Controversy: towards the end of the umbrella girls on motorcycle races ?
The tradition of umbrella girls, these young women generally scantily dressed – or with clothes very close to the body! – supposed to shelter the pilots from the sun on the starting gates of motorcycle races, is it going to disappear ? This is the wish of several defenders of the image of women, who have already won their case in other sports. Explanations.
Last weekend, the umbrella girls of had "hot buttocks": the movement Ganemos Jerez (close to Podemos), supported by the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and the United Left (Izquierda unida), had demanded their ban for reasons of women’s dignity.
"Our proposal is very simple", summed up the Andalusian advisers: "that the functions and the work of the women on the circuit be worthy and that they not be used as objects. Full stop". The Partido Popular (right) and the Ciudadanos movement having abstained, the proposal was finally rejected and the pilots were able to be sheltered from the sun by traditional.
Jerez narrowly, Barcelona in the sights…
But the fact is that this "tradition" is no longer to the taste of some, who denounce the machismo and the outdatedness of this vision of women. So for the next one, on June 11, representatives of Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (environmentalists) and of the United and Alternative Left (ICV-EUiA) in the Montmelo municipal council ask to put an end to this "objectification" of women..
"The flagrant inequalities between women and men are neither accidental nor inevitable in the evolution of human societies, but the result of methods against which we must fight with force", say the Catalan advisers.
Look at me in the logos !
It is clear that during the departure procedures, these young women are above all advertising media … even if facing an umbrella girl, the gaze does not immediately fall on the logo of the brand or the name of the sponsor. !
"Showing young women with stereotypical beauty to a predominantly male audience only reinforces inequality and leads to gender violence, because it suggests that women are objects of desire available to men", denounces Jordi Manils , spokesperson of ICV-EUiA: "we do not question the work of the hostesses during a Grand Prix but we believe that this work can be done by everyone regardless of their gender, age or physical appearance and girls don’t have to be half-naked ".
Sexy or sexist ?
"We know that the circuit (of Montmeló where the Catalan GP takes place, Editor’s note) wants to modernize and they must also do so by promoting equal treatment and dignity", continues Mr. Manils, hoping that the Catalan circuit become a reference on this subject.
The idea is gaining ground and in recent years, manufacturers seem to be caught between on the one hand the glamor that generates dreams – and acts of purchase ?! – and on the other hand the evolution of mentalities within the company – their customers.
Fearing to tarnish their image by associating too closely with representations of female objects, most of the teams continue to deploy "their" umbrella girls abundantly in the paddocks and in the pre-grid but communicate the images less and less, except of course those who are directly linked to sponsors who have made the "sexy" side of their product a brand image, like Monster in MotoGP or several years ago.
The presence of pretty "dolls" on motorcycle (and car) circuits is certainly not a particularly progressive idea in a still very masculine environment (if indeed a tradition can be progressive), there is indeed a long way to go. to go to establish lasting equality between the sexes in the world and it is obvious that the body of women should not be a commercial argument to sell tires, sugary drinks, rolling paper or crisps…
However, do umbrella girls paid to carry an umbrella for three days in a rather festive environment really undermine the image of women? The debate is open…
In the meantime, certain traditions considered sexist in other sports have already been abandoned, such as the kiss of the hostess at the finish of certain cycling races (Tour of Australia in particular), while the world endurance championship auto (WEC) completely renounced the "grid girls" in 2015.
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