I've never watched an MMA "Weigh-Ins & Face Offs" session before. For some reason YouTube recommended it to me, so I thought I'd see what it is about. To my surprise I realized that the weigh-ins are basically sexual objectification sessions. There is no reason why the weighing in could not happen behind closed doors, but instead an entertaining spectacle is made of it. The purpose is clearly for the display of the fighters physiques, often in their briefs. An intrinsic part of the show also seems the deliberate undressing -- the stripping -- of the fighters for the audiences voyeuristic pleasure, before they get on they scale. They could have easily arrived in robes like they do when approaching the ring; instead the act of undressing is purposed to add to the subconscious message of stripping down and getting naked. Some of the fighters seem more comfortable with this than others. The beautiful women with the hot pants and bikini tops in the background are there, of course, for no other reason than adding to the sexual tone of the event. Their purpose is purely decorative, like racing girls at car shows. And just like racing girls where the girls have very little to do with cars, but merely to create a sexual connection with the vehicle, so too do these girls here seem to add some primal energy. Virile muscled men and curvaceous women: the subconscious message is that the men are fighting over the women; like male animals fighting for mating rights with the females. The face-offs are nothing but "posturing" and "power displays", exactly what male animals do in the wild in an effort to intimidate their opponent before fighting over females start. I must say it is all very cleverly designed and I cannot help, at a very instinctive level, to enjoy it. At the same time, I cannot help but wonder what effect this has on society, as it merely enforces gender role stereotypes, and a culture spiked with sex and violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment