Martyrs

A few days ago, the Ringside at Skull Island blog featured a thought-provoking article called Mishima’s Toy which tells the story of a closeted gay man named Mishima.  In the 1940’s, he wrote a book about his unavoidable feelings of arousal caused by images of suffering, bloodshed, and violence (particularly when the victim was a muscular young stud).  He was especially excited by a painting he saw of Saint Sebastian — the martyr who was pierced with arrows after angering the king.

I’ve seen images of St. Sebastian before; he has been painted by all the old masters.  I am aware that Sebastian has become an icon for gays due to his stoic suffering — the piercing arrows symbolic of the bashing and bullying that many gays have endured.

The gay interest in Sebastian may also be explained by his physical beauty and attractiveness.  He is usually drawn young and shirtless with a spectacular physique and curly ringlets of hair.

You can find numerous articles online about St. Sebastian and why he is both a source of inspiration and an object of desire for gay men.

What strikes me as I look upon the masterpieces of poor suffering Sebastian is their similarities to modern images of Baby-Face pro wrestlers.  Many of the same motifs, tropes, and psychological cues that have attracted centuries of men to St. Sebastian paintings are also at play in the pro wrestling ring.  For example:

Powerful, Perfect Body

Sebastian is often depicted, even in ancient times, as a buff physical specimen, young and beautiful — bulging with muscles as if they had the Bow Flex back in the Middle Ages and Sebastian used his religiously.  If you look past the few arrows sticking out of his mid-section, you will find some very impressive abs!

Thanks to modern workout techniques and nutritional know-how (and some chemical enhancement), wrestlers are able to actually attain the jaw-dropping godlike physiques that were possible only in paintings and fantasies in ancient times.

Bondage

To deny Sebastian of his masculine power and strength, he is usually shown tied to a tree, his wrists or arms restrained.  This image of bondage I’m sure has pitched many tents over the centuries.  Similar scenes of kinky whips and chains, rope-play, and BDSM can be found in the wildest wrestling match variations.

Aloneness

Poor Sebastian is usually shown isolated, set apart from his fellow men.  Perhaps this explains why gays relate to him after being driven away from most heterosexual males in their lives.

The Face-in-Peril in a wrestling match is also set apart from the rest of society — by the ring ropes, by his nakedness, and by his outlandish clothing.  He receives no mercy from his opponent and no rescue from his fellow man (or his Tag Team partner) just as St. Sebastian was quite alone, bare-chested, and therefore deserving of our compassion.

Penetration

Many believe that the trademark arrows jutting into Sebastian’s flesh in most paintings of him are meant to symbolize a homo-sexual penetration of the young hero, like a rape.  This kinky interpretation was not usually mentioned in public by the art critics over the centuries, but behind closed doors, those big, pokey, stiff arrows I’m sure helped thousands of panting young art enthusiasts get off.

Pro wrestlers also suffer an implied penetration (or sometimes an actual penetration) from their lusty Heel opponents.

The victim may be busted open and bloodied (penetrated by some foreign object), or he may suffer a probing finger inserted into his mouth or eye.

The frequent presentation of the helpless victim’s backside and crack can also imply a virtual penetration — a suggestive pose of opening and welcoming.

Transgression

Part of the appeal of the Sebastian paintings is the inappropriate (and therefore exciting) act of using a saint as a sexual object.  After all, a saint is supposed to inspire purity and holiness, not arouse you like some kinky porno.  How exciting when your naughty brain crosses that line and defiles him mentally.

Likewise pro wrestling is both a clean athletic competition and, with a little imagination, a homo-erotic sex fantasy.  Your dirty thoughts when you see the innocent young Baby forced to his knees also cross that line…

Loincloth Malfunction

In many images of St. Sebastian, a mere breeze is all we need to loosen his swirly draped loincloth and complete his nudity.  This is reminiscent of the skimpy spandex trunks that many wrestlers have trouble keeping in place.  The wrinkled crotch cloth, for both the wrestler and the saint, both cover and draw our attention to his bulge.

Agony and Ecstasy

One ironic aspect of many St. Sebastian paintings is his apparent lack of concern that there are arrow shafts sticking into his body.  His face is relaxed as he gazes up to heaven.  Sometimes he may even appear to be enjoying that pain, his head rolling around in ecstasy as he revels in his martyrdom.

You could interpret this pose as a sign of his holiness — that even arrows to his vital organs can not minimize his devotion.  Or maybe this writhing stance and calm expression are meant to depict masochism, a willing submission to more agony.  Maybe these naughty artists are subtly referring to the mix of pain and pleasure inherent in many sex acts.

Pro wrestling jobbers are also gluttons for punishment, forever laying there begging for more.  And they use their facial expressions and postures to walk that tightrope between pain and pleasure, between ouchie and orgasm.  From his face alone, you often can’t tell if the wrestler is experiencing the worst torture or the most exquisite climax of his life.

I wrote an article called “Facial Expressions” back in 2006 about the various types of “orgasm faces” you might see in the bedroom and/or the wrestling ring.  Add to that list now the art museum as well, given the ambiguous looks on St. Sebastian’s face as he twists his body around and writhes for us while wearing a calm, accepting expression.

After hearing of guys like Mishima and their profound arousal over St. Sebastian and other violent imagery, it’s no wonder that many men have a sexual appetite for pro wrestling.  Pro wrestling flips many of the same kinky mental switches as the martyred saints. Mishima would have loved this kind of shit.

The pro wrestlers are aware, on some level, of the powerful attraction to scenes of violence and suffering, just as the artists who painted Sebastian probably knew as well that many men would enjoy — really, really enjoy — the depiction.  If you want to sell copies of any work of art, you’ve got to arouse the viewer…

The really curious thing for me is NOT how many people get off on violent/sexy images like Sebastian as pincushion, but how many people don’t seem to notice (or won’t admit) the sexual vibe and will, for example, unwittingly broadcast pro wrestling naughtiness in prime time or hang the St. Sebastian painting right over the altar of a church!  And really, that is exactly where it belongs…