Feature Post: "Wife-beaters and women in the ring, gender issues in boxing films"

A common thread tying together many boxing films is an exploration of a boxer's relationships outside of the world of boxing. These relationships act as a window into the personality of a boxer, giving us a glimpse into who they really are. Deteriorating and weak relationships are also a symptom of a morally flawed person, or a corrupting influence. Gender relationships in particular are often in the spotlight, with films depicting and challenging typical gender dynamics through the hyper-masculine lens of the boxing world, and in later films, flipping the whole dynamic on it's head with the introduction of female boxers.

Taking a look at 4 noteworthy boxing films from different eras,we can see different depictions of these relationships, and notice a general shift in perception over the decades. Specifically, we will be looking at Champion, and it's womanizing scoundrel of a lead Midge Kelly. Raging Bull, and the physically and mentally abusive Jake La Motta. Girlfight, and it's empowering shake up of traditional gender dynamics as Diana Guzman takes up boxing. And Million Dollar Baby, with it's alternate take on gender through the lens of a pseudo-father-daughter relationship. These four broadly capture the discourse on gender that boxing films have been exploring for decades.

Starting chronologically with Champion, the iconic scene above dramatically sums up Midge's interactions with women throughout the film. Charming, yet sinister, calm, yet violent. Nonchalantly discussing his affair with a married woman with his own past mistress, while also mentioning his current marriage, and then capping it off with a threat of violence. If there was ever any doubt that he was not a nice person, this scene does away with it all. Midge as a character represents a sort of critique through example of the corrupting influence of money and fame. A corrupted person is not a completely changed person, and those corrupting influences act as more of a magnifier of existing attitudes than as a brainwash. The violent, casual attitudes that Midge displays in that scene existed within him long before he first entered a boxing ring. Leonard Berkowitz found in his study on "The effects of observing violence" that observing violence, while sometimes having a cathartic effect, can in fact increase the observers likelihood to engage in violent behavior. While exactly an "observer", Midge Kelly was present for all of his fights(duh). Not only that, but Midge's role in the fight makes him particularly suggestible to violence per the studies observation that:

 "an angered person who saw what appeared to be warranted aggression might well think he was justified in expressing his own hostile desires"

Midge, competing in a sport that glorifies and justifies violence, would be very likely to develop attitudes that would cause him to carry over his violence outside the ring. His violence is not sadistic, it is not manipulative, he uses violence to take what he wants. He dominates his environment whether he is inside or outside the ring. Near the end of the film, Midge rapes Emma, to show that he can. His hyper-masculine, hyper-competitive attitudes lead him to success in the ring, but at the cost of the destruction of all his relationships, and eventually his life.

Moving on to Raging Bull, Jake La Motta in this memorable scene from the film is all but literally burning down the bridges of his relationships. Climaxing a dreadful increase in paranoia and manipulative behavior throughout the film, in this scene the dirty laundry is hung out to dry. Scorsese's film offers the audience a view into the warped, out-of-place mind of an ultra-successful, ultra-destructive boxer. The film examines La Motta as a fish out of water of sorts. A mindset that was once necessary, but is now out of place in society, only able to wrestle success out of the remnants of a more primal world, in the sport of boxing. Gerald Early in his essay "The Romance of Toughness", describes boxing as: "industrial culture confronting itself in fits of masculine nihilism". In a primal sport, a primal mindset will dominate, translating back into a industrial culture is another matter.

It is this mindset that drive La Motta's conflict with his wife and family. La Motta resembles a wild animal, a caveman having dragged a woman into his cave. Constantly on the lookout for treachery, competitors, and wolves, his paranoia weakens the foundations of his relationships. Vickie, his wife, is under constant surveillance, by both La Motta's. Greetings, conversations, drinks are questioned in interrogative fashion. Scorsese has La Motta grow jealous after his wife compliments the looks of an up-and-coming boxer, a direct competitor to La Motta, a perfect example of the toxic effect of his mindset. Soon simple greetings are met with sharp confrontation from La Motta, and he goes so far as to turn on his brother and attack him. Jake, similarly to Midge, develops a hyper-masculine personality, fueled by his boxing success, that eventually leads to the destruction of his family, and of himself.

Girlfight, similar to previous films, examines the place masculinity has in a boxing film. Unlike the previous two films however, it uses masculinity as an empowering, expectations defying characteristic of it's female protagonist. The first two films had to contend with the primal nature of boxing as a sport, and it's place in a civilized society. In Girlfight, boxing and the artificial obstacles Guzman faces in her pursuit of the sport represent the obstacles women face entering into male-dominated pursuits. Masculinity then, is not the characteristic of a flawed, malfunctioning human punching bag. It reflects a shift in attitude, a shift in perception. Short-hair, aggressive poses and facial expressions are no longer a male characteristic, they are the characteristics of power, of ambition.

No longer damsels in distress, or playthings left at home, Katharina Lindner writes in her essay "Fighting for Subjectivity" about a "shift towards a more realist representation of the active female body and its materiality and physicality", that Girlfight is a part of. She goes on to mention, that Boxing, while an empowering demonstration of physicality, and self-ownership is a powerful physical metaphor for the struggle for equality, is also implicitly masculine. This implicit masculinity,results in the exclusion of participants from the definition of femininity. We see this in the film through the mocking and exile Guzman faces during her training by her female friends. Caught in the middle, rejected by the female "world" and climbing uphill  into the male "world" of boxing. Guzman's struggle is capstoned by a bout with her male partner, which eventually earns her and her gender the respect and inclusion she sought.

Shifting our examination over to Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, a vastly different film than the previous three, the above clip nicely captures the dynamic between the two lead characters. The gender dynamics are still there, but this time more of a father-daughter relationship than a relationship between romantic partners. This film focuses less on the masculinity/femininity of it's characters than the previous films. Instead the focus is on the relationships themselves. Both characters have missing relationships with their respective fathers/daughter, and both characters seemingly surrogate each other for that role. Throughout the film we can observe the role gender plays even on this relationship. Frankie's protective attitude towards Maggie, and her loyalty to him are perfect examples of where the relationship extends beyond a typical client-customer relationship, which we got an example of through Frankie's original fighter, as well as through Eddie, Frankie's even older previous fighter. The audience watches as the ties between Frankie and Maggie grow, as we watch her succeed and climb through the ranks, only to come crashing down at the end.

Frankie is emotionally devastated by Maggie's accident, as well as the request she makes of him. Euthanasia, being illegal, and intensely controversial, was a request only able to be made of someone with the closest of bonds. The shroud he gives her, with the Gaelic phrase "mo cuishle" aptly sums up the relationship, simultaneously making it possible, and extremely difficult, for Frankie to carry out Maggie's request to die.

Gender is an complex topic within the boxing genre, as every film is different, and approaches the subject in a different manner. The overarching thread however, appears to be an examination of the masculinity associated with the sport, and its effect on the participants and their relationships outside the ring.