In her book On Boxing, Joyce Carol Oates asserts that “Boxing is a purely masculine activity and it inhabits a purely masculine world.” (Oates 1994: 70). But when it comes to female boxing, do the notions of grace and nobility still prevail or is it seen as mere mockery, parody? Are the clichés and the preconceived judgments still necessarily associated with female boxing, or does this tragic and primitive discipline remain the quintessential celebration of masculinity in sports?
Women have been boxing since the 1720s, but even today, and despite the high skill level of women boxers in international competitions, they remain excluded from the official disciplines at the Olympic games. In the boxing ring, these women experience the same emotion as men would during a fight. They have to negotiate with the fear and humiliation, they must feel the pressure and the anguish. They must suppress pain in order to believe in the possibility of winning and they must find confidence in themselves as much as their male counterparts would “take“ the punch and control their weaknesses. How could someone doubt the profound devotion and passion of these women? Even while they are fully aware of the negative perception and all the stereotypes afflicted upon them? Like in an Aristotelian tragedy, in this time-bound world, where machismo predominates, these women claim their right to be seen as complete athletes. They have faith in themselves and their belief implies a conviction of superiority over their opponents and an irresistible desire for victory.
Triumph requires will and these photographs reflect some of the most important qualities required by any boxer: intuition, discipline, anticipation, absolute subordination of the self, perseverance, but they also evoke femininity, vulnerability, loneliness, isolation, disappointment and the cruel reality of loss.
Often perceived as a curiosity by the masses or seen as a fantasy through the male gaze, female boxing remains a marginalized activity and there is a tough fight for recognition. But at the end, these women have chosen to enter a ring and they are aware of the roughness of the sport and the condemnation in the judgments they will encounter. Even when life is hard, they try to be aggressive without anger, otherwise their weaknesses and failure will become their opponent’s triumph. Like any male boxer, these women are looking for the knockout, the act of absolute submission.
Oates, Joyce Carol (1994) On Boxing. Hopewell: The Ecco Press. |
