THE FUCK WRESTLING MANIFESTO

[age of quarrel]

this was posted on someone's tumblr as a personal rant by said female. It's interesting and points out exactly what I don't understand about the wrestling community since day one. Obviously people will disagree with it, but it's worth a read:


"it’s one of those things where you avoid something you take issue with for a while, and then suddenly find yourself in the middle of it, and it catches you off guard, ill-prepared, and you start fuming.

i went to see summerslam at staples center last august (amazing, by the way!). one of the opening fights was The Big Show vs. CM Punk, Joseph Mercury, and Luke Gallows in a handcapped match. it was funny, because the first two fights were some one on one matches with Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston and Melina vs. Alicia Fox, and although kids were going nuts and waving signs, it was no big deal. then The Big Show came out. immediately, a huge pit formed in front of wall between the crowd and the ring, squishing almost everyone else up against the wall. and then the familiar scene began.

pacing back and forth, posturing aggressively, swilling beer, shaking fists, shouting vulgar statements, violently flailing arms. two dudes accidentally knocked into each other and started posturing at each other and shit talking, needing to be separated before a fight. kids crisscrossed the the stands, one of the most extreme versions of macho masculinity ever to dilute the political bases of wrestling. because this violence isn’t even raw and reactionary; it’s planned, staged, practiced. it privileges machismo unquestioningly. it privileges the antiquated notion that dudes can’t control themselves and need to blow off steam violently because men will be men. it’s such an obvious fucking farce.

when i watch this shit happen, i think to myself, of COURSE i felt like a weird outsider a lot during a certain time of my growing up in punk… all of my friends were dudes and we always went to hardcore shows. i couldn’t win, because there was barely any room for a different way to enjoy shows; you either had to perform the type of violent masculinity going on in the pit, or stand in the back and be accused of being a punk rock girlfriend who only holds coats and can’t hang with the big boys (or find a way around that which is still privileged, like taking photos or tabling). and either way you’re pitted in competition with other girls, because the dudes compare you to the other girls involved on a scale of who’s conforming to hardcore dude standards the best, most worthy of being accepted into their group on their level, on their terms. the prevalent thread at hardcore shows is a dichotomy of macho fucking bullshit.

the weird thing is that i love a lot of wrestlers. i love watching it, and i always have, especially amazing wrestlers like Kurt Angle who subverts these standards as much as possible from within the genre. i just can’t fucking stand how this stuff is often acted out at events.

UFC dudes may often be sad misogynists, but at least i can go up to the front where i can actually SEE a fight during a UFC event and cheer along and know i’m not going to get punched in the head by some beefy posturing asshole who probably has a tiny dick, a beer gut and is an aloof jerk to the women he dates. that’s why i got INTO wrestling, to get away from that mainstream dude mentality of entitlement and privilege and to be critical of that kind of performance. to be faced with it is a slap in the face, literally. and i’m not fucking interested.

i know that people who like going to wrestling matches might read this, and may disagree with me or be super offended. that’s fine. you should think about why exactly that is though. you might think, jen doesn’t know what she’s talking about, she just doesn’t get it. wrong, i do know. i’ve been going to wrestling matches for 10 years and i’ve performed all of these roles at some point, and seen them performed. i’m interested in subversion and revolution, but not the kind that involves dick measuring contests. radical right wing politics like pro life and homophobia lose meaning when they are performed in such an oppressive environment without questioning it."

[righteousxjames]

Her article could have been more aptly named "The Fuck The Big Show Manifesto." She's making tons of blanket statements based on a few douchebags and giving rise to the same old stale argument; yes, misogyny is a problem in wrestling entertainment just as it is in everything else, and we all have to address this problem and work towards solving it, but I still prefer somewhat sexist wrestling to somewhat sexist everything else If she was to take a step back and look at the big picture, she'd see that a lot of the world wrestling scene is forward-thinking and stands against misogyny, even though many of its members have beer guts.

Anyways, she has good points about douchey wrestling fans, but to write off wrestling events in general is fucking stupid. If you don't like wrestling events, then wrestling events don't like you.

Straight Edge.

[age of quarrel]

you dont get it man, its not fair that bigshow had to fight 3 people. whatever happened to equality?

[righteousxjames]

Look man, when I see greasy dudes on roids pretend to fight, I get psyched and shake beer cans, especially when I'm jacked up on protein from stadium hotdogs. What else do you expect from World Wrestling Entertainment? If you don't want to get pushed, don't buy a floor ticket.

[Hollow]

I love this thread.

