Posted By James Walsh on 09/22/17


Laurel Van Ness posted a bit of a wild rant earlier today talking about the lack of equal pay for female wrestlers versus male wrestlers and that women are as big of a part of the show as the men in the year 2017.

And then she posted a picture of herself in a bikini to advertise her new site.

Are you seeing why I split that paragraph? It is to put emphasis on the latter part. Because, there is a mixed message from all wrestling companies and wrestlers about women in wrestling. Are they athletes or sex symbols? I'm not sure "both" is a satisfactory answer. It must be one or the other.

For example, WWE has a lot of rather sub-par talent that do not look like lady wrestlers. They aren't, really. They are fitness models. Sure, you have your Natalya, Bayley, and Charlotte type workers that are both attractive and can work. But, they don't, except on cloud leaks, flaunt their sex appeal much.

The same can be said for Impact talent such as Gail Kim, Taya, and Sienna. Attractive, yes. But, workers as well.

Here's where it gets muddied.

If you present female wrestlers in a way that we are supposed to view them as athletes instead of just hot chicks, you can't have them wrestle on TV in meaningful matches and them flaunt their T&A in photo shoots immediately thereafter online. It muddies the waters.

The Women's Revolution is fine in my book. In fact, it is welcomed. I would much rather watch a show with a break from muscled up dudes fighting and, for a break, see fit women wrestle instead. Believe me, it keeps us wrestling nerds mentally centered. But, if the perspective is supposed to be female equality, the sexual overtones especially in terms of how it is marketed must be toned way down. Otherwise, how far have we really come? Maybe not as far as even the most outspoken feminist wants to pretend.