Settle in. This could get long.
Ever since I entered college, I can't say I kept up with the events at my former high school. That was until this last week. I noticed arguing on Twitter. Students typing in all caps as to illustrate their displeasure. As focused as I was on the news of auto racing, I couldn't help but take notice and investigate.
I soon found out someone had made a bracket. No, not an early draft of NCAA predictions. A bracket ranking girls in the school based on perceived attractiveness. My first reaction was sheer disbelief. I honestly thought this was a middle school student garnering for attention. As I investigated further, I found out the culprit was a senior. A student one year younger than me.
As the dust settled and my anger subsided I realized something. This issue of equality was at the forefront of my life. I could finally speak up. I found the Twitter page of the women's group from my school. They had campaigns left and right preaching equality and feminism. Many students also were speaking up with them. It was a heartwarming sight to see after all the outrage and anger just a few days prior.
Scrolling through the inspirational and motivational tweets and stories I noticed a retweeted article. There was a photo attached showing Ryan Hunter-Reay after he won the Indianapolis 500 this year. Hunter-Reay was surrounded by the United Fiber and Data grid girls. The caption read "The tradition of using women as trophies continues. At some point, will someone please realize how stupid this?"
Now it was my problem. Those girls were not being used as trophies. When a driver wins a race the last thing on their mind is women. Maybe thirty or forty years ago, but certainly not today. The sponsors place those women there for the sake of marketing. I do not personally agree with that strategy, but it is not meant to be demeaning. Most of those women are models. Getting paid to simply look good and advertise a product. They sign up for it. When Danica Patrick won at Motegi in 2008 she posed with girls just like that. They are there to increase awareness for a brand and nothing more.
One of the things I love about auto racing is the fact that it is the only sport in which men and women compete at the same time on a level playing field. Teams do not care about gender. They care about talent and marketability. If you're not talented enough you won't last long unless you have money.
Then I thought about all the women in auto racing the media passes over. Never do I see ESPN doing documentaries on female racing drivers. I would argue they have it worse than anybody.
Good motorsport journalists talk about women racing drivers as they would male. If the driver is doing well, talk about them. If the driver is doing poorly, do not talk about them. Several journalists have lessened the amount they talk about Danica Patrick because she is simply under performing in NASCAR. They are not being sexist. Do you ever hear anyone talk about how well Josh Wise ran 36th?
It's not just the female drivers either. Few people mention Sarah Fisher outside the IndyCar niche. I had never heard of Leena Gade until Audi ran a commercial showing off her work. The females in racing who never raced or no longer race are even more strong.
Sarah Fisher went from being a racing prodigy to being a successful team owner and mother. Leena Gade was turned down countless times until Audi gave her a chance. She later won the 24 Hours of LeMans as the head engineer. Nobody talks about the work DeLana Harvick did for her husband's race team. Or the fact that Teresa Earnhardt kept her deceased husband's race team alive well after she even had to. All of these women were successful on their own.
I firmly stand for equality. And that's why I love auto racing. The inner workings of the sport love women. The media for some reason does not.
Ever since I entered college, I can't say I kept up with the events at my former high school. That was until this last week. I noticed arguing on Twitter. Students typing in all caps as to illustrate their displeasure. As focused as I was on the news of auto racing, I couldn't help but take notice and investigate.
I soon found out someone had made a bracket. No, not an early draft of NCAA predictions. A bracket ranking girls in the school based on perceived attractiveness. My first reaction was sheer disbelief. I honestly thought this was a middle school student garnering for attention. As I investigated further, I found out the culprit was a senior. A student one year younger than me.
As the dust settled and my anger subsided I realized something. This issue of equality was at the forefront of my life. I could finally speak up. I found the Twitter page of the women's group from my school. They had campaigns left and right preaching equality and feminism. Many students also were speaking up with them. It was a heartwarming sight to see after all the outrage and anger just a few days prior.
Scrolling through the inspirational and motivational tweets and stories I noticed a retweeted article. There was a photo attached showing Ryan Hunter-Reay after he won the Indianapolis 500 this year. Hunter-Reay was surrounded by the United Fiber and Data grid girls. The caption read "The tradition of using women as trophies continues. At some point, will someone please realize how stupid this?"
Now it was my problem. Those girls were not being used as trophies. When a driver wins a race the last thing on their mind is women. Maybe thirty or forty years ago, but certainly not today. The sponsors place those women there for the sake of marketing. I do not personally agree with that strategy, but it is not meant to be demeaning. Most of those women are models. Getting paid to simply look good and advertise a product. They sign up for it. When Danica Patrick won at Motegi in 2008 she posed with girls just like that. They are there to increase awareness for a brand and nothing more.
One of the things I love about auto racing is the fact that it is the only sport in which men and women compete at the same time on a level playing field. Teams do not care about gender. They care about talent and marketability. If you're not talented enough you won't last long unless you have money.
Then I thought about all the women in auto racing the media passes over. Never do I see ESPN doing documentaries on female racing drivers. I would argue they have it worse than anybody.
Good motorsport journalists talk about women racing drivers as they would male. If the driver is doing well, talk about them. If the driver is doing poorly, do not talk about them. Several journalists have lessened the amount they talk about Danica Patrick because she is simply under performing in NASCAR. They are not being sexist. Do you ever hear anyone talk about how well Josh Wise ran 36th?
It's not just the female drivers either. Few people mention Sarah Fisher outside the IndyCar niche. I had never heard of Leena Gade until Audi ran a commercial showing off her work. The females in racing who never raced or no longer race are even more strong.
Sarah Fisher went from being a racing prodigy to being a successful team owner and mother. Leena Gade was turned down countless times until Audi gave her a chance. She later won the 24 Hours of LeMans as the head engineer. Nobody talks about the work DeLana Harvick did for her husband's race team. Or the fact that Teresa Earnhardt kept her deceased husband's race team alive well after she even had to. All of these women were successful on their own.
I firmly stand for equality. And that's why I love auto racing. The inner workings of the sport love women. The media for some reason does not.
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