BIANCA QUICK GET BEHIND ME
*Actually written by Brittney Levingston @heybriitney
To those of you so visibly miserable that you can’t help but give into the urge to wait until you’re behind closed doors & cower behind a screen to share your vile, covertly racist & sexist opinions:
The wrestling word is no longer a safe space for your bullshit to go unchecked.
Bianca Belair’s most recent instagram post is full of thinly veiled racist comments from wrestling “fans” some going so far as to convey their wishes to see her removed from WWE. It’s hard to ignore the racial undertones of the hate that she’s received, and the irony of how far some of these fans are willing to go for a Black woman who called herself and two other star wrestlers iconic but some way somehow don’t ever acknowledge the insane allegations against leadership within the company they love so much.
There is nothing abnormal about a professional wrestler calling themselves the best. What’s abnormal is the way wrestling fans react when a Black athlete expresses that same kind of self confidence.
Bianca Belair's "EST" proclamation resonates deeply within the US American ethos. The United States has a tradition of self-assured patriotism, often bordering on national exceptionalism. The relentless pursuit of being "number one," the "greatest," is ingrained in US American culture, celebrated in everything from sports to business ventures.The way I would say it to my friends is that the US has a delusional sense of self. This country is full of nonsensical hypocrisies that many of us in marginalized communities have grown up observing and experiencing to some extent: The emphasis on individual hard work and personal achievement, while sometimes admirable, overlook the importance of social safety nets that help secure and grow our community. The support for authoritarian regimes that violate human rights, prioritizing strategic interests and profits over moral and democratic values undermines the claim of the US being a beacon of liberty. The small percentage of the population holding a vast amount of wealth contradicts the ideal of equal opportunity often associated with American exceptionalism.
But you guys love that shit, right? What happened?
I find it both sardonic and unsurprising that a Black woman embodying this same self-belief, is met with a vastly different response. Belair's "EST" declaration, a celebration of her talent and hard work, exposes a dark underbelly of the world of professional wrestling that many of you are too willfully ignorant to recognize, acknowledge, or actively take accountability for.
The pushback that Bianca Belair has been on the receiving end of, especially recently, is a microcosm of a larger societal issue, but you should know that, you created it. Black women in leadership positions across various industries, are constantly navigating a double bind. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. Expressing confidence is seen as obnoxious, while humility is misconstrued as weakness that is notoriously preyed upon by those in your community whose only sense of self is rooted in your ancestors’ fantasy of racial and gendered supremacy. Here, Belair's "audacity" lies not in her in-ring skills or athleticism, but simply in her self-belief. Daring to own the "EST" title disrupts the expectation that Black women should remain humble and grateful for any scraps of recognition they receive.
"White fragility is a state where even a minimal challenge to your racial power, privilege, or comfort zone feels like an attack."-Ijeoma Oluo.
On the surface, a community built around shared experiences may seem ideal. But historically here in the US, those shared experiences have been limited by race and gender. All-white, mostly male spaces can create a false sense of comfort and belonging, but this very homogeneity presents significant dangers. These spaces often become echo chambers of privilege. This privilege has been used in the wrestling world to reinforce stereotypes and turn a blind eye to the realities faced by women and people of color in this industry.
The perceived safety of this space created mostly by and for white men is illusory. It has cultivated a sense of entitlement and a distorted view of the world where white men set the standard and the validity of anyone who finds themselves outside off that realm is called into question. This leads to dismissive attitudes towards legitimate concerns about racism and sexism, which in turn empowers people to let it continue.
Where Black Girl Wrestling comes in:
"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.”- Audre Lorde
The fact of the matter is that while professional wrestling is a work of fiction, the narratives it presents and allows can be far from harmless. The allowance of racist and sexist tropes within the scripted world of pro wrestling feeds into and reflects the existing biases present in society, particularly biases harbored by those of you who often dominate positions of power within the industry. These fictional narratives have a tangible impact. We see that in the way WWE fans unabashedly leave vile, public comments on Belair’s social media, just as one example.
Black Girl Wrestling will continue to expand and up space in this industry in our own way, by our own rules. The days of Black women’s voices being drowned out by your hatred and misery are over. Nobody’s asking you for permission. Your position of authority is imaginary. We see you for what you really are and we are unimpressed.
The wrestling world is changing, and if your sense of belonging in this realm is rooted in the feeble, baseless idea of white dominance leaves you at risk of being left behind by this industry, I urge you to ask yourself: Why are you taking time out in real life to get on your phone and send very real, very personal hate to a real woman who plays a fake character on tv? Are you really that passionate about wresting that the line between reality and fiction is that blurred, or is there something there that starts with r and ends with acism?
