Is Sexism Behind Wal-Mart’s Decision Not to Sell Ronda Rousey Book?
Sometimes you just have to assume you're not getting the whole story because it is just too weird to believe otherwise.
Yahoo is reporting that Wal-Mart has declined to sell Ronda Rousey's new book in their stores because they consider the author too violent.
Rousey, for those unfamiliar, is an MMA champ, Olympic medalist and actress who appears in both Furious Seven and the upcoming Entourage movie. She's kind of a big deal.
Wal-Mart sells mixed martial equipment, which suggests reading about MMA is worse than actually participating in the sport (and yes, as many have noted elsewhere, Wal-Mart also sells guns too).
There certainly seems to be an element of sexism in this decision; had this been written by a man, would it have been sold in their stores? Probably, as they had no issue with placing fellow MMA fighter George St. Pierre's book on the shelf.
In an age where fake controversies are ginned up by the minute, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this turns out to be an elaborate marketing stunt. For now, it just looks like a very peculiar and possibly sexist decision by Wal-Mart.