A few things you need to know – and won’t believe – about the real GLOW

You won’t believe how it really was. These are definitely some things you need to know abut the real GLOW before the Netflix series debuts this week.

By now you’ve probably heard about the half-hour Netflix comedy, GLOW. It’s the fictionalized story of the real women’s wrestling league. The program is called Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, or G.L.O.W.

The Netflix series, produced by Orange is the New Black’s creator Jenji Kohan, stars Alison Brie as Ruth Wilder. Ruth is an aspiring actress who answers a vague casting call, and winds up in a wrestling league instead of the “sports entertainment show” she was promised.

The Netflix series has it’s true-life origins. It’s loosely based on the professional wrestling league established in 1986 by Max Climber. The show’s narrative roughly follows the origins of the original ’80s hit.  G.L.O.W was a cultural phenomenon, propelling the women into cult status and into the popular culture.

Although it was wildly popular, many of the women didn’t really know what they were getting themselves into. The women played characters with silly names and personas, and were so popular they were asked to make appearances on sitcoms and talk shows of the day. It was a worldwide phenomenon.

The women who appeared on the original show were struggling actresses, much like the main character of the Netflix series. They were not professional athletes by any means. As entertaining and fun as the G.L.O.W.  was, it also had a bit of a seedy underbelly.

Here’s a few things about the real G.L.O.W that will make you appreciate the Netflix series a lot more.

It dealt in ugly stereotypes and misogynist themes

The show dealt in black and white, binary ideals of “good and evil”.  All of the players in G.L.O.W. played specific archetypal characters. Subtly or cultural nuance was not even a consideration.

The women assumed sexist and offensive roles like a rolling-pin wielding housewife, a voodoo priestess from New Orleans, sexy communists from Russia, Nazi sympathizers, and “slutty” cheerleaders. Creator Max Climber contrived of all the characters, and wasn’t afraid to invoke taboo subjects or offensive images.

In fact, The Washington Post reports on one of the stars, Sandy Manley, who has the genetic condition, Turner Syndrome, which makes her very short. The Post writes that Climber assigned her the persona of a gremlin, and often called her “ankle biter.”

During the first few years of the show’s run, they went wild with offensive and exploitive bits. One performer, Jeanne Basone, who went by “Hollywood” would routinely invoke Nazi iconography, sing German marching songs, and toss gas masks to the audience. It was a totally different time, obviously.

Further, the costumes were tiny and revealing. The women were pitted against each other, even when the cameras weren’t rolling. As a way to heighten the drama and intensify the feuds, the women were forced to stay in character and weren’t allowed to fraternize with their sworn enemies even when they weren’t filming.

The women were treated like commodities most of the time and were policed like children constantly. They even had curfews while they all lived together in the Riveria Hotel in Las Vegas.

According to a documentary about the program, GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, producers would fine the women $250 for missing their curfew, all in an attempt to keep them from indulging in “bad behaviors.”