[keep_it_real]

100% the most fun i had in the summer of 2009 was going to a ring of honor event.

ric flair was literally ten feet away from me, just looking all saggy and orange. apparently bret hart was there the night before.

they had kegs and beers were like 3 bucks. i was trying to get some audio for a documentary on tiger jeet sighn, but most of it ended up being some of the most drunk conversations i've ever recorded. i capped the night off with a karaoke rendition of billy ocean's "caribbean queen".

[KYLESTYLE]

lol @ this:

"that’s why i got INTO wrestling, to get away from that mainstream dude mentality of entitlement and privilege and to be critical of that kind of performance."

[ebony]

when it comes down to it, ufc and hardcore have something in common. alot of guys in one room. at least half are going to be handsome. why is this math so hard to understand?

[keith.]

this was posted on someone's tumblr as a personal rant by said female. It's interesting and points out exactly what I don't understand about the wrestling community since day one. Obviously people will disagree with it, but it's worth a read:


"it’s one of those things where you avoid something you take issue with for a while, and then suddenly find yourself in the middle of it, and it catches you off guard, ill-prepared, and you start fuming.

i went to see summerslam at staples center last august (amazing, by the way!). one of the opening fights was The Big Show vs. CM Punk, Joseph Mercury, and Luke Gallows in a handcapped match. it was funny, because the first two fights were some one on one matches with Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston and Melina vs. Alicia Fox, and although kids were going nuts and waving signs, it was no big deal. then The Big Show came out. immediately, a huge pit formed in front of wall between the crowd and the ring, squishing almost everyone else up against the wall. and then the familiar scene began.

pacing back and forth, posturing aggressively, swilling beer, shaking fists, shouting vulgar statements, violently flailing arms. two dudes accidentally knocked into each other and started posturing at each other and shit talking, needing to be separated before a fight. kids crisscrossed the the stands, one of the most extreme versions of macho masculinity ever to dilute the political bases of wrestling. because this violence isn’t even raw and reactionary; it’s planned, staged, practiced. it privileges machismo unquestioningly. it privileges the antiquated notion that dudes can’t control themselves and need to blow off steam violently because men will be men. it’s such an obvious fucking farce.

when i watch this shit happen, i think to myself, of COURSE i felt like a weird outsider a lot during a certain time of my growing up in punk… all of my friends were dudes and we always went to hardcore shows. i couldn’t win, because there was barely any room for a different way to enjoy shows; you either had to perform the type of violent masculinity going on in the pit, or stand in the back and be accused of being a punk rock girlfriend who only holds coats and can’t hang with the big boys (or find a way around that which is still privileged, like taking photos or tabling). and either way you’re pitted in competition with other girls, because the dudes compare you to the other girls involved on a scale of who’s conforming to hardcore dude standards the best, most worthy of being accepted into their group on their level, on their terms. the prevalent thread at hardcore shows is a dichotomy of macho fucking bullshit.

the weird thing is that i love a lot of wrestlers. i love watching it, and i always have, especially amazing wrestlers like Kurt Angle who subverts these standards as much as possible from within the genre. i just can’t fucking stand how this stuff is often acted out at events.

UFC dudes may often be sad misogynists, but at least i can go up to the front where i can actually SEE a fight during a UFC event and cheer along and know i’m not going to get punched in the head by some beefy posturing asshole who probably has a tiny dick, a beer gut and is an aloof jerk to the women he dates. that’s why i got INTO wrestling, to get away from that mainstream dude mentality of entitlement and privilege and to be critical of that kind of performance. to be faced with it is a slap in the face, literally. and i’m not fucking interested.

i know that people who like going to wrestling matches might read this, and may disagree with me or be super offended. that’s fine. you should think about why exactly that is though. you might think, jen doesn’t know what she’s talking about, she just doesn’t get it. wrong, i do know. i’ve been going to wrestling matches for 10 years and i’ve performed all of these roles at some point, and seen them performed. i’m interested in subversion and revolution, but not the kind that involves dick measuring contests. radical right wing politics like pro life and homophobia lose meaning when they are performed in such an oppressive environment without questioning it."

post of the year

[LAxPB]

I can get behind this thread.

[age of quarrel]

so you condone the posturing sexist assholes who swill beer and yell at wrestling matches?

[LAxPB]

so you condone the posturing sexist assholes who swill beer and yell at wrestling matches?

I just liked that there was a thread about wrestling.

[stumped.]

fuck wrestling: battleslugs!

[age of quarrel]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/bb2e/

[keith.]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/bb2e/

ive wanted this for so long
ive also seen pictures of a Jabba the Hut beanbag chair ages ago that i wanted