There are girls out there today who are trained in the traditionally male-dominated sport of wrestling. We aren’t necessarily aiming to be “gorgeous” and do it all for show, in neon leotards like the Netflix series “GLOW,” nor are we all destined for Olympic gold like Helen Maroulis, but we love the sport just the same. I certainly fell in love with it, and I’d like to share some lessons I learned from my experiences.
During my junior year of high school, I decided that I wanted to learn how to wrestle. I wanted to feel strong and confident in myself, and I thought I would be good at it because of my background in dance. Many of my experiences from being on my school’s team for two years were positive, but I would be lying if I said there weren’t any frustrating lessons learned due to the fact that I, a very feminine young woman, had stepped into a world of testosterone jacked men.
Wrestler or not, here are some of those lessons any woman can benefit from learning:
1. Many men get an unsettling amount of joy from overpowering women.
Any girl who has had to wrestle a boy knows that her opponent is more determined to win a match against her than any other boy he faces that day. Boys NEVER want to lose to ANY girl when it comes to battles of strength. They may even be more aggressive towards female opponents to ensure a victory. ***Please note that not ALL boys are this way, some are supportive of female empowerment in sports; however, I have seen a boy cry because he lost to a girl.
2. Society doesn’t seem to be bothered by a man walking around a public area shirtless, but a woman in a sports bra is still not as accepted as it ought to be by now.
Even if you’re not quite on board with the Free the Nipple campaign, can we at least agree that people need to get more used to seeing the female body? It seems ridiculous that a man can be treated no differently whether or not he’s half naked, but a female athlete in a sports bra is taboo.
3. Men are physically stronger than women.
It’s basic anatomy, unfortunately. There are lots of things which men are able to do and women are not simply because their bodies are built to be better at tests of strength and swiftness. But remember, there are also lots of things which women are able to do and men can not. We give birth to the future of humanity for goodness sake. No woman should ever feel inferior or ashamed by her body and/or the abilities of her body. I am proud of my courage to step onto a mat over and over in a competition I knew I had slim chances of winning, and to me, that is all that matters from my personal experience as a wrestler.