I wrote this up on my blog and thought I'd share the heart of it here.

It may shock you to learn this, but I am not the only bisexual fan of mixed martial arts. I’m not even the only female bisexual fan of mixed martial arts. In fact, many of the women who report on or participate in mixed martial arts are queer. Lucky for me, I don’t hear fighters, promoters or fans going around calling each other dykes. Instead, their homophobic statements reflect a disdain for male homosexuality.

Logic leads me to believe that perhaps these fighters wish to distance themselves from the obvious initial observation of the casual sports fan of nearly naked men entangled on the mat in positions that remind them of sex acts.  Judging by the homophobic comments I’ve heard from fighters, they would surely be disgusted by the thought of a gay man becoming turned on by watching their sweaty muscled body rub up against another man.

Assuming this is true, isn’t it amusing that they might prefer a straight man become turned on by the thought of them getting knocked unconscious?

I admire fighter’s bodies as much as any fan; male, female, gay or straight. I might even like a fighter more because I think they’re sexy and have little celebrity crushes. But do you know what keeps me hot for this sport despite the fact that I get the feeling by some that I am invading macho sacred grounds?

It’s heart. The heart we witness when fighters stand up after a knockdown, wobbly, knowing full well they could get leveled again in seconds. Fighters who are dominated, bleed like faucets, tear muscles and break bones but answer the bell for the next round because they have the heart to fight until their bodies won’t go anymore.

It saddens me that so many people who love this sport don’t appreciate the heart and courage required to live a life as an out gay man. Sexism is still deeply entrenched in our society and many people cannot accept gay men who behave on the streets and between the sheets in a way that they qualify as female. I guess they don’t consider the balls of steel required to be openly gay in a world where you are continually ostracized, a  frequent target of violence, not protected by your government and told you are a gross, hellbound abomination.

 

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