Selloff or Market Correction? Either Way, Here's What to Do NextSee Overvalued Stocks

Meet the British wrestling collective with 'queer joy' at its core

Published 09/05/2024, 07:08
Updated 09/05/2024, 07:27
© Reuters. Performers rehearse in the wrestling ring ahead of LGBTQ+ wrestling collective 'Fist Club' 's latest show in London, Britain, May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Belinda Jiao

LONDON (Reuters) - Think fishnet tights, silver hot pants and long false eyelashes, then add in bodies bouncing off ropes and into takedowns which land with bottoms on faces. This is queer wrestling outfit Fist Club.

Their mission, they say, is to prove "that wrestling isn't just drag for straight people, it's drag for everyone."

It was that sense of fun which pleased the crowd at a sold-out theatre in North London for their latest show.

The group's founders - Daisy Lang, Ash Wilk and Heather Brandenburg - shared a love of wrestling, but wanted a space that was accepting of those not aligned with the conventional image of a wrestler, so they created one.

"For me, It's all about the queer joy," Wilk told Reuters backstage. "Nothing gives me the same queer joy as Fist Club."

That joy comes as much from the costumes and make-up, incorporating drag and cabaret elements, as it does from the clinches and joint lock moves performed in the ring.

Several extravagantly tattooed acts laugh and pose in the dressing room as they put the finishing touches to their wigs, paint on pencil moustaches, and add glitter where necessary.

"My identity doesn't fit with the cis-straight man identity of your kind of typical wrestler," said Lang, whose characters include drag king Rocky Rhodes.

By creating a space that is queer-focused and trans-inclusive, they believe they have created a show where everyone can feel at home, a modern-day version of the wrestling that drew in audiences of millions when it was televised in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s.

Back in North London, the crowd whoop with delight when a character dressed to look like singer Tina Turner recovers from a painful-looking shoulder barge to overpower a crotchless trouser, bikini top-wearing opponent.

© Reuters. Performers rehearse in the wrestling ring ahead of LGBTQ+ wrestling collective 'Fist Club' 's latest show in London, Britain, May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Belinda Jiao

Fist Club host Katy Bulmer says it shows the universal appeal of what the group are doing.

"It doesn't have to be your entire gimmick, you can just book queer people, you can book trans-people," Bulmer said. "And people will come, and people will cheer and people will understand."

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.