Boys Night Out

Here is a match between the great Magnum T.A. (Terry Allen) and a big, ugly biker named Scott “Hog” Irwin.  Do I even need to mention the many contrasts between these two opponents which make this match compelling?  (Clothed vs. naked; bearded vs. clean-cut; fat vs. lean; Biker vs. Cowboy; brawler vs. grappler; cheating vs. honesty; etc. etc.)

By the way, you can watch this match on YouTube as part of a long video called “The History Of Ric Flair Vs Magnum TA Part 1.”  This particular match begins at about the 23:30 point of the longer video.

As Hog Irwin delivers a prolonged beating, Magnum TA sells the suffering like a Champ.  He jobs all over the place in his little black trunks and tall cowboy boots.  He makes his body absolutely limp and accessible to the biker.

I think the reason Magnum TA was so popular in the 1980’s (which was the Golden Age of the popular Baby-Faces) was because his lean body had a certain fragile beauty to it, like a baby bird.  He seemed so breakable and easily hurt — your heart just went out to him.  This enabled him to gain the support and compassion of the fans.

The champ, Ric Flair, is at ringside for this match to watch Magnum wrestle and talk about him as one of the most promising young rookies of the day.  Under that crisp white suit, Flair has a boner for Magnum, gushing over the impressive young man’s talents.

Flair had a knack for identifying the Next Big Star, and then picking a fight with him to bolster both of their careers.  Flair and Magnum locked horns in a long, exciting, passionate feud that was more like a torrid love affair than a rivalry.  This match, with Flair discussing Magnum’s strengths and weaknesses while watching him wrestle, was the first seed planted in their blossoming homosocial relationship.

In the crowd, we see a group of Frat brothers in matching white shirts.  They are just as interested in Magnum’s suffering as is Ric Flair.  Just as Flair is witnessing Magnum’s vulnerability and intestinal fortitude, so are the boys from Kappa Alpha.  Their girlfriends are either not present or non-existent.  (In fact, no women can be seen in the ring or heard on the microphone, and very few are seen at ringside.  Talk about homosocial…)

Some people believe that the reason men watch and talk about sports and athletes so eagerly is to strengthen their homo-social bonds with other men.  If two men support the same team, they have something in common that does not include women. When they discuss their mutual admiration for a skilled male athlete, they’re revealing their mutual appreciation for male power and strength.  They cheer for their mutually loved team and slap hands or hug if the team wins, thereby sublimating their true physical desires in a socially acceptable way.  Rather than kissing or hugging, they bump fists and scream when their team scores.

Wearing of the same team uniform also strengthens the homosocial bond between sports fans through their acceptance of common clothing — a public announcement of their affiliation and affinity.  In the case of the Frat Boys at this wrestling match, their matching Kappa Alpha shirts publicly announce their bondage to one another similar to the way a wedding ring announces one’s ownership by another person.

Sociologists believe that, during a Bachelor Party or Boys Night Out, men want to watch pornography together or visit a Strip Club to further strengthen their Male Bond.  The naked women involved (the porn stars or strippers) are only used as a device to allow the men to demonstrate their heterosexual bona fides to each other.  This is similar to the way men, when among other men, will whistle at a woman on the street or will describe their sexual conquests to their pals.  I guess friends who get horny together stay together.

Men have found that attending a Strip Club with the guys is more effective for Male Bonding than attending a traditional sporting event like a baseball game.  This is because women (except for the dancers) are generally not present at a Strip Club.  Men have been socialized to find particular delight in activities that exclude women or that women find repugnant or objectionable.  It also enables the men to feel horny together, to be turned on and excited simultaneously, but with their eyes safely averted by the body of the stripper so it doesn’t feel too gay.

To the extent that women are uninterested in pro wrestling or excluded from pro wrestling, men can also bond by attending a wrestling show in groups, as the boys from Kappa Alpha have discovered.  Rather than watching a naked stripper twisting around on a pole, they’re watching the nearly naked Magnum TA twisting around on the mat.  The outcome is the same — they use their mutual attraction to the performer’s actions in order to forge and strengthen the bonds with one another.