Last night, Sarah Kaufman and Shayna Baszler proved why women should get the same 5-minute round treatment as the men. I’m a huge proponent of women’s MMA both as a fan of quality fights and an ardent believer in civil rights. I mean, fuck, if that fat ass Ken Shamrock fought 3 5-minute rounds, certainly legitimate female athletes can.
Not surprisingly, I have a bone to pick with the commentary during the bout. At some point, Stephen Quadros decided to alter the term “Superman punch” by calling it a “Superwoman punch.” Oh, that’s cute. Because their girls right?
I hate to be “that guy,” but this comes off as borderline patronism to me. The strike, for better or worse, is called a “Superman punch” for a reason. Quadros redefinition reminds me of the WCW glory days when they referred to foriegn objects as “international” objects (which is a microcosm for why they failed as a promotion).
We’ve come a long way since Mauro Ranallo’s now infamous “2.5 centimeter” quip. And, to be fair, the support the entire broadcast team showed for female MMA outweights whatever slights I found with the “Superwoman” misnomer. Women fighters, however, deserve every bit of respect we can give them, and cutesy little remarks like this only serve to undermine the legitimacy of their efforts.
One Comment
Good post, Mike. Totally agree.
It’s the same kind of thing when a writer litters his work with he/she to be PC (although much, much worse).
People go overboard and do more harm than good with that kind of shit. It makes people resent the thing they’re fighting for.