The Grid Girls Debate
At the end of January, Formula 1 announced the
removal of Grid girls from the 2018 season. Grid girls are attractive, often scantily clad young women hired to work on the
sidelines and podiums at male-dominated sports events. The recent shift in opinion of “Grid
girls [being] an outdated concept that starkly defines the difference between
men and women in a sporting arena, and in life, a lot of the time—men are the
main show, while women are meant to adorn the sidelines and be valued for their
physical appearance,” according to Bloomberg, has caused F1 to remove Grid
Girls completely.
This decision
was meant to help pull Formula 1 into the 21st century and attract a
younger audience, but this decision received some backlash from F1 supporters
saying Grid Girls are necessary to the sport and they maintain the history and
sexiness of F1. Also, Grid Girls fighting back by saying they love their jobs
and don’t feel objectified at all.
Is using grid
girls in the 21st century perpetuating sexism or is it allowing
women to pursue whatever career they want and continue the success of F1?
ReplyDeleteGrid Girls Vs. Cheerleaders
In contrast, in the U.S. cheerleaders are popular at many sporting events. Some people argue that cheerleaders and Grid Girls are different because Cheerleading is a sport and provides entertainment based on skill and hard work. What do you think? Are cheerleading and Grid Girls that different? Are either of them contributing to sexist views of women?