Formula 1 Says Goodbye to the Grid Girls

Sebastian Vettel, then driving for Red Bull, poses with grid girls at the 2014 US Grand Prix (Getty Images)

So it was released today that Formula 1 has decided to do away with the use of Grid Girls at their events. Grid Girls, for those who don't know, are basically models who perform promotional duties. As you can imagine, these young ladies are above average in looks and are usually dressed to highlight their assets. As has been stated, however, they are not exactly "scantily clad" as the women are at some events. 

There has been mixed reactions, but the Grid Girls don't seem too happy about this change.

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“Ridiculous that women who say they are ‘fighting for women’s rights’ are saying what others should and shouldn’t do, stopping us from doing a job we love and are proud to do. PC gone mad,” now-former grid girl Rebecca Cooper wrote on Twitter.

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The Women's Sport Trust has a different take:

“We strongly encourage sports such as cycling, boxing and UFC to follow darts and Formula 1 and reconsider the use of podium girls, ring girls and octagon girls,” the Women’s Sport Trust said in a statement.
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“This is not a matter of feminists versus models, which seems to be the way many people want to portray this story. These changes are taking place because global businesses are making a considered choice about how women should be valued and portrayed in their sports in 2018. They deserve significant credit for doing so.”

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The fact of the matter is, these types of employment for women have been under attack for as long as they have been available. From women protesting places like Hooters, to fights about cheerleaders at various sporting events, feminists and others view this sort of thing as being politically incorrect and objectifying women.

​I have a different stance on it. 

Businesses may be looking at it differently, but why is that? Women's Sport Trust claims it isn't a matter of feminists vs. the models, but isn't it? What was it, exactly, that convinced businesses that this was not the right thing for women to be doing? 

The entire point of women's rights and equality is supposed to be based on women pursuing what they want to as a career. It's a big reason why I never disparaged women in careers like Hooters, or exotic dancers, or even women in the porn industry. The Gird Girls are not being forced to do this work. They are there because they want to be, and they seem to genuinely enjoy what they are doing. So why is that so wrong? Why can't we leave them alone? If you've got and can make money off of it, why is that so bad?

According to feminists, anything outside of an office is not suitable for women. That isn't equality. Equality is telling a woman that any job she can do, she should, if she wants it. Jobs like this are not available for every women. I could never be a Grid Girl! But other women can, and I don't begrudge them that. You get you some of that! 

No, it isn't high paying CEO position or a STEM job. Why does it have to be? It seems to me that women are a little too concerned with how other women make their money. 

I remember back in the early 2000s I was working in a heavily male dominated field. It never really dawned on me that it was "weird" for me to be doing the job. They hired me, I must have been a good fit. The position was as a driver for an armored car (money trucks). I had a partner that slowly trained me to do the heavy messenger work without the company knowing he was doing it, and when I was ready, I told the company I was fully trained. Once proven, I was tossed into the back of the truck. The job required long hours (horrendously long hours) and almost no days off. It also required extremely heavy lifting. From toting thousands of dollars in coins into multiple banks to moving pallets full of coins from the vault to the truck, it wasn't a job every women - or every man - could do. But I did it for three years. And I had an impressive bench press at the end of it!

The one thing that stood out to me was the reaction of other women when they realized a woman was doing this job. The men didn't bat an eye. The women had one of three reactions. I went into a small bank inside a large store to drop off and pick up, and someone who worked for the store saw me. She got very excited and exclaimed, "Our armored guard is a woman?! You go, girl!!!" That was a one time reaction. 

Some women reacted as the men did and didn't react at all. I preferred that reaction. My job was what it was, and if I wasn't capable of doing the job, I wouldn't have been there. 

But a lot of the time, women wouldn't work with me. I was completely dumbfounded by this reaction. The women were downright mean to me. More often than not, they would refuse to give me what they were sending out because apparently this was "men's work" and I wasn't capable of doing it, so they would "wait until they sent a man around." I had one bank hold deposits for two months hoping a man would be sent to pick it up. I finally went in one day and the head teller was out sick. Her backup was a male who had no issue giving me the items, even though it was two months worth of stuff. I hauled it out, he signed off on it, and all was right with the world.

The problem was, those women called my boss to complain that they shouldn't be sending a "weak" woman around to do this work and they wanted a male messenger (several of the women just wanted to flirt with the men, I later found out). Thank God my boss knew what I could do and what was really going on. Otherwise, it could have cost me my job. I wasn't making a ton of money at that job, but I was fresh out of college and in a new state. I needed that job terribly and couldn't afford to lose it. It was my first full time out of college. But with all these women refusing to allow me to do my job and calling to complain because of what they assumed I could and could not do without any evidence of either, I could have been put out on my butt and replaced with a man. 

What right did they have to decide what I should be doing for a living? Obviously I was capable of doing the job. Granted, I didn't enjoy what I was doing, but that wasn't necessary. I needed the job. And I did it as well as everyone else doing it. 

This is a big reason I support women in jobs like the above. Like my job in armored cars, not everyone can. I wouldn't expect these Grid Girls to all be able to do armored cars (although I'm sure many could). But I couldn't be a Grid Girl, either. Just like men, women can and can't do various jobs for whatever reason. They may be better suited for something that someone else can't do at all. I'm not a looker, but I'm strong. And I was doing what I wanted to at the time. 

These women are fully in control. If they, at any point, don't want to do the job, it is their decision to stop doing it. Feminists and women's groups shouldn't be convincing their bosses or those who pay for the service that this is wrong to do to women. It isn't wrong. It's a job, like any other. It's a need that can only be filled by certain women. If you think it is wrong and just objectifies women... don't do the job! But don't tell other women they can't, either. Trust me, they know all the pros and cons of the job they are doing. And they are smart enough to make the best decision for them. The point is, you don't know what is best for them. You only know what is best for you. 

​Equality and women's rights means letting women do what they feel is best for them. Let them choose what they want to do. They know what they are capable of and what benefits and detriments any job has. If you want to stand on the side of women, start believing in them and their choices. Stop treating women like they are too stupid to do what is best for themselves. They aren't.