Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I. Race
The Iron Sheik and Public Representation of Iranian National
Identity in Professional Wrestling (Zara Mirmalek)
“They ain’t like us”: Race, Class and Gender in Smoky
Mountain Wrestling (Edward Salo)
Latin Lords of the Ring: Politics, Nativism and Mexican/
Chicano Identity Through Professional Wrestling (Justin D. García)
“Degenerative sports and dirty tactics”: Race and Professional Wrestling in Cape Town, South Africa, c. 1880–1988 (Hendrik Snyders)
Nazis, Japs and Pearl Harbor Attacks: German and Japanese
Stereotypes in American Professional Wrestling (Aaron D. Horton)
Deepest, Darkest Africa, (Illinois): Cultural Appropriation in Professional Wrestling (Kevin Hogg)
Part II. Gender
Wrestling with Masculinity: Exóticos in Lucha Libre (Ximena Rojo de la Vega Guinea)
Transformed Bodies and Gender Norms: Gender Identity of Japanese Women Pro Wrestlers (Keiko Aiba)
“A secret fascination”: Professional Wrestling, Gender Non-Conformity and Masculinity (Elizabeth Catte and Josh Howard)
Sasha Banks, the Boss of NXT: Media, Gender and
the Evolution of Women’s Wrestling in WWE (Christiana Molldrem Harkulich)
III. Culture and Modernity
The Beginnings of Wrestling in Brazil: Theatricality, Marketing
and a Colorful Character (Riqueldi Straub Lise, André Mendes Capraro, Natasha Santos and Aaron D. Horton)
The Transmission of Cultural Values Through Professional
Wrestling: A Cross-Cultural Comparison (Tyson L. Platt)
The “Sportification” of Wrestling in France: Strength,
Performance and Regulation (1852–1913) (Frédéric Loyer and Jean-François Loudcher)
IV. Wrestling and Media
“I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket”: Music in the Memphis
and Mid-South/UWF Professional Wrestling Territories
and the Transformation of Southern Political Culture,
1958–1987 (Christopher L. Stacey)
Pile Driving the Past: WWE ’13 and Mediating the History
of WWE Through Video Games (Andrew Baerg )234
Lowland Gorilla Ballerina Acrobat: Brock Lesnar, Sherdog.com
and the Perception of Professional Wrestlers Competing
Combat Sports (Evan Karl Nagel)
Macho Madness and the Mania (“Oh Yeaaaah, Dig It!”):
Mediatization, Masculinities and Affective Memories of WWF’s Halcyon Days (c. 1984–1993) (Damion Sturm)
Origins of the Rock ’n’ Wrestling Connection (Seth Bovey)
About the Contributors
Index
