Opinion: Intergender wrestling

Kimberly Frankele is regularly beaten by men in front of an audience. Then again, many times she beats up the men.

Being beaten and beating others, or at least appearing to, is all part of Frankele’s job. Frankele, better known by her stage name Kimber Lee, fights in the WWE and has fought both men and women during her time in
the ring.

Matches pitting men and women against each other in the WWE ring were rare over the past decade, according to an article in Paste Magazine, but a recent WrestleMania spotlight brought intergender fights to the forefront, sparking both outrage
and acclaim. 

Many see intergender WWE matches as a breakthrough for gender equality in the sport. At first glance, intergender WWE matches seem to champion gender equality and empower women, but the very nature of WWE wrestling makes any such claims a farce. 

An ESPN article addressing the issue details two intergender fights. In the first, “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams beat Frankele, leaving her with a welted, red handprint on her back. In the second, Ronda Rousey beat “Triple H” Paul Michael Levesque after lifting him over her shoulders. 

One aspect of the controversy appears in the Frankele fight: intergender fighting could look like domestic violence. For that matter, it could also be reminiscent of sexual assault or even forms of
violent sexuality. 

Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut on April 6 against Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, and his wife Stephanie McMahon. (Google Images)

Although a disturbing connection, and one that deserves attention, that is not the main reason that intergender WWE matches fail to support gender equality or truly empower women. 

By this point, all wrestling fans know that WWE matches are completely staged, choreographed from beginning to end.

The ESPN article quotes Frankele comparing WWE fighters to stunt actors — performers in a controlled environment. However, Frankele emphasized that the physicality is not necessarily fake. 

“The moves are real,” Frankele said to ESPN. “The bruises I have are real. I’m really landing on
the concrete.” 

In the sense that the men and the women fighting each other have to show equal acting skill and the skill to execute the wrestling moves with equal precision, intergender matches could stand for gender equality. Since stunt actors do the same thing, however, that is hardly unique to the WWE, and it is hardly news that men and women can be equally skilled actors
and athletes.

The skill required does not erase the fact that the winner of each fight is scripted, and is the biggest reason why WWE intergender matches do not
empower women. 

When Rousey, the UFC superstar turned WWE personality, beat Levesque, she beat him because that was what had been choreographed. Had Levesque been scripted to win, he would have. 

How does it empower women if the only reason Rousey wins the fight is because she is supposed to? She may have the skill to take down Levesque in an unscripted fight, but WWE is not in
that business. 

WWE intergender fights are the wrong vehicle to showcase gender equality or
empower women.

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