Faye Jackson Discusses Struggles Of Being A Black Woman In Pro Wrestling
Faye Jackson is an indies wrestler who has appeared in WXw, AIW and other promotions. She will be a part of an August show called Black Wrestlers Matter and she discussed it when she joined The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast.
"This is a show that will be out in Iowa which will be my very, very first time going to Iowa, so I'm excited about that. John West reached out to a bunch of people and ? especially with the way the climate is right now with people talking about Black Lives Matter ? it's for people to realize when people say Black Lives Matter, we're not talking about just only black lives," stated Jackson. "It's including everyone but since 400 years ago, black people have been treated a different way. Even with all of the laws and regulations, none of that matters to us. Black Lives Matter is a statement saying, 'Hey, I don't wanna have to fear for my life just to walk outside.'
"Then to take it to Black Wrestlers Matter, there's so much that goes on in the business that we're, as black wrestlers, not allowed to talk about because if we do, we're automatically labeled as difficult to work with. Or we're labeled as problematic and that's not even the case. We all love wrestling ? everybody that watches wrestling and everybody that's in the business ? we all love wrestling. And when I grew up watching wrestling, I didn't really notice color until somebody told me about color."
Jackson talked about being a fan of Jacqueline and Jazz while growing up but they were among the very few black female wrestlers.
"Now, in this business, there's so many of us. It's just a celebration to say we're here, we all matter and we want you to come and support. For me, it's not just a black or white thing as when you're a child, you don't realize what color you are," said Jackson. "You realize what color you are when someone tells you you're different. It goes the same with wrestling ? when we enter the ring as wrestlers, we don't realize what color we are. But we are treated so differently in the business that we have to realize what we are. So, we just want to celebrate that and that's what the Black Wrestlers Matter Show in August is. We're just celebrating the fact that we're black wrestlers in this business and we just want to show you what we can do."
Jackson mentioned that black wrestlers are treated differently in the business and she went into more details about her experience in pro wrestling.
"When I first started, I didn't realize it until certain situations. When you start hearing stuff about you and you start hearing from other people, 'Oh, that's just how she is. She's just the black b—h of the group.' You start hearing that from certain people that are your peers and are in the same business as you, that's when you have to take a look back. Even if some situation happens and goes down, I feel like I can't speak on it because I don't wanna be labeled as not only the b—h but the black b—h. I had that happen multiple times when I first started," revealed Jackson.
"But now I think the culture and environment is getting better, I'm not saying it's better yet, but it is trying to realize that we shouldn't have to go by identifying people. I would never wanna call another woman a black b—h. Just be a b—h ? why I gotta be a black b—h [laughs]?
"It's just the business and it's the same with speaking out. It's so tough for women in this business, but then it's triple times as tough when you're a black woman in this business. That's just how it goes. Whatever happens just makes me tougher and realize that I'm not gonna sit here and take any of your crap from anyone because I have respect for myself and I am the way that I am. Yeah I have the persona of being overly-sexed, plus-sized black woman but I think the more things started to come out, people started to realize, 'Wow, she really is for taking care of one another and protecting people.' In a sense, it probably killed my character but I'd rather be known as someone that actually cares about other people and cares about different situations going on in the world than just trying to put up a front like nothing is happening."
With the #SpeakingOut Movement in wrestling ? and the Women's Evolution before it ? Jackson was asked if she feels the levee is breaking in regards to social justice issues in pro wrestling.
"The first half of 2020 ? we can just throw it away. But I feel like now that all that has happened and all of these revelations have came out about everything that is wrong with the world, I have hope that the second half that things will go more than better, not only in wrestling but in the world. Just because people are at home and they get to see and witness what's going on not only in media but social media and with themselves. Now people can see because everybody used to be so busy-busy going to work, going to school, going to training, going to wrestling shows. Not that everybody has sat down, they're seeing there's a lot of shady stuff going on in this business and the world," stated Jackson.
"Now I think people will finally get to realize and see that there will be change for the better. 2021 might be the greatest year ever. Who knows? But we needed all of this to happen in order for people to see with their own eyes what's going on."
Faye Jackson will compete as part of Black Wrestlers Matter on August 22nd. For tickets and more information please visit HERE. Faye's full interview aired as part of yesterday's episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.