Popular Culture Review Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2000 | Page 55

Anti-Corporatism in Professional Wrestling

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main events in the fights. Moreover, Latino wrestlers often fight with masks and
do not engage in the melodrama of Anglo wrestlers. It is interesting to note that
although professional wrestling is also a popular form of entertainment in Mexico,
many wrestlers have used their popularity to fight on behalf of serious social causes
for the underprivileged.
In addition to avoiding the issue of ethnicity, the WWFAVCW have also skirted
the delicate issue of sexuality. The image presented by professional wrestlers is
already plagued by sexual ambiguity, particularly in the form of partial cross dress
ing. Hulk Hogan often sports a pink feather boa, and during his days as a wrestler,
Jesse Ventura was a pioneer cross-dresser. The contrast between exaggerated mus
cularity and feminine clothing has had a long run in the WWF. This imagery is
slowly fading in the ring to the growing presence of female wrestlers.
Copying the success of professional boxing, professional wrestling has slowly
introduced female wrestlers. Although formidably built, some of the female wres
tlers have not been a success in the ring. Instead, the role of female wrestlers has
been behind the scenes. A prototypical example of this trend is represented by one
popular female wrestler named “Sable.” She merely escorts other male wrestlers
to the ring. Typically she fails to step between the ropes and prefers to stay outside
them by acting as the bleach-blond, silicone breasted harlot. She often adopts the
role of “manager” of her real life husband, the wrestler “Marvelous” Marc Mero.
Another key figure in the small coterie of female wrestlers is Chyna. Despite
her name, there is nothing Asian about Chyna. Eerily reminiscent of Monica
Lewinsky on steroids, Chyna has been the conduit for a lot of backstage melo
drama. Inspired by the success of the NWO within the WCW, the WWF has en
couraged Chyna to lead a “breakaway” group within the WWF, called Degenera
tion X. In contrast to NWO, Degeneration X has tried to pull in occasional wres
tlers from outside the wrestling world. The group’s coup was Mike Tyson’s wres
tling debut as a Degeneration X fighter.

Political Messages of Wrestling
The political messages of wrestling could be a concern to individuals who are
apprehensive about the glorification of hypermasculinity and anti-corporatism.
Professional wrestling has unwittingly translated some of its monothematic politi
cal messages into the political arena. Jesse Ventura successfully used the anti
corporate, anti-establishment theme in his 1998 campaign for governor of Minne
sota. In an age of multiculturalism and equivocating lawyers, Jesse Ventura also
implicitly represents white hypermasculinity. It is worth noting that during the
1998 gubernatorial election, the state of Minnesota had the largest voter turnout of
any state in the country. The voting population among young white males grew by
300,000 from the 1996 presidential election.