The Pocket Volcano Erupts: A Fan’s Take on the Womanist Revolution

“Don’t compromise yourself – you are all you have.” – Janis Joplin

A couple of months ago, I was watching Raw and occasionally tweeting my thoughts. I remember being aggravated at the fact a feud was brewing between two of the women that was based on something incredibly superficial – I believe it was the Bellas claiming they had a ‘big secret’ about Kelly Kelly, and that secret turning out to be them claiming she was too skinny, or it may have been something else equally superfluous. I took to my Twitter, wondering if the concept of fighting for pride, to be the best was something that WWE writers refused to consider as a reason for a female feud. After all, it’s regularly a concept used in other promotions. Was it really that far a leap for WWE to try it out?

Not long after expressing my frustrations, I received a cryptic reply from Allison Danger. She said, “You are inspiring my latest blog. #therevolutioniscoming”

That made me pause. Revolution? Me? I tentatively asked, “Should I be flattered or afraid…?” She replied, “It’s a good thing. I know once you read it you will join me.” Colour me curious! I didn’t have to wait long; shortly thereafter she unleashed her blog entitled, “The Revolution is Here” and issued a call to arms, calling on fans, bookers/writers and fellow female wrestlers to change their modus operandi when it came to their part in wrestling. If you haven’t read it, you really should. Do it now before continuing.

I did not so much read it as consume it. Allison’s words stirred the passion within me, the passion that drives me when it comes to wrestling, the passion that infuses my articles here on Ringbelles. The passion that wants to help overthrow the conventional view of female wrestling as nothing more than a piss break – a view that WWE helped cultivate, but that several promotions still nurture, despite the fact that there are dozens of females who can easily steal any show, if given the chance.

Reading the blog, it’s quite easy to see that Allison is fed up and not willing to compromise herself any further. Her second blog made it clear she has drastically changed how she does business, among other things. And it occurred to me: throughout history, we women have always compromised ourselves in all areas of life, or we were forced to submit to conditions no one should have to suffer through. How many times have we foregone something to please our husband/kids/boss? How many times have we swallowed our pride and agreed to something that, inwardly, we object to on a number of grounds? How many times have we said, “Yes” when we should have said, “No”? We do it for a number of reasons – money, to make ourselves agreeable, to avoid arguments, to please or make someone happy, so on and so forth. It comes down to the same thing in the end – we compromise ourselves.

In wrestling, there have been a number of women that I daresay have done things that they disagreed with or hated to do with every fiber in their being, yet they went along with it, especially in WWE. Certainly, they could have said no, but the consequences would have been loss of job and income and perhaps the reputation of being “difficult to work with” therefore deceasing her odds of finding work elsewhere. So it’s little to no surprise some of the women swallow their discomfort and go through with things that leave us female (and some male) viewers cringing to watch.

Do you really think Molly Holly wanted to go out there and have Jerry Lawler comment on her supposedly big rear-end, not to mention being constantly stripped of her pants and shown to be wearing “granny panties”? Do you really think that Lita wanted to be involved in a “live sex celebration” in the ring on Raw? Pillow fights, bra and panty matches, gravy bowl matches, paddle on a pole matches… the list goes on of degrading and uncomfortable “matches” that both women who were and women who weren’t trained wrestlers were made to go through. And for what? Money, sure, but what does the casual fan remember about the women of yesteryear? Do they even remember who Molly Holly was, let alone her technical prowess in the ring? Do they remember Lita showed that women could do the high flying style, or do they remember that the reason she retired in the first place was the harassment fans gave her over what happened between her and Matt Hardy, which culminated in her heel turn, the said “live sex celebration” and having tampons and other “personal items” thrown at her by Cryme Tyme after her last match in 2006?

What do fans remember about Trish Stratus? Most remember that she was a 7-time Women’s Champion who retired in glory, going out the champion in her hometown, and is still considered by WWE’s standards as the ‘golden girl’, the model-turned-wrestler that set the standard. Does anyone remember what she went through to get there…? She was Vince McMahon’s “mistress” who was made to strip, bark like a dog and covered in slop before she could return to his good graces back in 2001. Trish was made to go through a lot, to prove herself a true company woman, before training and becoming the face of the women’s division for years.

Even with the new PG era, gone are the days of bra and panties, gravy bowl matches and so forth, but thanks to the previous years, female wrestling’s worth has been lowered. It’s up to a new generation of female wrestlers to take up the standard, wipe off the mud and the gravy, cover up the lingerie and take a stand. Can it happen in WWE? Granted, Beth Phoenix and Natalya Neidhart are doing something interesting, but aside from those two (who are made to be the heels in this storyline, no matter how logical their stance is), there is no one that I, myself, would look up as a standard bearer for female wrestling.

