Buff women draw viewers to pro wrestling

      
By Bob Phillips, Jr.
    Columnist

      
Is it just me, or has the inane pseudo-sport
      of professional wrestling sunk its claws into mainstream culture
      again? 

      


      I remember way back in the '80s when wresting used to be popular
      among the grade school audience because the heroes were big and
      believable for 10-year-olds. 

      


      However, as '70s babies matured, the popularity of wrestling
      declined like a sinking luxury cruise liner. 

      


      I think I understand the newest draw to this redneck spectacle,
      though. It's the women. 

      


      They're well-endowed, they've got that competitive masculine
      nature and they could squash the average frat boy like an ant.
      

      


      These women are nice to look at, in general, and I'll even admit
      to being hypnotized by them while flipping between PBS and the
      History Channel. 

      


      Besides the general problems I have with professional wrestling,
      such as the widespread belief that what happens in the ring is
      real, I've found a new reason to despise the money-making freak
      show. 

      


      With the addition of female wrestlers, the pro-wrestling circuit
      has made women into objects.

      
 

      For a brief time, I actually expected our society to get over
      that hump, and I could see the other side of the metaphor, where
      everyone was treated as an equal despite their sex. But then
      wrestling grabbed us by the ankle. 

      


      When women were only wrestling women, they were a gimmick to
      suck in the teenage male audience. 

      


      For most teen boys, when women are fighting, there is a chance
      that one or both of them will have some clothing removed, and
      any chance to see some bare female flesh is a big deal to adolescent
      boys. 

      


      And of course, the fathers of these boys, who were going through
      their mid-life crises, also became attracted to the ladies of
      the ring. 

      


      So now we have the 10-year-olds believing in the drama unfolding
      within the square arena, and teenagers and their fathers are
      drooling over the cat-fights. Well, this audience was good, but
      there needed to be something even more daring for the producers
      of pro wrestling. 

      


      How about a mixed-gender match? Sure, because in this warped
      mindset, there is no responsibility to the fans once the entertainment
      is over. 

      


      So now we've got an auditorium full of impressionable young males
      and frustrated older men, and what do we let them cheer for?
      Oh, a man and a women, beating the snot out of one another. 

      


      Yes, this is a great thing for society to see, I'm sure. As if
      the lower-class problems with domestic abuse weren't rough enough
      on our society, now we're getting the impressionable children
      to applaud when a man hits a woman? Great, I'm just thrilled
      about where all of this is going. 

      


      So, what comes next? Wrestling with kids? Or how about animals?
      It's always great fun to beat a dog with a folding chair, isn't
      it? Again, we get to see entertainment erode the structure of
      our culture. I dread what will happen once the fans grow accustomed
      to the mixed-gender bouts.
 

      
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