Ring girls: Important tradition or antiquated ***ism?

[Mooshashi]

One of my ex-girlfriends used to be a ring girl for local MMA fights here in Montreal at the Bell Center.

Montreal Ring Card girls, and the dancers, are some of the best in the business. I have fond memories of French-Canadian girls going back to the early 1970's.

Here is an example of those ravishing creatures.

[Barcham]

I'm not aware of any female boxers who have jumped at the opportunity so I recon Orlando would stick to sitting on a corner stool between rounds.

I'd find it pretty funny if during the few female bouts that are promoted a perma-tanned male model with designer stubble and ever so slightly plucked eyebrows was paraded around the ring in his swimwear.

A good portion of the audience would hit the roof!

Wouldn't bother me in the least. If I was there, I'd probably let out a huge wolf whistle, something I would not do for a woman.

[lefthook2daliva]

Every time a ring card girl flashes on the screen my girlfriend gets p*ssed off (especially as I shout "Ay Papi" if she's a Latino!). For her it's more of an issue. She lives the consequences of ***ism on a dally basis. Whereas as a white Western male between the ages of 18 and 55 the world generally thinks that the sun shines out of my unable-to-overcome-indoctrination, hence-perpetually-guilty-feeling arse.

The way that the sport is organised and the roles that are readily available to women within it embeds definite gendered social relations. So the femininity on display accommodates male's interests and desires. The fact that the women are being compliant in their own subordination doesn't make them any less objectified though.

It really comes down to what versions of femininity are permitted to thrive within the sport. Women have participated in boxing bouts since before the gloved era but there have often been periods of historical exclusion (it wasn't too long ago in New South Wales that a female boxing could be fined $20,000 and imprisoned for 6 months) and they have always taken up a marginalised role. Female boxers are seen largely as violating gendered stereotypes and are therefore not to be taken seriously. They're often seen as parodies, like Christy Martin or gimmicks like Laila Ali.

Despite an increase in female participation in the sport at club and amateur level there's still a pervasive tendancy in the pro game for women to provide a ***y sideshow whilst men get down to the real labour of fighting. So I can see why some would take issue with ring card girls because their presence isn't just offensive in itself it's also indicative of a wider issue.

Take Nicola Adams for instance. An Olympic gold medalist whose watched her male counterparts sign lucrative contracts and fight regularly in front of tens of thousands whilst being broadcast on Sky and making the back pages. Katie Taylor had amassed 17 amatuer gold medals and can box better than the majority of registered male boxers yet for both of them it made more sense to remain amateur.

I personally appreciate the particulary delights that ring card girls bring to boxing but if it was stopped tomorrow I'd fully support it. I dare say that it would go some way towards women boxers being taken more seriously within the sport.

Fixed your self-description. No need to thank me. I work hard at being a good samaritan.

As far as the up and coming female boxers that aren't making enough dough, plenty of women with sufficient disposable income to go to the fights, buy ppvs, fan merchandise etc. I'll add my patronage to theirs if a good fight's in the offing.

Also, instead of playing candy fkn crunch 24/7 they can argue the relative merits of female boxers while trolling message boards like intelligent people do () and thereby do their part to create the marketing hype necessary for the sport to thrive.

Just more fkd-up, I'm-a-special-fkng-snowflake-and-you'd-better-accomodate-me-or-else thinking, imo.

p.s. I'll bet Laila Ali would kick the **** outta' you easywork if you called her a "gimmick" to her face (and away from public view so you couldn't sue her).

[SUBZER0ED]

It's not an important tradition, but what hetero male has a problem with seeing a hot chick shake her ass & **** between rounds? The ones who post that they don't like it are whipped, and their old ladies probably monitor their posts. I actually get a little miffed when the cameraman on HBO doesn't show a shot of the ring card girl. Selfish bastard!

[Beater_of_ass]

I'm not aware of any female boxers who have jumped at the opportunity so I recon Orlando would stick to sitting on a corner stool between rounds.

I'd find it pretty funny if during the few female bouts that are promoted a perma-tanned male model with designer stubble and ever so slightly plucked eyebrows was paraded around the ring in his swimwear.

A good portion of the audience would hit the roof!

That's so true. All these guys hating on this guys wife would sound just like her saying "Ring men are degrading men etc..." BWAHAHA!!!

[Humean]

Every time a ring card girl flashes on the screen my girlfriend gets p*ssed off (especially as I shout "Ay Papi" if she's a Latino!). For her it's more of an issue. She lives the consequences of ***ism on a dally basis. Whereas as a white Western male between the ages of 18 and 55 the world generally thinks that the sun shines out of my arse.

