COVID- 19 has provided an excellent opportunity to watch a Netflix series I would not normally watch. On March 20, 2020, the Netflix limited documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is a 7-part docuseries about Joe Exotic who is a man of many descriptors: presidential candidate, gubernatorial candidate, gay polygamist, and big cat enthusiast to name a few. I decided to watch this series with my parents because we find people who own exotic animals to be interesting television subjects. This particular docuseries touched on a lot of important topics that sometimes do not get the spotlight of other sociopolitical activism such as: exotic animal ownership and trade in the U.S., opportunities for former inmates, and grooming of young people by older men. One of the clearest messages from the docuseries is that big cats are a way for men to display and show their masculinity.

 

Grooming is something I’ve become more aware of in toxic relationship discourse. “Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them,” according to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The significant others of several of the men featured in this docuseries started their relationships when they are in their late teens with men much older than them. In the second episode of Tiger King, Carole Baskin, another wildlife park owner, said, “Frequently the people who have these animals will use them as a lure to bring in young people that really haven’t had the opportunity to build a lot of relationships and understand how badly they are being abused themselves… forcing them into labor camps.” Workers spend almost every day, all year caring for the animals, which cuts them off from family, friends, and the outside world. On Doc Antle’s park, the workers work 16- hours a day for $100 dollars a week. 

 

The use of tigers as economic and social gain begins as soon as the tigers are born. The tigers make the most money when they are essentially kittens, once they become dangerous to humans, they are sold off or killed. According to figures stated in Tiger King it costs between $3,000- $10,000 a year to feed one tiger, depending on where the food is sourced from. These animal parks have more than fifty tigers on the properties. The image of being a father and leader of these tigers which are dangerous predators, shows that their masculinity dominates even the strongest of animals.  

 

Bhagavan “Doc” Antle is the founder and director of T.I.G.E.R.S, a wildlife park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His name Bhagavan means “lord” or “friend of God”. Bhagavan is described by his son as “… an all seeing all knowing kind of guy.” Doc Antle seems to have changed his name to Bhagavan purposely to project his imagination of his authority and position as leader of T.I.G.E.R.S. Doc surrounds himself with young women who eventually grow up to be one of his wives, it is unknown how many “wives” he has but there are at least three. His three longest relationships span between 16-20 years of living on the preserve. One of the wives, China, has been there since she was 17 years old. In order to have the best life in the organization, the women who worked there were heavily encouraged to sleep with Antle. He prefers virgins or almost virgins, who would then be bonded to him in a sexual way, according to Barabara Fisher an ex-girlfriend of Antle’s. Based on the documentary, he grooms women and sexualizes them to attract guests to the park. He changes their names, such as from Barabara to Bala, and pressures them to make body modifications, such as breast augmentation. The workers at the park live nearby and  worked 16 hour days every day. Tim Stark, a wildlife park operator, admired how Doc Antle “… had his women trained for his harem.” Antle chooses the women’s outfits which tend to be animal print and revealing. 

 

Joe Exotic is a self-described gay, redneck with a mullet. G.W. Zoo was Joe Exotic’s kingdom. According to the producer of Joe Exotic’s reality show, Rick Kirkham, Exotic rewatched a scene of him on a throne over and over again. In the gift shop there was merchandise with Joe on everything from underwear, to CDs, to condiments. This form of narcissism plays well with an alpha-male dominance of workers, husbands, and animals. The ultimate form of masculinity is to dominate the most masculinity-aligned animals in the animal kingdom: tigers, lions, bears, and other big cats. Kirkham said even he felt, “… a feeling of power being around these animals.” Exotic has had three husbands, two of which stuck around due to access to drugs such as weed and meth. Rather than groom teenagers as part of his workforce, Joe Exotic exploited the labor of former inmates who had limited to no social ties. He offered them a place to work, eat, and sleep in exchange for 10-12 hours of work per day for about $150 a week.

 

Jeff Lowe is the current owner of the GW Cat park. He and his wife, Lauren, would transport tiger cubs into Vegas hotel rooms in order to encourage women to join them and engage in polyamorous relations. Joe Exotic saw Jeff Lowe as someone who would be able to lead the park into a successful direction following his legal battles with Carole Baskin. Lowe had a young, attractive wife, an adventurous sex life, drove a Ferrari, seemed rich, and apparently lived the high life in Las Vegas. He was living the life that men are expected to dream of. The addition of the big cats made him seem even more masculine. The idea that these dangerous predators were nothing but kittens in his hands displayed his masculinity. Owning a park full of animals where he was the main authority just made him seem and feel more masculine. 

 

Overall, I would recommend that this docuseries  because it an experience to say the least, masculinity is just one of the things that can be drawn from the show. Big cats seem to be a way for men to increase their masculinity. Big cats are seen as masculine and a man in more masculine through the domination of big cats. The big cats are just big house cats to men like Doc Antle, Joe Exotic, and Jeff Lowe. Not only does the big cats convey masculinity, it also attracts potential sexual partners in polygamous relationships. Often these partners are young people fresh out of high school. This docuseries is a wild ride with a lot to unpack. This is just one step towards unpacking the complexity that is Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. 

 

Zoe Clark

 

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/