Here is a typical Brit Pro match featuring the quintessential handsome lad in a speedo (Greg Valentine) vs. the usual ugly old villain in a Caveman singlet: Syd Cooper.
Our innocent hero is dressed in snow white trunks and boots, while the evil-doer wears black, of course.
Some people think pro wrestling is harmful to watch because it portrays the negative side of masculinity — the brutality, violence, and boorish behavior that we don’t want our young citizens to copy. Take Syd Cooper’s dirty tactics, offering a hand of friendship, then kicking the naive and gullible Greg Valentine right in the exposed belly.
But I feel that those who only see the negative side of pro wrestling are just looking at the wrong wrestler. Yes, the Heel may portray undesirable and nasty behaviors, but what about the suffering Hero? What is our “take-away” from watching him get beaten up week after week?
The Baby-Face in Peril shows us the weak and vulnerable side of manhood. He inspires our compassion. He is the chink in our masculine armor — reminding us that none of us are as tough or as indestructible as we pretend to be.
Pro wrestling in fact is NOT meant to portray the negative, brutal aspects of manhood — it reveals for us the vulnerable, helpless, fragile aspects of our true nature.
Society teaches men (starting when they’re mere boys) to act tough, to never cry, to show no weakness. But all of us know it’s just an act. Deep down, we know we have a fragile, vulnerable nature and we’re terrified that we won’t be tough enough or “manly” enough to withstand whatever trials life throws at us.
The suffering Baby-Face is the personification of our own doubts and fears.
What better way to inspire men to care for one another, to be compassionate, than to portray the vulnerability of Man. Seeing the effects of Syd Cooper’s rough tactics on poor young Valentine may remind us to show some mercy, to help a buddy out rather than allow him to suffer needlessly.
The suffering of the good-guy sends the message that maybe we don’t have to act like the big, unbeatable Bad Ass all the time. Maybe we can drop our shields and our weapons once in a while. Maybe it’s OK to suffer — everybody suffers.
Masculinity, after all, is nothing but a social construct — nothing more than theater with all of us actors on a stage, portraying the fearless hero for one another. Pro wrestling reminds us that even the roughest, toughest, manliest Studs among us can be broken down to Jobber status with one stiff kick to the abdomen. So let’s be a little kinder and gentler to our fellow man — after all, he’s just as weak and suffering as we are…