“Fight me if you are a man!” : an ethnographic investigation of gender performativity in professional wrestling

• Main Author: Goh, Kian Yong
• Other Authors: Sam Han
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/62442
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

We “perform” gender in our everyday lives, but most of us become oblivious to its effects, simply because it has become a naturalized part of our social interactions. The tendency of the pro wrestling ring to exaggerate social norms and customs therefore makes it a suitable tool to gain insights on these aspects of our social lives that we might have overlooked. By employing a “carnal ethnographic” methodology, this research offers an insider’s perspective of how gender, and especially masculinity, is performed both inside and outside of the wrestling ring. The implications of gender performativity with regards to gender roles in society are also discussed.