“To be the man—you gotta beat the man!”
-Ric “The Nature Boy” Flair
How does the role of masculinity and gender in wrestling reflect American culture?
When I was 9 years old, I was drawn into the world of wrestling. Home to some of the biggest icons in popular culture, wrestling has been a spectacle in the industry of entertainment for many years, drawing fans from all different age groups and genders. But what makes such a product the “male soap opera” that it is? It is a place where men are able to act out our drama…
In my paper I plan to examine the role of gender and masculinity in wrestling. Some the questions I plan to ask include: How do personas and gimmick (characters) in wrestling portray and support the patriarchy of masculinity? What is the role of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in the way that they support this drive for masculinity within the wrestling world? How are women viewed in the eye of the male gaze in the wrestling environment? There’s a lot about gaining respect and being the champion—becoming the alpha-male—in the story-world of wrestling that reflects the way our society works, and several theories that we’ve studied—feminism, hegemony, and ideology—can be represented in this piece of text.
I plan on focusing on books, articles, blogs, videos, interviews, etc for my research. The reason why I might venture into blogs and interviews is because I also plan on studying the way it is received by the audience, concerning masculinity. When I was 16 years old, I had 10 good friends of mine (all male) come over and watch WrestleMania 20. Brooker’s group viewing of Star Wars reminded me of this experience and made me think a lot about how significant the event was.
Oppliger, Patrice A. Wrestling and hypermasculinity. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland, c2004
Sehmby, Dalbir, “Wrestling and Popular Culture” CLCWeb Volume4 Issue 1 (March 2002) Article 5 <http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1144&context=clcweb>
Soulliere, Danielle M.”Wrestling with masculinity: messages about manhood in the WWE.”
Sex Roles: A Journal of Research (July 2006) <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_55/ai_n19328330/?tag=content;col1>