LGBTQ Individuals in Wrestling & Wrestling Management Wrestling has historically been male only, though it has now evolved to include all gender types. The sport itself, however, has not traditionally been open to LGBTQ participation. Any representation of the community, within the theatrical side of the sport, has included overt racial and ethnic characters, that exaggerated their feminine characteristics. Most LGBTQ wrestlers have come out of the closet after retiring. Wrestling is a complicated sport involving many layers, said to have originated in Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Turkey, as a competitive combat sport, which includes various grappling techniques. Today’s wrestling sport has broken into two factions; one that retains those original roots,
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and includes the Greco-Roman and Freestyle competitions that are part of the Olympic games, and a second, modern faction of the sport, which has added elements of theatre and popular entertainment, and which also involves a tremendous amount of physical exertion and skill. In 2017, American transman, Mack Beggs, gained international attention when he was forced to compete in the Texas state women’s competitive category, despite having transitioned to male. Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing are said to have evolved from wrestling. Queerbio have listed some prominent members of the LGBTQ community, who have participated in wrestling – from Canada, Great Britain, Israel, Mexico, and the United States. For more, you can visit Queerbio.com (eile.ie 12 December 2018)
