Jezebel: Boxing

Officials Haven't Decided If Female Olympic Boxers Will Be Forced To Wear Skirts in Competition

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 14:55:00 EDT

Officials from The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) nearly incited fisticuffs when they implied that the first ever Olympic female boxers will be required to enter the ring in skirts. But, calm down, Panicky Von Anxoius O'Feminista— they only might be required. Official uniforms for Olympic women's boxing haven't been finalized yet. More »

Female Boxers Get No Love, Sighs Female Boxer

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:15:00 EDT

The profile of boxer Keisher McLeod-Wells in the New York Times today includes details about her persona as "the Boxing Diva" — she likes Gucci anything, pink Juicy Couture knee-socks, Prada platform heels, Tory Burch tops and Bulgari eyeglasses. But some of the facts from the piece are plain-old depressing: More »

Nigerian Teen Seeks Equality For Female Boxers

Anna North — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:07:00 EDT

Sixteen-year-old star boxer Mutiat Adebayo has some complaints about the state of women's boxing in Nigeria: "Boxing organisers discriminate against us during competitions. This is not good for the development of the sport. We urge government to help us." She says girls should be taught boxing in school — and fellow fighter Oluchi Ochonma says the government can help by better outfitting gyms. Ochonma adds, "I see a future for female boxers in this country. Female should be encouraged to participate in boxing because what a man can do a woman can also do." More »

She'll Fight For Her Country

Lauri Apple — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:15:57 EST

[Edinburgh, Scotland, January 14: Amateur boxer Louise Mitchell will be the first woman to box for Scotland in a match against Wales at Meadowbank Stadium—the third of four Bring Back Boxing Home Internationals. Image via Getty.]

Thailand's Female Boxers Kick Ass, Laugh In Your Face

Irin Carmon — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:20:00 EDT

Now that women's boxing will be an Olympic Sport, Thai women stand to benefit: they've already overcome being told that women are a curse upon stadiums and that women aren't supposed to lift their legs in the air. More »

BBC To Air Women's Boxing, As They Damn Well Should

Sadie Stein — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:20:00 EDT

The BBC is going to be airing women's boxing for the first time in all its bloody glory. And we say: go for it. More »

Chelsea's Nuptials Is America's Royal Wedding

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EDT

• More and more details are emerging about Chelsea's impending nuptials. She's picked the place (the Astor estate in Rhinebeck, New York) and the rehearsal dinner caterer (Terrapin restaurant). She even purchases some "understated" pillows from a local shop. More »

Woman Wears Men’s Clothes To A Prizefight; World Gasps

Gwen Sharp, PhD — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:40:00 EDT

The role of women as both fans of and participants in organized sports has varied greatly in the U.S., as Karlene Ferrante demonstrates in her article* about gender and baseball. More »

Crush On Obama Fades After First Year • Girl Scientist Invited To White House

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:40:00 EST

• Breakups hurt. Amber Lee Ettinger, aka Obama Girl, says she's disappointed in the President's first year, and would like to see him focusing more on "jobs and the economy." • More »

The Sweet Science

Anna Holmes — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:10:00 EST

[London, January 21. Image via Getty]

The Sweet Science

Anna Holmes — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:10:00 EST

[Tokyo, November 25. Image via Getty]

"That's What Sets Me Apart, Boxing With The Lads" • Town Outlaws Owning More Than 3 Cats

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST

• 23-year-old Katie Taylor has swiftly become Ireland's real life million-dollar baby, and possibly their best hope for the 2012 Olympics. Although women's boxing is a new sport, Taylor is already expected to win the gold. • More »

Knockouts Salon Raises Ire Of Massachusetts Residents • "Britain's Fritzl" Sentenced To 12 Years

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:40:00 EDT

• Residents of Mansfield, MA are not happy with a new salon about to be opened in their town. "Knockouts" is a Texas-based chain that offers "haircuts for men" from women dressed in boxing gear. • More »

Young Indian Women Find Adrenalin, Opportunity In Boxing

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:40:00 EDT

Life for disadvantaged Muslim girls in India, says the WSJ, follows this pattern: stay at home, help your mother, and, hopefully, marry a man who can care for you. But some are actively finding, and fighting, a different way. More »

Women Attempt To Share Spotlight In Male-Dominated Sports

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EDT

Saturday night, for the first time ever, two women were the main event at a major mixed martial arts bout. MMA is a full-contact, male-dominated sport: More »

Five-Year-Old "Eating Herself To Death"; Gay Couple's Announcement Nixed By Paper

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:40:00 EDT

Doctors in India fear that Suman Khatun, a five-year-old girl who weighs 168 pounds — at three and half feet tall — is eating herself to death. More »

One-Two Punch

Anna Holmes — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:10:00 EDT

[Mexico City, May 27. Image via Getty]

"She Gets Up Early Every Morning To Bake For Her Two Daughters… Before Heading Off To Train"

