Section:OBS 2N PaGe:34 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 18:14 cYanmaGentaYellowbla
- The Observer
34 04.08.19 Focus
Feminist warriors
Why wrestling for
women is taking hold
The famously sexist and highly
macho sport is attracting female
competitors nationwide, helped
along by a popular Netfl ix series.
Nosheen Iqbal goes into the ringup with a fast-growing female audi-
ence , but women’s wrestling is hav-
ing a major moment in sports halls
and gyms up and down the country.
Blaze puts me in a headlock. It
doesn’t feel like a political act, but
she’s beautiful and smells like cocoa
butter and I will believe anything
she tells me. “I grew up on wrestling,
it raised me, it’s my third parent,”
she says gleefully. “Then I made my
debut two years ago and now look
at me.” My head is squished some-
where near her boobs. “I’ve never
felt stronger or more confi dent than
I do now. I feed off the energy of the
crowd, I love the emotion of it – I’m
meant to be here. ”
There’s a lot to be said for women
feeling empowered by their physical
strength and taking up space loudly
and aggressively in wrestling’s his-
torically sexist, hyper-masculine
world. And wrestling has had an
especially bad rap: women have tra-
ditionally worked as glamorous ring
girls. And, when they have wres-
tled, have been directed to performPolitics Culture
T
he thrill of being
thrown around a
dusty wrestling ring,
fl ipped over , then
sat on isn’t one I’ve
ever longed for. But
Mercedez Blaze and Rebel Kinney ,
part-time warriors and full-time
powerhouses, are determined to
show me why wrestling isn’t just
a thing, but a feminist thing. Call
it the effect of TV series G low ,
the infl uence of the fi tness man-
tra that “strong is the new skinny” ,
or the fact that mainstream com-
panies such as World Wrestling
Entertainment and All Elite
Wrestling have been forced to catchyear’s lull has provided a bizarre
contrast to the feverish activity that
ended May’s reign and the inevita-
ble frenzy set to unfold when MPs
return in September, with a no-deal
Brexit just weeks away. In truth,
Tory MPs tracking his progress from
the beach say that, for all the criti-
cism Johnson received on his out-
ings last week, the real danger signs
are not so much lurking below the
surface as hiding in plain sight.
Several Tory MPs pointed to a
series of warning lights that were
already fl ashing. First , some in the
European Research Group of hard-
line Brexiters have signalled that
they would vote down any Brexit
deal, even if it did not contain the
Irish backstop provision that they
believe keeps Britain tethered to the
EU. One May ally said this was a sign
they would turn on Johnson, too.
“They are not in the mood to com-
promise,” they said. “There was a
way of running his leadership cam-
paign without relying on them, giv-
ing him more freedom. But he chose
not to do that.”O
n the other wing,
Tory Phillip Lee has
signalled he is con-
sidering joining the
Lib Dems and that
others are coun-
tenancing a similar move – elimi-
nating Johnson’s working majority.
Meanwhile, the forces of no-deal
resistance are getting organised.
Oliver Letwin , the former cabinet
minister who has masterminded
previous attempts to block a no-
deal, was one of the few fi gures left
in Westminster last week. And there
have already been a series of leaks
about the impact of a no-deal Brexit.
Then there is the perceived insta-
bility of Johnson’s new team. Some
insiders regard the new discipline
in government installed by Dominic
Cummings , the Vote Leave strategy
chief now calling the shots in No 10,
as uneasy. “Ministers are like their
equivalents in the Chinese people’s
republic – they are there to deliver
policy already worked out by the
politburo,” said one Tory. “The polit-
buro is Dominic Cummings and his
special advisers. They are the ones
that have all of the ideas.”
Some ministers are already
deemed to have a limited lifespan.
“I do wonder what the hell [pro-
Remain cabinet ministers] Robert
Buckland , Amber Rudd and Nicky
Morgan are doing in this regime,”
said one Tory preparing to block no-
deal. “They have tried to tell me it’s
a bit like the early days of Trump.‘We are there to control him’. I see it
far more like 1945-46. The Soviets
installed communist regimes in
Poland and Czechoslovakia, but
needed to show some democratic
representation in the government.
These people survived for a cou-
ple of years before being denounced
and then shot. You do wonder if this
is going to happen to them.”
Meanwhile, diplomats in Europe
have also been monitoring the new
regime with a mixture of concern
and disbelief. On Thursday, dur-
ing talks with EU offi cials, Johnson’s
new negotiator David Frost, him-
self a former ambassador, delivered
the message that only a Brexit deal
without the Irish backstop would
be acceptable. He was told in no
uncertain terms that such an out-
come wasn’t possible – and that in
the event of a no-deal Brexit there
would be no “mini-deals” making
life easier from Britain in the imme-
diate aftermath.
“They fi nd Frost puzzling on that,”
said one person familiar with thetalks. “He knows how the EU nego-
tiates with third countries and must
understand how the game would
work in practice if we went there ...
The UK strategy seemed obviously
mad and self-defeating. And that
Frost appeared to be an ideologue,
but was obviously not calling the
shots in No 10.”
The EU offi cials were clear about
the diffi cult detail that will soon
become a major part of the Brexit
debate as a no-deal outcome looms.
Once it has crashed out, Frost was
told, Britain will have to bid for an
article 218 negotiation – the legal
basis on which the EU negotiates
agreements with third countries
that sees strict conditions placed on
the scope and terms of talks.
As one Brussels insider put it:
“Going all the way out, and then
having to bid for an article 218
negotiation puts the UK in an excep-
tionally weak negotiating position
... Back to money and the backstop.”
As they checked out for their stint on
the beach, one diplomat had clear
advice to all those involved in the
battle ahead: “Have a great summer
and prepare for an exceptionally
stormy autumn.”
Johnson fi nished his turbulent
week with a visit to the Derbyshire
town of Whaley Bridge , where res-
idents were forced to fl ee their
homes amid fears that the walls of
a reservoir could collapse. Both he
and his new team already know that
there are similar structural weak-
nesses in his new premiership.
While the waters in Westminster
may be still for now, the political
dam could be ready to burst before
the summer is out.Johnson
hits early
turbulence
as leader
Continued from page 33‘They have tried to
tell me it’s a bit like
the early days of
Trump. I see it more
like the Soviets’
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