Professional Wrestling

WWE/WWF was brought up in class the other day and I could do nothing, but smile. Remember the days as a little kid watching The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin as the entertained me with their larger egos. While some may consider it a sport, it will never really be considered a sport. The main reason is that WWE is fake, everything is planned to happen. The best way to describe the WWE is by saying it is a combination of acting and theatre. With that being said WWE is the definition of masculinity in society.

The WWE is set up to define masculinity. It shows how "real" men should be buff and they should settle their problems with violence. One thing that my mother taught me was that "violence never settles anything." Even though it is fake, the WWE is the exception to that rule. If people have a problem with one another they will have a match to settle their differences. Some times they will take it to the extreme, they will use chairs, tables or any other objects that they can find under the ring or lying around. While this is not what we want to teach the youth of America, it is the stereotype for being a "real" man. I do not have a problem with the violence aspect of the WWE as long as people know that it is not real and is just for entertainment. The problem I have with the WWE is the way women are portrayed.

Women are portrayed as objects. They are in place to help the men become the top dog. They will stand ringside and "cheat" so that the guy they are helping will win. Another way that the WWE is sexist in the matches that the women take part in, for example the bra and panties match. Yes that is great for men to watch, women might get upset with the idea that these women have to be stripped down to there bra and panties in order for the match to be over. Women have fought for (still fighting for in some cases) equal rights in America and for the WWE to act as though none of that has happened is a little disappointing. The types of matches is not the only sexist thing, another is the outfits that the divas (as labeled by the WWE) are skimpy, as you can see in the picture above. It is not just while the girls are acting for each show, it carries to the world outside of the WWE. Since 1999 there have nine times have WWE divas posed in Playboy. It just reinforces that the women of the WWE are objects there to please the men.

While these are my opinions I believe that the WWE is using the one of the biggest marketing strategies out there and that would be that sex sells. While it's not the best way to go about using that strategy it has put butts in the seats for decades. It does not matter who you are you cannot deny that the WWE has been a successful business, but that is exactly what they are a business and their product is entertainment.