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:40:00 EDT

Kazumi Izaki, described as a "Japanese housewife and mother of two," is 45 years old and attempting to beat George Foreman's record as the oldest fighter to win a World Boxing Association title. [BBC News] More »

Recovering Otter Cuddles Teddy Bear • Russian Baby Born With Two Penises

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:40:00 EDT

• This poor otter was near death when Camilla Ravenshear found him wandering alone on the road. He is now feeling much better, and is now taking comfort in his new teddy bear friend. • More »

Dangerous Beauty

Katy Kelleher — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:20:00 EST

The Amateur Boxing Association of England has refused Sarah Blewden, 25, permission to compete. They claim her boob job as their reason. More »

In For Spring: Getting Punched In The Face

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:30:00 EST

A story on black and blue makeup in the February issue of Allure shows just how beautiful a black eye can be. After all, nothing says sexy like a woman being battered and bruised! More »

Girl Fight

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:20:00 EDT

Last week, Choi Hyun Mi, a 17-year-old boxer the South Korean media has dubbed the "Defector Girl Boxer," won the World Boxing Association women's featherweight championship. While most female South Korean boxers say they first took up boxing to lose weight, Choi is boxing to support her family, who fled North Korea in 2004. Though her family was wealthy in North Korea, her parents have been unable to find work in South Korea and her brother is in college. As a champion, Choi can earn about $10,000 per fight, but she is fighting for more than the money. "My parents gave up everything in North Korea to give their children a better life in the South," she says. "Boxing is my way to prove that my parents made the right decision." [International Herald Tribune] More »

Michael Lohan Is A Total Knockout

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:10:00 EDT

Gymnasts Pose For Questionable Pic • New York Chooses First Black Female Boxing Czar

Anna North — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Does this photo of the 2008 US Womens Olympic Gymnastics Team piss you off? If so, you're in agreement with Feminist Law Professors, who wonder if a photographer would ever ask the men's gymnastics team to stick their butts out like that. • Melvina Lathan will be the first black woman to chair the New York State Athletic Commission, meaning she is basically New York's boxing czar. She replaces Ron Stevens, a former "matchmaker" — he organized fights, not weddings. • Two Muslim women say they were refused jobs at a Dearborn, Michigan McDonald's — one of only two in the country to serve halal McNuggets — because they wouldn't remove their headscarves. • Reader-submitted awesome: The Girl Effect. More »

Brides-To-Be Are Fond Of Fisticuffs • Jenny Craig Co-Founder Dies

Maria — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Brides-to-be in Hong Kong find that boxing is a good way to tone up before their wedding days...and kick some serious ass should their groom sget out of line. • Preconception care is becoming an important part of healthy planned pregnancies. • The Guardian claims that Mr. Methane, is the world's only "professional flatulist"; have they never heard of Fartman? • More »

UK drugstore chain Superdrug has pulled...

Slut Machine — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:50:00 EST

UK drugstore chain Superdrug has pulled a woman's boxing set off the shelves after receiving complaints from ManKind Initiative, a support group for male victims of domestic violence. The Hers Boxing Set comes with a set of gloves and a man-shaped punching bag, with an insert on the face for women to put pictures of men they want to punch, and the product packaging had an arrow pointing to the crotch with text that read "kick him here." ManKind (sorry, we have to laugh a little, only because the name of this support group sounds like something Tobias Funke from Arrested Development would've founded) said that the product was offensive because it suggested that domestic violence against men was acceptable. [Guardian] More »

Awesome African Athlete Reminds Us That Women Can Kick Ass

Jessica — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST

Boxer Esther Phiri is a role model to Zambian girls. Not because she's lithe and blonde and poses in a bikini and shills for Lycos, but because Esther (the slugger on the left) actually kicks major ass. She's a former street vendor with almost zero education who is currently the Global Boxing Union super featherweight champion. Esther is also a familiar face to most Zambians: she appears on billboards all over the capital city, Lusaka, and her fights are carried on the government run TV channel. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Esther even talks to young Zambian women about "the importance of sports as a way to boost confidence... and help them avoid the pitfalls of sexually transmitted infections and early pregnancy." You know what playing sports also helps with? Body image! More »

Girls Come To Blows, Fight Way Out Of Poverty

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EDT

Thai boxing — also known as muay Thai — is a popular sport worldwide, but has taken off recently for females in Thailand, reports the International Herald Tribune. "In a country where femininity is highly prized and girls are often told by their parents to be discreet, obedient and gracious, female boxing is now a surprise hit," writes Thomas Fuller. Girls start as young as 13, but often stop boxing before they reach 20. "When they grow up they get a boyfriend or they get married - their career cycle is not very long," one "delicately built" female boxer said. "Their husbands don't want them to come home with bruises." More »

Thank God Donatella Versace Makes Fashion, Not Babies

Anna Holmes — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:45:06 EDT

Italian women over the age of 40 are having more babies than similarly-aged women in any other western industrialized country. But the U.S. is not far behind! [Guardian]