Masculine Sissies, 2 of 2

“Masculine Sissies” are defined in an earlier blog as primarily tough, aggressive pro wrestlers who infuse a subtle element of femininity into their clothing or behaviors.

For example, a wrestler with a hairy chest, big muscles, and a beard may wear revealing pink trunks, or spend much of the match in submissive, defeated poses.

Most male wrestling fans enjoy watching Masculine Sissies in the ring because, as with all men, we are insecure about our own ability to live up to the Masculine Ideal — the requirement that we remain undefeated, stoic, and invulnerable at all times which is of course unattainable.  We grow weary of the Male Straight-Jacket.

Pro wrestlers remind us that it’s OK for a man to lose once in a while, to suffer, to reveal his feminine side in clothing and behavior.  It’s not the end of the world, so relax, let your guard down, and express your true feelings.

Seeing a rough, tough pro wrestler willingly exposing his feminine vulnerability takes the heat off us — minimizing the threat that we will be “outed” as Masculine Sissies.

Many pro wrestling matches are nothing more than the story of what happens to the Masculine Sissy.  What fate will befall a man who dares to reveal his vulnerable, soft, and flamboyant side even a little?  What humiliations and suffering await all of us if we fail to live up to the Masculine Ideal?

Well sir, the Masculine Sissy is always punished in the most agonizing, degrading manner — he is practically raped.  His punishment for rejecting the Masculine Ideal is swift and brutal.

It should come as no surprise to any man that a Masculine Sissy will be victimized.  The further away from the Masculine Ideal you sit, the more pain and humiliation you will absorb in this world.

If a man exposes any weakness or possible homosexuality in his clothing or bearing, he will definitely suffer pain and humiliation while the world watches.Pro wrestling reminds us that this is still a Patriarchal society, which just means that dudes — specifically straight dudes — are on top, and everyone else must be beaten down.  To maintain the current power structure, anybody who can be identified as an “Other” must submit or suffer — be it a female, minority, or a non-masculine male.

The consistent, repeated images of domination over and brutal destruction of the Masculine Sissy in the wrestling ring simply hammers home the importance of conformity to the Masculine Ideal.  All pro wrestling fans are reminded during each wrestling performance that anybody who is not 100% masculine is subject to serious pain and humiliation.  Conform or be castrated, boys.

But pro wrestling also loves irony and always provides another side to the story.  Although our male-dominated society would have us discard, revile, or despise the Masculine Sissy, crying like a baby on his knees, the truth is our heart goes out to jobbers, weaklings, and broken things.  We love them because of their vulnerability, their frailty, their sissy-ness.

The reason Masculine Sissies have always been so common and popular in pro wrestling federations is because the fans want to see them taking their abuse.  The suffering pretty boy stirs up feelings of compassion in the male viewer because every man has, at some point, questioned his own manliness relative to the Masculine Ideal, his ability to absorb a punch or over-power an enemy, or survive a major illness or injury.

So our hearts go out to the Masculine Sissy — we revere him as a hero because he had the courage to reveal a softer, more feminine aspect of his personality, even though he will suffer pain and punishment as a result.

Haven’t all men wished for more freedom of expression, a break from the rigors of maintaining the Masculine Ideal, a chance to pursue other, less manly interests and pursuits?  The Masculine Sissy is a role model for modern man because he rejects the Masculine Ideal each time he gets in the ring to take his beating in his bright satin speedo, and he reassures us that a more open, less conformist life may be possible.