The way that the sport is organised and the roles that are readily available to women within it embeds definite gendered social relations. So the femininity on display accommodates male's interests and desires. The fact that the women are being compliant in their own subordination doesn't make them any less objectified though.

It really comes down to what versions of femininity are permitted to thrive within the sport. Women have participated in boxing bouts since before the gloved era but there have often been periods of historical exclusion (it wasn't too long ago in New South Wales that a female boxing could be fined $20,000 and imprisoned for 6 months) and they have always taken up a marginalised role. Female boxers are seen largely as violating gendered stereotypes and are therefore not to be taken seriously. They're often seen as parodies, like Christy Martin or gimmicks like Laila Ali.

Despite an increase in female participation in the sport at club and amateur level there's still a pervasive tendancy in the pro game for women to provide a ***y sideshow whilst men get down to the real labour of fighting. So I can see why some would take issue with ring card girls because their presence isn't just offensive in itself it's also indicative of a wider issue.

Take Nicola Adams for instance. An Olympic gold medalist whose watched her male counterparts sign lucrative contracts and fight regularly in front of tens of thousands whilst being broadcast on Sky and making the back pages. Katie Taylor had amassed 17 amatuer gold medals and can box better than the majority of registered male boxers yet for both of them it made more sense to remain amateur.

I personally appreciate the particulary delights that ring card girls bring to boxing but if it was stopped tomorrow I'd fully support it. I dare say that it would go some way towards women boxers being taken more seriously within the sport.

***, gender, race, age are by no means the only things that can engender problems for people in the world. Once you start thinking about all the other things in life that fail to conform to high egalitarian ideals it should become readily apparant that being white, young, straight and western is often still not enough.

Most women don't like women's boxing much either, and often prefer watching men play a particular sport than women. I don't think it is due to false consciousness.

[New England]

i've read more than once that boys used to carry the cards in between rounds, and that the ring card girl is only a few decades old.


it obviously objectifies women to have one dressed like a whore and letting dudes whistle at her.


i don't think it's going to send us back into the dark ages, however. most of those girls are strippers, anyway, and not only love the money, but the attention.

[New England]

what i dont get more than the ring girls is having the girls at the weigh ins.

you get that people, men in particular, like to look at attractive women, right?

[- Ram Raid -]

Fixed your self-description. No need to thank me. I work hard at being a good samaritan.

As far as the up and coming female boxers that aren't making enough dough, plenty of women with sufficient disposable income to go to the fights, buy ppvs, fan merchandise etc. I'll add my patronage to theirs if a good fight's in the offing.

Also, instead of playing candy fkn crunch 24/7 they can argue the relative merits of female boxers while trolling message boards like intelligent people do () and thereby do their part to create the marketing hype necessary for the sport to thrive.

Just more fkd-up, I'm-a-special-fkng-snowflake-and-you'd-better-accomodate-me-or-else thinking, imo.

p.s. I'll bet Laila Ali would kick the **** outta' you easywork if you called her a "gimmick" to her face (and away from public view so you couldn't sue her).

I think you've placed a little too much self importance on the position that boxing forum message boards and their posters take up in the sport. They're largely closed enclaves of vitriol and negativity that are more often than not dismissed. Casual fans on social media is another matter.

So let me get you straight on the pop psychology front. If you show consideration to someone that has a differing subject position then that consideration can only be driven by a sense of guilt!?! . . . . Righty Oh.

P.S. Your haste seems to have left you a little bewildered as to the point I was making when I used Laila Ali as an example. Read it again . . . Slowly. And if your other half still prefers to play Candy Crush 24/7 you might wanna try doing something that excites her rather than frequenting message boards in the egotistical and misguided belief that you're doing something 'necessary for the sport to thrive.'

[- Ram Raid -]

***, gender, race, age are by no means the only things that can engender problems for people in the world. Once you start thinking about all the other things in life that fail to conform to high egalitarian ideals it should become readily apparant that being white, young, straight and western is often still not enough.

Most women don't like women's boxing much either, and often prefer watching men play a particular sport than women. I don't think it is due to false consciousness.

Of course, we all have multiple subjectivities that intersect and work in complex ways. It's a good point that you make and I agree. Despite the relatively privelaged position that I have my social and economic background would put me at a distinct disadvantage in certain contexts. There are many more like you say but I believe the general comment still holds true.

I prefer to watch women play tennis rather than men 'cause it's a sporting arena where women have a closer parity to men than in other sports (or that's what I like to tell myself!). But for all those women that don't like boxing those that do and participate in the sport have very little oppotunity to progress because of the way they are gendered. I think as men we're doing ourselves and them a disservice by limiting their progress because they're women. We'd be better seeing them as boxers first and foremost and judging them on that criteria.