We began the discussion in class the other day concerning girls wrestling. I think two of the main questions that came up were:
- Should girls be allowed to wrestle (against guys)?
- What stereotypes go into deciding whether or not girls should be allowed to wrestle?
I think I'd like to add one more question: Why do girls choose to wrestle?
I personally have a pretty big issue with girls on wrestling teams. Wrestling is a "fighting" sport where guys pretty much get a chance to use skill to beat up on each other. I don't get why guys wrestle, but I further don't understand why girls wrestle. I don't think that saying girls shouldn't be on the wrestling team is an issue of "equality" or guys being preferred and girls being excluded. I don't think its an issue of stereotype either, that girls are weaker than guys. I hope that we can all see the moral reasons behind girls not wrestling guys. The school system seems to spend enough time encouraging girls and guys to not get too close, but yet they permit girls and guys on the same wrestling mat. That seems like a pretty heavy contradiction to me.
My brothers were both wrestlers and my older brother wrestled a girl once in middle school. The way my mom described it was "it was over fast." We mentioned in class how a guy beating a girl in a wrestling match is a "lose-lose" situation-- if he beats her he is seen as a jerk for beating up a girl, if he loses he's seen as a wimp because he was "beat by a girl." Now, it seems pretty safe to say that the stereotype in these situations is that a guy should be physically capable of beating a girl, but also that a guy should treat a girl kindly. Once a guy is put on the wrestling mat and asked to wrestle a girl he has a mentle battle: "do I do what I've been taught all my life and treat her like a lady, or do I do what my coach has been teaching me all season and treat her like an adversary." This puts the guy in a pretty tough situation in the first place because he really can't "win" no matter what he does. It seems pretty hard to escape stereotypes on the wrestling mat even if we try.
Why would a girl want to wrestle in the first place? I honestly don't know how to answer that. Any ideas? Any thoughts on this topic in general?
Emily T.
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7 comments:
Bonsoir, Comrade Thompson!
My guess is just as good as yours. I agree with you totally; the contradiction that you pointed out makes complete sense. It almost seems as if guys and girls are asked to temporarily forget what has been drilled into their heads once they step onto the wrestling mat. After the match, they are responsible for following the code of conduct once more. What gives this specific sport the right to dictate behavioral changes. The vision of a male and female fighting on a mat irks me, to say the least.
Like Emily said, this doesn't really have anything to do with gender equality. Rather, it has to do with people in higher positions and why they allow such contradictions to take place.
I'd say girls wrestle to prove themselves against guys. The glass ceiling becomes so frustrating that girls may attempt something physical to outdo their male counterparts. We have been biologically proven as inferior... Could these girls be looking to defy that? What if there was an all-girls wrestling team. Would we be asking the same questions/making the same accusations?
(Sam Maliha)
WHOOPS! It honestly slipped my mind.
A bientot,
Comrade Maliha
Hola Comrades...
Well, I have another question: Why not? Why shouldn't a girl want to wrestle, if she wants to? As to why she would, well, we all have various motivations for the actions we take. If a girl wants to wrestle, I say let her.
I believe in gender equality, which is relevant here. If a male wants to wrestle, that's fine with society. But apparently society frowns down upon girls wrestling, because it feels "wrong." Well, who are we to judge whether something is morally just or not? A century ago, men would have argued the "moral reasons" for why women should not be allowed to work or why women should not be allowed to divorce.
Both of you continued to wonder why a girl would want to wrestle. Well, why does it matter? Do we ever question the motivations of males who want to wrestle? We cannot, and should not, hold a double standard here.
-Comrade Eric W.
In response to Eric's last comment, I would argue that reasoning certainly has to be different for a guy and girl, and I think it makes a difference. First of all, like Sam mentioned, if there were a girls' wrestling team I don't think there would be an issue. But there aren't enough girls to form a girls' team. Could there possibly be a reason for that??? Guys are built differently. There is something in them that makes them like to beat up on each other physically. Girls aren't made that way. They prefer verbal fights. So, like I said already, I have know idea why a girl would want to wrestle, but it can't be the same reason as a guy. The point of wrestling is for guys to use skill to beat up on each other, which seems pretty natural for a guy. But for a girl to want to beat up on a guy for competition doesn't seem very natural.
"But apparently society frowns down upon girls wrestling, because it feels "wrong." Well, who are we to judge whether something is morally just or not? A century ago, men would have argued the "moral reasons" for why women should not be allowed to work or why women should not be allowed to divorce." -- Eric
In response to this, there is a huge difference, in my opinion, between reasons for woman not being allowed to do certain things a century ago and why girls shouldn't wrestle. A century ago women were viewed as emotionally incapable and fragile. Wrestling is a different issue. I don't care how strong a girl is or how fragile she is, but putting a guy and a girl together on a wrestling match is allowing them to get too close physically. A century ago it had nothing to do with guys and girls being too close.
Emily T.
Bonsoir, Comrades.
Well, if we don't have the authority to judge, who does? Apparantly the people put in charge can't quite make up their minds because of the obvious contradiction in the system. This is the double standard. But this is my question: Since we can't narrow it down as to why girls wrestle, then why do people (both male AND female) wrestle at all? What's the point? Does anyone ever think that they may pursue wrestling in hopes of reeling in the cash? Or is it done out of pleasure of causing physical pain? I'm honestly curious. Salut! (Its an informal way of saying goodbye in French. I'm not proposing a toast, I promise.)
Comrade Maliha
(Sam Maliha)
While I agree with the idea of the contradiction between the traditionally emphasized gender roles and the position wrestlers are placed in when on the mat, I still believe that there IS an issue of gender equality and an issue of stereotype involved in this topic. How we could say otherwise, if we choose to question why girls would want to wrestle against guys? Aren't our views already biased due to stereotypes?
Comrade Thompson, you stated the following: "There is something in them [guys] that makes them like to beat up on each other physically. Girls aren't made that way. They prefer verbal fights." I am not necessarily disagreeing with your position, but is your entire statement not a stereotype itself? How can we state that this topic is not an issue of stereotypes if it's impossible to discuss without referring to them? You even mentioned yourself that "it seems pretty hard to escape stereotypes on the wrestling mat even if we try." Clearly, stereotypes ARE an issue here. Perhaps we simply wish to avoid the issue because it is such a hackneyed one.
In terms of the issue of gender equality, I agree fully with Comrade Wei that it IS a relevant issue which I believe goes hand-in-hand with stereotypes. Due to gender stereotypes, girls who wish to wrestle are questioned, and then these girls may feel as if they are not being given an equal opportunity.
Having said the above, I feel as if I haven't answered anyone's questions. I, too, am curious as to why males or females choose to wrestle. I agree with Comrade Maliha's speculation that females wrestle in order to prove themselves against males and to break free from gender stereotypes, but my insight is currently limited otherwise. Are there other speculations? (It seems as if we are now beginning to question the act of wrestling itself.)
(Comrade Lee)
I completely agree with Comrade Wei's view on this issue. If a girl is physically capable of wrestling in a guy's league, then she should be allowed to. There's always the general stereotype that girls are weaker. For most cases, I would say that this is true. However, this means that there are also exceptions. Some girls are way stronger than guys, and they should be given the right to participate in sports with other guys.
Asking why people want to wrestle seems pretty pointless (for lack of a better word). Mainly, it's because they just like doing it. Honestly, most of the students that participate in sport teams and clubs in school do not think that they are going to be pursuing such a similar career. I honestly don't think that the girls who choose to wrestle are really that concerned with disproving the stereotype of girls. I think that we may be looking too deep into this.
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