“More Gruesome a Chick Looks, the More I Respect Her Skills”: Toxic Masculinity, Emphasized Femininity, and Media Portrayal/Fan Consumption of the Emergence of Women’s Mixed Martial Arts through Shayna Baszler, Invicta FC, and Ronda Rousey, 2003-2013
Abstract
This paper exams how online media and fans reacted to the presence of two female professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey, and the emergence of an all-women's MMA promotion, Invicta FC, in the years between 2003 and 2013. By analyzing articles from major MMA news sites, along with attached fan commentary, this dissertation strives to answer whether traditional concepts of feminine behavior influenced media coverage and associated fan reactions regarding women in MMA and how often these remarks shifted into toxicity. One important finding was that the fans’ “male gaze” was omnipresent from the beginning to the end of the study period. Another significant discovery found that the online fans' reaction to Baszler and Invicta FC contrasted to their dialogue around Rousey. The latter was more harshly criticized (and fans less open to positive sentiments) because she threatened the all-masculine preserve of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, i.e., the major leagues of MMA. There were four primary conclusions. First, over the 10-year study period fans became more willing to acknowledge female technical skill, but many toxic dissenters remained. Second, discussions of female fragility were few and far between. Third, the use of humor was common in transforming benign masculine statements into toxic ones. Most importantly, a sizable portion of the online fanbase felt that women competing in MMA defied traditional feminine roles and that resulted in a toxic masculine reaction.