Book Review: Beyond Monogamy: Polyamory and the Future of Polyqueer Sexualities by Mimi Schippers

Abstract

gender performance. Whether as the good “baby face” or bad “heel” character, gender is a resource integral to performance, expressed through adornment, actions, facial expressions, and engagement with audience members. Wrestlers variously reject and embrace connections between gender and (hetero-) sexuality to sell their performance to the audience. Although in many cases wrestling personas rely on heterosexual femininity, the juxtaposition of heterosexual feminine markers with large, muscular wrestling bodies destabilizes the dominant sex/gender/sexuality order. Comparisons across sport type are a ripe topic for additional inquiry. In an important point of contextualization, Aiba shows how women’s experiences depend in part on the wrestling organizations they have belonged to. Yet we do not fully know how wrestling, and women’s wrestling in particular, is understood and positioned within the larger “sport space” of Japan. Professional wrestling is distinct in that it is staged entertainment. How might the potential to transform the body, and experiences of this transformation, differ in other sports? And while the author contends that professional women’s wrestling offers alternatives to the “ideal” female body, the extent to which this model is seen, accepted, or used, is unknown. Future research taking up these questions could trace the reception of women’s professional wrestling. In summary, Transformed Bodies and Gender is an important and novel contribution to literature in gender and sport, addressing the dearth of research on women’s sport in Japan. This book would have strong appeal to students, faculty, wrestling fans, and sports participants alike, and is appropriate in courses that cover gender, sport, and Japanese society.