptance speech was one that will live with me for a long time.

Fact: some stereotypes of British wrestling linger for a reason

If you indulge in social media at all, or if you read newspapers, you’ll have probably caught some of the kerfuffle around a certain article in the Guardian this week.

Tying in with Simon Cowell’s musings about bringing British wrestling back to television, TV writer Stuart Heritage brought some of his ‘World of Sport’ memories to the fore when sketching out what this new series might look like.

If you have even the vaguest interest in British wrestling history you’ll know exactly the kind of thing it included – middle-aged men with beer bellies, angry grannies in the front row berating the heels, shows staged in local leisure centres, all a plodding, working-class contrast to the glamour and polish of WWE.

Wrestlers and fans alike have been outraged.

Facts from TNA Impact Wrestling, Phones4U Arena, January 30 2014

As always with TNA tour blogs, the spoilers are strong with this one…