Singapore's first female pro-wrestler kicks ‘Disney Princess’ stereotype
At five-foot-three, Alexis "Friggin" Lee is hardly the kind of pro-wrestler one would usually expect to see in the ring.
But the 28-year-old sending high kicks and throwing her opponent to the ground in front of a cheering crowd has been making waves in Singapore since her debut 10 years ago as the island nation's first female pro-wrestler, according to her.
"What actually really got me into it was to go through the high school bullying and wanting to empower myself,” said the wrestler, whose full name is Alexis Lee Xin Yi.
Speaking to Reuters prior to a Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) 'Queen of Asia' championship match last month, Lee said the passionate crowd, who pays to see her performance, makes the "blood, sweat and tears" worthwhile.
Being in a niche community of a relatively obscure sport in Singapore also meant that Lee had to fund her passion for the ring by working various day jobs as a shipping operations executive, waitress, supermarket packer and fitness instructor.
At times, she would take up to three part-time jobs to pay for her training, costumes and overseas wrestling trips.
As a female competing in a male-dominant sport, the presence of Lee and her fellow female wrestlers is a rare sight in the Southeast Asian region. She and her opponent were the only women among 16 other competitors in the SPW championship Reuters attended.
"Its a preconceived notion of how girls are supposed to be gentle, be nice, be like those princesses in Disney movies,” said Lee, adding that she also faced struggles within her family at the beginning of her professional career.
“No parents would want their daughters to be doing such things, you know, getting hit everywhere," she added.
Despite previous failure to take on the world stage, Lee hopes that one day she can compete in front of thousands of people and inspire more women to take up the sport.
“No matter where you come from, you can do something as long as you set your heart to it. There is no gender barrier, there is nothing that will stop you if you just follow your heart,” said Lee.
Reuters
