TY - JOUR
T1 - Taking professional wrestling to the mat
T2 - A look at the appeal and potential effects of professional wrestling on children
AU - Waxmonsky, Jim
AU - Beresin, Eugene V.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Professional wrestling (PW) has gained a firm foothold in American culture and appears to be here to stay. Children comprise a large portion of its audience, much to the dismay of many parents and clinicians. Society has struggled with how to respond to their children's fascination with PW, a novel hybrid between sports and entertainment. Parents expose children to sports, thinking they will learn healthy ways of managing conflict and aggression. However, PW is not a sport. Its values are the exact opposite of traditional sportsmanship; it demonstrates to children that cheating and verbal intimidation are effective problem-solving techniques. Because PW resembles sports, children risk applying its values to legitimate sports, as well as other realms of life. Parents can prevent this association by differentiating PW from sports, and the entertainment industry can prevent it by stopping their aggressive marketing of PW to children.
AB - Professional wrestling (PW) has gained a firm foothold in American culture and appears to be here to stay. Children comprise a large portion of its audience, much to the dismay of many parents and clinicians. Society has struggled with how to respond to their children's fascination with PW, a novel hybrid between sports and entertainment. Parents expose children to sports, thinking they will learn healthy ways of managing conflict and aggression. However, PW is not a sport. Its values are the exact opposite of traditional sportsmanship; it demonstrates to children that cheating and verbal intimidation are effective problem-solving techniques. Because PW resembles sports, children risk applying its values to legitimate sports, as well as other realms of life. Parents can prevent this association by differentiating PW from sports, and the entertainment industry can prevent it by stopping their aggressive marketing of PW to children.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035019417&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0035019417&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1176/appi.ap.25.2.125
DO - 10.1176/appi.ap.25.2.125
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:0035019417
SN - 1042-9670
VL - 25
SP - 125
EP - 131
JO - Academic Psychiatry
JF - Academic Psychiatry
IS - 2
ER -