Women in Wrestling Arenas: How Globalization, Socially Produced Spaces, and Commodification Impact their Portrayal and Empowerment Post Women's Revolution

• Main Author: Kohlmeyer, Collin
• Other Authors: Ahmed, Waquar
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Texas 2020
• Subjects: Globalization; Feminism; Commodification; Socially Produced Space; Participant Observation
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1703284/

The Women's Revolution in 2015 has led to a drastic shift in the ways women are portrayed in professional wrestling. The Women's Revolution came as a result of the social unrest over the lack of time women were receiving on the televised shows. Where women's storylines had centered on their sexuality, they are now presented as equal to their male counterparts after the Women's Revolution. Through an exploration of concepts in globalization, commodification, and socially produced spaces, this research seeks to understand and contextualize the Women's Revolution, the degree to which the portrayed women's equality has been achieved, and the resulting impacts of the female superstars overall. I argue that that this "equality" has been achieved through inscribing the traditionally masculine qualities of wrestling to women, has resulted in an unequal distribution of opportunities to particular female superstars rather than equality for all women on the shows, and that phallocentric objectification of the female superstars still occurs in certain aspects of professional wrestling.