Rasslin' And Real Life: 7.02.05: The 2005 Diva Search

Posted by Ryan Byers on 07.02.2005

Indulge me as I step back on to my high horse.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ryan Byers. I currently write Cheap Wrestling for Cheap People on 411wrestling. However, I debuted for the site last summer writing a piece entitled Rasslin' and Real Life, in which I attempted to explore what pro wrestling had to say about race, sexuality, and politics. Frankly, when looking at those situations, I didn't like most of what I saw. That's the major reason why the column did not return to 411 with me when I came back earlier this year. Like all of you, I enjoy wrestling. As a result, ripping it a new one on a weekly basis got old rather quickly and just wasn't enjoyable after a certain point.

However, I told myself that I would pound out an edition of Rasslin' should anything in particular irk me. It took a couple of months, but here we are. You and I are both staring down the barrel of one of the most degrading and embarrassing spectacles in all of professional wrestling – The $250,000 Raw Diva Search.

I know complaining about the Diva Search is cliche here in the IWC for all of the reasons that silly angles are usually mocked: It takes away TV time from wrestlers who have spent years plying their trade. It doesn't lead to a big angle that can be paid off in the ring. Chris Benoit and Ric Flair are nowhere to be seen. It has swamped both WWE brands with identical, faceless women who serve no purpose other than as masturbation fodder for the teenage and socially impaired segments of WWE's viewership. However, there are three major problems with the Diva Search that I have not seen mentioned on any wrestling website up until this point.

1.) The Objectification of Women: Women are barely human beings in the twisted world of the Diva Search. They're denied the ability to speak for extended periods of time, which is the traditional manner through which wrestling characters develop a personality and connect with fans. Instead, the majority of the screen time that competitors get when participating in the Diva Search involves stripping, gyrating, or debauchery with various food products. Naturally, all of these activities are designed to arouse the male of the species. This occurred on a weekly basis during last years Diva Search, but 2005 sees an additional element to the mix. In the first edition of this year's search, Viscera made his presence felt and asked the ladies to perform their bumping and grinding all up in his area. (Yes, I'm referencing DJ Ran.) What does this have to do with anything? Viscera, as a face wrestler, is supposed to be one of the good guys. So, not only are these women mindless sex-boxes, but treating them as such is legitimized as acceptable behavior by one of the individuals who is supposedly on the right side of WWE's moral spectrum.

Thus, the role of the woman becomes nothing more than sexual gratification, undermining not only what might be left of the once strong WWE women's division, but also chipping away at the position of women in society as a whole. Which brings me to my next point . . .

2.) Reinforcing Stereotypes about Women in the Workplace: When women first began working full-time jobs on a regular basis, they faced an uphill battle that is still continuing today in terms of being hired as frequently as men and closing a substantial wage gap. Furthermore, even when women did get jobs, they were often subject to what we now know as sexual harassment. In addition to overt sexual advances, such harassment can include implications that a woman has gotten her position because she has performed particular "favors" for the right people in the front office. In fact, one of the more popular insults hurled at a working woman is that she has either only been hired for her looks or her ability in the bedroom.

Here we have professional wrestling, a form of entertainment in which the majority of the men need to be incredibly talented in order to procure a job. Even the individuals that you or I generally label as "bad workers" still have to have above average levels of coordination and athleticism in order to avoid crippling their opponents on a nightly basis. Now, in the midst of this form of entertainment with highly skilled peformers, there really IS a situation in which the stereotypes and insults of old ring true. There really is a group of women being allowed to participate in this craft despite the fact that they have no knowledge of its inner workings . . . and all because they fit the mainstream definition of the word "attractive" moreso than other individuals who are looking for the same job. Thus, WWE winds up sending the message that such women do exist, and those thoughts could easily be taken by fans and affect how they view women in their workplaces.

3.) Women as Gold Diggers: Not only are we dealing with a situation in which women are using their looks and not their talents in order to get a job, but we are dealing with a situation in which women are performing sexual or semi-sexual acts in order to "earn" an obscene amount of money. Yeah, WWE can spin it however the hell they want . . . "Oh, these girls are in the competition to please the fans! They're in it because they love the rush of performing!" Yeah right. They're in it for the quarter million. If it was any other reason, WWE could simply offer a standard contract with the company as the prize . . . and, as tightly as that company is run from a business perspective, you know that they'd do just that if it would still attract competitors. So, here we have a gaggle of women running around half naked on television in order to make some extra cash. The message that this sends to heterosexual men is clear: If you have money or power, you can get women to do anything you want. Portraying women as will-less pawns not only furthers their objectification but also makes them appear inferior to men, who are not depicted as being that selfish on WWE television.

Yet, despite all of these problems and despite the fact that the Diva Search has been derided by both live crowds and the internet scene, it's been brought back for a second season. Why would WWE do this? Clearly, it's making them money somewhere despite all of the criticism. So, if you really dislike the Diva Search, here's what you do. DON'T BUY THE RELATED PRODUCTS. It's as simple as that. Despite the complaining, "Diva" related products, including DVDs, WWE produced magazines, and copies of Playboy are still selling at a steady enough rate that they're still profitable and still being produced. The Diva Search is being used to provide subjects for the photo shoots that fuel these sorts of merchandise. So, if you're complaining about how the Search is horrible television, either for the reasons that I have just listed or for the more wrestling-related reasons that I listed above, and you're still in line shelling out your $5 for a Christy Hemme Playboy issue, you're a hypocrite.

So, if any of you want to change things, you shouldn't go and vote on WWE.com. Go vote with your wallets.