Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 14 APRIL 7, 2015 P107 now, never heard that complaint before) are a bit of a distraction from the pulse of the sport. But while I get where the pur- ists are coming from, at the end of the day it's still a show, with hopefully something to offer the purists and casual spectators alike. So if you truly love racing, it's great going to a local dirt track, motocross, off-road or club road race event because those all go back to the fun- damentals—the fun of racing, with no frills. Sadly, there's also no money at those grass roots events. And nothing takes the professional out of racing like no money. It also gets rid of some- thing else—umbrella girls. I always thought that grid girls, umbrella girls, Monster Girls— or whatever the series and its teams call the models they hire to help promote the sport—were a nice addition. They bring glam- our to the racing. They comple- ment rather than take away from the sport. And being female, I have a lot of admiration for someone able to get around in stiletto heels all day. And, even more so, for the pit board girls at a motocross. Chances are, if I had to dash across the ruts in front of the starting line with a pit board and wearing high-heeled boots, it would not end well. I'd most likely trip and wind up face down somewhere in the middle of the track before being run over while the racers made a bid for the holeshot, or worse yet—the cause of a delayed start. I digress… I see nothing wrong with beau- tiful women making money off of being beautiful—wearing logos to promote the sponsors they are hired to promote. So why the fuss, the feeling of wrongdo- ing? Objectification. What is it to objectify? To speak clearly, our friends from Merriam Webster state: to treat (someone) as an object rather than as a person. Not to treat the concern lightly, but what are we talking about here? Is there really a high ground to be made compared to athletes in leathers or riding gear with sponsors logos all over them? Or does the difference just revolve around a skirt? I'll admit, it's probably not just the skirt, but the length of it. So, yes, there are cases where better choices could have been made on the promotional attire, but realistically, they aren't wear- ing anything less than what you'd see on the beach. Why ban them? It's not as if it's mandatory and it's not a manda- tory profession. Let us not forget that it is a choice that these wom- en make. And it is not as though there aren't any other available options for work in the sport. More and more female racers have entered the scene as well as mechanics. On the media side of things there are more female press officers, journalists, pho- tographers and TV personalities. All the while, grid girls have lived on. Have they slowed the prog- ress of leveling the playing field in motorsports? I would say no. Grid girls are also not the only women in the limelight of the sport, as was the case in years past. With more and more women involved in the sport— racers, mechanics, journalists, etc.—they too get profiled in the media. In the end, I look around the sport and don't see any need to feel threatened that those old archetypes are slowing women down. Eliminating someone's job on the basis of championing women's rights, for me, is laugh- able. And there is no more of an archaic concept than feel- ing the need to protect them, for they know not what they do. Being hired to be a grid girl or a pit board girl is a choice these women are making themselves. All that getting rid of them from the sport means is that future grid girls (and grid boys) don't get the choice or the opportunity to make a wage. The reality is sex sells. The comfort level with that is a subjective one. A heavy topic for motorsports. As such, there's no need to mandate for or against it. Let it be a decision for the teams and the women them- selves. CN

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