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A review by pocketvolcano
Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling by Dan Murphy, Pat Laprade
5.0
The first (to my knowledge) book to take a stab at detailing the history of women's wrestling in America (as well as highlighting the history in Japan as well as looking at Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom), LaPrade and Murphy knocked it out of the park. They do an amazing job of telling how women's wrestling came to be, the major stars that helped it's rise, the dry spells throughout as well as the combination of factors that forced WWE to change it's own women's division. They make sure to give both sides of the story on the "Fabulous" Moolah (a controversial subject in her own right), as well as spotlight the women who made their own marks outside of Moolah's grasp. The chapter on Japan was an eye opener for someone like me who wanted to know more about the history of Joshi wrestling but can't read Japanese. And I loved the sub-chapter on intergender wrestling, how LuFisto made history changing the laws in her own land, and the defense of it from the writers as well as quotes from women within wrestling.
The only criticism I would have is to have ended the book with a focus on Stephanie McMahon. There's no doubt she has had a hand in how WWE has changed it's presentation of women in WWE, but I believe two factors caused Vince McMahon (who holds the ultimate say in everything on the main roster) to finally start changing things: the rise of female athletes in sports outside of wrestling as well as inside it - the independents were where serious female wrestling was to be found in the mid-2000s; and the fans ourselves who, knowing what the women in the company were capable of, demanded change. This isn't to diminish anything Stephanie has done (after all, having 3 daughters of your own can certainly change your perspective, especially working in a male dominated environment like wrestling), but as a fan it has been aggravating how she has been shoe-horned into being the "face" of the revolution within WWE.
Aside from this minor criticism, if you are looking for an easy, compelling read on women's wrestling in America, this is it. If anything, I would hope that others might be inspired to build on this work and write books focused on women's wrestling in Japan (more extensive than what was detailed here), Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The herstory of women's wrestling is fascinating.
The only criticism I would have is to have ended the book with a focus on Stephanie McMahon. There's no doubt she has had a hand in how WWE has changed it's presentation of women in WWE, but I believe two factors caused Vince McMahon (who holds the ultimate say in everything on the main roster) to finally start changing things: the rise of female athletes in sports outside of wrestling as well as inside it - the independents were where serious female wrestling was to be found in the mid-2000s; and the fans ourselves who, knowing what the women in the company were capable of, demanded change. This isn't to diminish anything Stephanie has done (after all, having 3 daughters of your own can certainly change your perspective, especially working in a male dominated environment like wrestling), but as a fan it has been aggravating how she has been shoe-horned into being the "face" of the revolution within WWE.
Aside from this minor criticism, if you are looking for an easy, compelling read on women's wrestling in America, this is it. If anything, I would hope that others might be inspired to build on this work and write books focused on women's wrestling in Japan (more extensive than what was detailed here), Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The herstory of women's wrestling is fascinating.