Feminism

One doesn't risk much by saying that the Carano-Cyborg fight to be held August 15 is important to the future of women's MMA. But neither is it mere hyperbole to say that this fight matters nearly as much to the future of all women's sport. Already there is plenty of evidence to support such a claim.

Among many firsts in this MMA bout will be women fighting five five-minute rounds (which, of course, the guys have been doing for some time). This has sparked debate, not unpredictably, as seen in an MMAjunkie.com opinion piece and its attendant comments. The issues so contentious there and elsewhere apply to other women's sports, and consequently expose difficulties facing all female athletes.

So we find that many of our hopes for the future of women's sport ride on the shoulders (or rather fists) of two very talented women. A great fight showing an abundance of heart and athleticism will go a long way toward silencing critics. I expect that is what we will see.

(As for who will be the winner? That's tougher to call.)

Today is the 37th anniversary of Title IX. I considered how best to mark the occasion and decided on something that would palpably show what Title IX helped emancipate: female strength; better still for this purpose, female strength in its most lethal form yet.

If you've seen Gina Carano in action, you undoubtedly have some sense of her otherworldly striking power; even her glancing blows can injure an opponent. Now, thanks to Sport Science, you can supplement your intuition with actual numbers. The finale—a chokehold applied to the show's host—is equally impressive, and rather frightening.

A recent TMZ photo of Elisabeth Shue from the set of Piranha 3-D shows the 45-year-old former gymnast with an impressive set of guns. Shue, who plays Sheriff Julie Forester in the film, looks fit enough to battle prehistoric piranhas with her bare hands; so much the better, I say. Otherwise I wouldn't have much interest in Piranha 3-D, but the chance that Shue will be an impressive action heroine has me thinking that I'll venture out to the theater when it is released.

Shue is obviously in fantastic shape, especially compared to most other 45-year-olds. Nevertheless, here we again see the binary-brained thinking that inevitably turns up whenever a female athlete or celebrity with a muscular physique is in the press. Comments like that make me want to scream at the top of my lungs: "No, knucklehead, this is merely a woman with muscles, a perfectly natural and wonderful thing."

I do so only occasionally.