Despite how far we’ve come in terms of equality, wrestling by and large is still very much a boys’ club. In particular, it’s a straight white boys’ club and the further you fall from that demographic, the less likely you are to find decent representation of yourself. You’re more likely to find racist caricatures, homosexuality used to make men look silly, and the using of women as nothing but sex objects. The people affected by these representations have wanted more and recently they’ve truly been making their voices heard and putting their money where their mouths are.
Many times, marginalized people are told to “just make your own then” when they call out offensive portrayals in modern media. Events like For the Culture, Effy’s Big Gay Brunch, WWE Evolution, and a host of other events targeted at different groups have done just that. Events like these are incredibly important because it allows the spotlight to be put on wrestlers who may not have had the same opportunities elsewhere. Instead of being the butt of jokes or on the receiving end on insensitive storylines, these wrestlers get to flourish and flaunt the parts of their identities that they have often had to downplay.
Events like these often include a sense of safety for fans as well. Black fans are less likely to experience racism at an event run by a Black wrestling collective. Queer fans are less likely to experience homophobia or transphobia at an LGBTQ themed event. And women are less likely to experience harassment or sexual violence at an all-female event. This ability to let one’s guard down, and also to connect with wrestlers and other fans who share your identities, adds even more enjoyment to the event.
Another very important outcome of events like these is that it shows that other demographics are just as marketable. We hear a lot that certain wrestlers don’t get pushed because they’re not marketable or they’re not “over” when they really mean that the wrestlers appeal to other people outside the coveted 18-39 white male demo. The wrestling business has operated on this faulty cognition for decades but now folks are paying attention to the fact that other people exist and hey, those people also have money. At the end of the day, wrestling is a business and it makes no sense to alienate millions of people and lose out on all of that revenue.
I hope that these events continue to thrive and evolve as we learn more about how to safely come back together. As a marginalized fan, I can’t express the joy I feel when I get to surround myself with people like me, people who tend to be ignored by a lot of mainstream promotions. And I really want those mainstream promotions to take notice; there are a lot of demographics out there and by leaving them out, they are leaving untold amounts of money on the table.
