Women Representation and Empowerment
Being a woman in any sport may seem simple and easy. People love watching women playing all kinds of sports, right? It makes them look graceful and capable. But what about strong? Not many people would watch women fight, be sweaty, and often bloody. Yes, the world of MMA fighters isn’t glamorous at all, but we’re glad it exists.
One of the big goals of MMA fights is showcasing women’s strength, resilience, and perseverance. The goal of these fights is for women to hurt each other enough to win, but it’s never a fight to the death. These kinds of fights show us that women are more than just their looks. They can fight, put in hard work, and take down their opponents using pure strength.
Female MMA fighters are the perfect representation of that side of womanhood. It’s not all pretty dresses and baking cupcakes. This is what empowers other women to be strong and stand up for themselves, too. Of course, not everyone can be a MMA fighter, but all women can take self-defense classes and fight back. That’s what women in UFC teach us — to fight back no matter who our opponent is.
Women Still Receive Objectification
Unfortunately, one of the struggles of female MMA fighters is that they’re not exempt from objectification. Fighting is usually a male sport, right? So, this is where the most objectification comes from. Plus, coaches, audiences, or people in the industry simply refuse to believe in female MMA fighters. They’re women, so the chances of them succeeding in a ‘male sport’ are slim to none. Well, that’s only what people may think, and these women are ready to prove them wrong.
Since nasty comments and shut doors are common for women, it’s only natural for this to affect them at some level. Plus, people not believing in you can get to you no matter how much you fight it. For some, this is what ends their careers. Some women simply aren’t mentally strong enough to handle this kind of negative pressure.
On the other hand, the majority of women in the UFC use this hatred as fuel. Their motivation to prove everyone wrong just grows stronger, and there’s no stopping them now. These women know that they’re entering a ‘male space,’ and they’re ready to diversify it one way or another.
Female MMA Fighters Are Still Exploited
One of the lesser-known facts about female MMA fighters is that they’re not exempt from exploitation either. Sadly, there are all kinds of exploitations happening, but let’s focus on the benefits of fighting. Female MMA fights are gaining popularity, making the organizers of the events pretty wealthy. But what about the female fighters? What are they fighting for? Well, not much.
While male fighters can become millionaires overnight, winning jackpots for female fighters don’t even go up to 6-figures. So much time spent in the gym, all the work put inside the octagon, and it’s not even worth it. But it’s not all about the money for female MMA fighters. They know that winning is only slightly more lucrative than losing, but they do it because they love the sport.
Manipulation and other kinds of exploitation may be less common in this space, but abuse and assault aren’t unheard of. Even though these women can fight and stand up for themselves, fear can take the best out of everyone. So, how does this affect female fighters? The same way objectification does. Some of them will crumble under pressure, while others will only gain more strength to keep pushing.
Women Against Women
Female MMA fighting is often misunderstood by many and especially other women that aren’t a part of it. Women around the world put a lot of importance on supporting and empowering each other. They would never go out of their way to harm each other because there’s already a lot of harm done to them by other people. That’s why they find female MMA fights unacceptable. According to them, women hurting other women isn’t okay, not even as a sport.
However, they fail to see that female MMA fighting can be just as empowering to women as anything else. Sure, women are fighting and hurting each other, but have you ever seen what happens at the end of the fight? They hug it out. Women in the UFC aren’t monsters that just want to hurt others. They’re compassionate human beings who love extreme sports.
We believe that female MMA should have more representation. Even though the sport is as rough as it is, it still shows that women can be strong and overcome all obstacles. We know that every woman needs a bit of encouragement, and there’s no better way to get it than seeing other women being fierce.
Media Representation of Women
Finally, let’s talk about media misrepresentation of female fighters. Life isn’t a movie, but the media loves to make it so. More often than not, they spread rumors, lies and paint a false narrative. That means they’ll give false information about the fighters, their relationships with others, or the fights they’re a part of.
Female MMA fighters aren’t evil beings trying to take over a male-dominated sport in the name of feminism. These women aren’t out for blood and trying to knock down every other contestant just so they can step on them. We know that the media has to spin a story around to make it interesting for the audiences. However, this can be harmful to both the female fighters and the sport.
It’s about time we’ve realized that women don’t need to be gentle or strong. They can be both at the same time. They can knock each other out and show compassion afterward. If the media showed female MMA fighting for what it really is, a lot of people would stop believing in stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding it.