It isn’t hard to find women to look up to in wrestling. Here are a few of mine:

Allison Danger

I believe in her Womanist Revolution because I believe in her. Having met her, I know that she takes so much pride in her profession, but she also takes pride in being a wife and a mother to an adorable daughter – and although I’ve not asked her, I’d be willing to wager that she wants to be a good example to her daughter once she grows old enough to know what her mother does for a living. Allison is willing to sacrifice pay and make significant changes to her life to set an example for others, to show how serious she is taking the words she writes and says. She was absolutely right – once I’d read it, I joined her Revolution wholeheartedly. It speaks to me as a fan, a woman and a feminist. Allison isn’t willing to settle, isn’t willing to compromise any further – why should I?

Daizee Haze

This woman is the very definition of discipline. She has shaped her body and her ability into exactly what she wants and I admire the hell out of her for it. Some of my favourite matches feature her, ever since her IWA: Mid South days up into her matches for SHIMMER and CHIKARA. The first promo I ever heard her speak in was one that I took to heart, due to a line in it. “Dynamite comes in small packages!” Being a small woman myself, that quote immediately drew me in. Then I saw her wrestle. She is one of the women who introduced me to female wrestling outside of WWE. She didn’t let her size get in the way of anything – hell, she gave Amazing Kong a German suplex! I had the chance to chat with her in September 2010 and I complimented her on her body and how fantastic she looked. With all the chatter about how she looks, I’ll only say one thing – could someone in less than top physical condition have the superb matches in 2011 as she has done? I doubt it very much. Daizee is someone I very much admire, another woman that females can look up to.

Serena Deeb

Here’s a lady who said time and again her goal was to make it into WWE. She paid her own way to get to OVW and train, then she wrestled on SHIMMER until, finally, she was signed and put into FCW in 2009. The following year, she joined the WWE roster as the third recruit to CM Punk’s “Straight Edge Society.” Serena did everything and then some to attain her goal – move to Louisville to train on her own dime, get rhinoplasty, breast implants and then, when asked, shaved her head to join the SES. This woman sacrificed a lot to get into WWE. She only had her first (and last) TV match in August, 7 months after making it onto the main roster, but she was a part of WrestleMania. And then, abruptly, in August she was released from her contract. Most people would be devastated – not Serena. She picked herself back up and kept going. Aside from wrestling in SHIMMER and WSU, she achieved another dream of hers – to wrestle in Japan, which now she has done several times. How many of us would, or could, have kept going after what we had fought so hard to gain was suddenly taken away from us? In refusing to admit defeat, in rebuilding herself, Serena Deeb has proven herself to be one of the strongest women I’ve ever known, in and out of wrestling. It’s been a privilege to witness some of her matches in person, and hopefully I’ll be witness to several more. She actually spoke to the Women Of Wrestling Podcast two months after her release, listen to the podcast here.

Madison Eagles

Tall, beautiful, athletic, multi-talented, also juggling being a wrestler, wife and mother – Madison can and has done it all. She is the owner and founder of the most prominent all female wrestling promotion in Australia, PWWA. She moved to the United States to increase her exposure and wrestled in several promotions across the country. She has faced off against peers (Sara Del Rey, Mercedes Martinez) and against legends (Manami Toyota). She has wrestled in Japan as well. She has a heel character everyone loves to hate (but some of us can’t help but cheer for her), but she can back up her words in the ring very easily. Her matches are some of the most enjoyable bouts you can watch, be they in CHIKARA, SHIMMER, or PWWA. Quite simply, this woman is amazing and has become one of the best in the business. A strong, independent and determined woman – a role model for anyone, male or female.

MsChif

Scientists make great money. They also make breakthroughs that affect everyday life. One might wonder why exactly a scientist would want to become a wrestler. They don’t need the money, and the fame is fleeting. Their accomplishments aren’t exactly life-changing. The only real reason one would is because they like it. They want to. They have a desire, a passion for wrestling – and that is exactly why MsChif did so. Like Madison, she’s wrestled all over America, plus in Britain and Japan. She has won several titles, but also suffered several injuries that she might not have, had she not gotten into wrestling. Not only athletic and talented, she is also extremely intelligent – you have to be, to be a microbiologist. The main thing that continually stuns and impresses me is that she did not have to get into wrestling – she did so because she loved it. Her passion drives her to keep at it. Some claim she’s a so-called “weekend warrior”…listen to her interview with the Women Of Wrestling Podcast and see how she reacted to that claim. The best thing is her unwillingness to give up her character, to conform to anyone else’s idea of what it should be. She doesn’t want to go to either WWE or TNA due to that. I admire her determination to not compromise herself – I wish more women would follow her lead.

There are more, but these are five women I truly look up to and admire. People say wrestling isn’t the right place to look for heroes, but I disagree. You need only look in the right places. These women are just a few who represent the best about wrestling and the best about feminism. Each has paved their own road in a male-dominated business and become not only stars but role models. They, along with others, give me hope and make me proud to be a wrestling fan and a feminist. I do not have to compromise who and what I am – there are women and places I can support who give like minded fans only the best. With them, I can declare war against the stereotype and make it known that there is great female wrestling outside the mainstream.

Allison Danger is looking for a few good men and women. I stand beside her – will you?

Also, what female wrestlers do you look up to and why? Let me know in the comments below.

- Jennifer Logsdon