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| Goldylocks |
S. Bruce has chronicled the shady behavior of TNA/Impact for the last year or so, and in his travails he's pretty much established that if you're a woman and work for TNA, you get the short end of the stick. According to his latest piece, apparently this isn't a new behavior either. Goldylocks, the company's first real notable female performer, claims she was sexually harassed every day, and despite not speaking up about it and being a "team player" *wanking motion*, she was rewarded by being quietly let go by the company after several male wrestlers painted her as a troublemaker because her exposure didn't match her training. Furthermore, apparently Terry Taylor is a real ladies' man, hitting the trifecta of getting accused of sexual harassment in WWF, WCW and TNA.
Putting this in context of the Randy Orton/Kelly Kelly comments from the other day, can you see how dangerous it can be to start vicious rumors about female performers in a male-dominated workplace? Granted, Goldylocks was called a "troublemaker", not a slut, but the situations are analogous, in my opinion. Women, especially in wrestling, much less margin for error in terms of behavior, and yet they don't get the same treatment as the men. So that's why any implication that K2 might have slept her way to the top (and whether Orton meant it or not, I truly believe he didn't, but still, it's irrelevant given that he can't control the imaginations of his peers or bosses) needed to have the kibosh put on them. It's also why Orton's sincere apology from yesterday is very much appreciated.
As for TNA/Impact? Well, it's hardly surprising that a company whose Knockouts division is almost exclusively built on its competitors calling each other sluts, tramps, whores and golddiggers has such a hostile environment towards women. Getting rid of Taylor was a good first step, but as Cageside has documented in the past, that's only the tip of the iceberg.
I will say this though. Part of it is Goldylocks' fault. Not the getting harassed part, but for thinking that keeping quiet is being a "team player". It only appeases the harassers or the good ol' boys who turn a blind eye to this kind of shit. In retrospect, by not speaking up, she set a terrible precedent for future female employees to the company. I feel sorry for her that she had to work in a terrible environment, but by keeping quiet, she added to the problem. Plain and simple.
