“You Can’t Touch Me, You Can’t Touch Me”: Inter-gender violence and aggression in the PG era of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming

Abstract

Cultivation theory posits that media sources may contribute to the development and subsequent internalization of distorted beliefs about violence by viewers. The present study examined representations of inter-gender violence and aggression in one form of violent media, World Wrestling Entertainment, from the period of 1 January to 1 July 2011 to assess narratives conveyed about violence between men and women. A total of 105 hours of televised episodes of World Wrestling Entertainment’s two highest rated shows were data sources for this analysis. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three core themes pertaining to male–female violence were identified: (a) females as perpetrators of retaliatory physical violence against males, (b) males as perpetrators of physical, sexual, and verbal aggression to intimidate females, and (c) justifications for female violence against men behaving badly. Findings are considered in light of feminist and gender symmetry perspectives on male–female violence.