Chase Carey: "I personally like the grid girls"

I think you're stuck on stereotypes from the 1960's. Furthermore, the removal of grid girls is not driven by religious sentiment, but rather feminist push to stop objectifying women in the media. But hey, nice try.

You're bringing facts and valid arguments to a crowd that has no appetite for reason. These people want to whine because of political reasons (i.e. the perception that this constituted caving to feminists), the old school fans that whine every time something changes and still wish everything look like 1982, and the European types that love to hate on the U.S. So again, this is not interested in reason, or in making the sport better.

Hehe you are making this shy labrat blush! I dont really know if I bring facts to the table, but I'd like to think I tend to bring valid points and counter arguments to various discussions. No topic benefit from a one-sided debate. Im biased as anyone (see Honda discussions for reference), but I try to be level headed about things.

In this case, I fail to see any direct Americanization of F1, and more importantly we havent seen them do anything legit harmful to the sport. We've so far seen them implement the halo, something the FIA were going to do anyway, we've seen pay balancing so that smaller teams get more cash than they used to and Filthy Rich Ferrari doesnt get as ridiculous sums anymore, we've seen them helping the historic and very popular track of Monza to stay on the calendar and has reduced costs for the British GP, we've seen them organizing F1 and has aired a few potential changes, some good some bad, but there are things happening. They have also implemented an official livestream, which is way cheaper and generally a way better service than what many TV channels can offer. Just connect a PC to a TV and tada! And attempting to improve the show outside of the races for the attendants isnt a bad or "American" thing to do, IMO that should've been considered from the start. Am I pleased with Liberty? Overall so far: Yes. Can things be done in a better way? Always.

@helen78 thank you for the thoughtful response. While I do believe that as a gridgirl you were treated with respect, the problem is not whether man objectify women or not (man can do that with women in a boardroom or in the military just as well). The problem is the perception of F1 presenting women in such a way that makes women look like scantily clad bimbos. Women do it willingly, yes. But that's a separate issue. Formula 1 is looking after its brand. With all due respect, gridgirls were an insignificant part of the F1 show. Did gridgirls represent women in a way that's harmful to their gender? Yes and no. Some grid girls were great, dressed un traditional attire. Others looked like showgirls. But again, it was simply easier to do away with the whole practice to prevent controversy. In a few months, with the children on the grid, nobody will be talking about this anymore. Especially if we are having a good season.

@AJPENNYPACKER I appreciate the conciliatory tone you have ‘attempted’ to take in response to my post, but you still managed to cast yet another aspersion on my character by this time suggesting that all F1 grid girls are nothing more than “scantly clad bimbos”. Amazing. As a background to this discussion it is probably worth considering some of your other posts in respect of this matter:

***1 FEB – “And if anyone thinks it's a big deal not to have eye candy you made an excellent cheeky suggestion below”, this quote being in response to a post by @CALLE.ITW, who suggested, “If you want entertainment with scarcely clad women with no halos in sight, there is something referred to as pornography, and I've heard that its great”.***

*** 2 FEB – “For those saying "the girls are paid and they choose to be there" That's a stupid argument. Prostitutes, exotic dancers, porn stars, all choose to do what they do. The problem is not that they are being forced to do anything they don't want to. You can always get someone to do just about anything for the right amount of money.” ***

*** 9 FEB – “Sure they do it willingly, but so do prostitutes, escorts, and porn actresses”.***

*** 9FEB – “We could also have wet t-shirt contests, and girls wrestling in their underwear in a Jell-O pool, and there would be girls delighted to do it for money. Should we do it?”***

@AJPENNYPACKER, really???

It seems that you and I have a contrasting capacity to differentiate the attributes of a female model from that of a wet t-shirt participant, a jelly wrestler, an exotic dancer, a prostitute or a porn star.

I have to say that it really disappoints me that our social mores are being shifted to such a large extent by high and mighty social media bullies with such warped views and opinions.

If I were to advance your rational, your position must also be that – because the uber-attractive female members of the Sky Channel commentary team are no doubt objectified by men, they too are no different to exotic dancers, prostitutes and porn stars, and are therefore a threat to the F1 brand and should be immediately relieved of their roles within F1.

What next @AJPENNYPACKER? Should F1 stand alone in its endeavour to protect its brand from the degrading presence of female models, or do you foresee that all major brands such as Mercedes, Coca Cola, Rolex or Tommy Hilfiger, for instance, will need to remove all attractive female models from their promotions and advertising material as well?

You seem so genuinely concerned about protecting F1 from the threat of controversy surrounding female models, that I have to wonder, where do you perceive the threat actually comes from? Is it from the female models themselves? Is it from the offence they cause to other woman? Is it from the offence they cause to men? Or is it because they are a threat to society in general? Even if they do offend ‘some’ people, isn’t that ok? Or must our world be so sanitised.

You and I have a very different opinion as to how men view female models. As I wrote in my original post, whilst I do acknowledge there are likely to be some men who view a female model as a mere object, it has been my experience that such men are in the slightest of minorities, and that the overwhelming majority of men see a female model for who she is, an attractive woman who possesses a mind, feelings, integrity and dignity; and a person who is worthy of their respect.

You say that female models are an insignificant part of the F1 show and that removing them from F1 is of no consequence. As insignificant as they may be, I on the other hand believe that having more women in F1, in whatever capacity, broadens the sport and makes it more inclusive. There is no doubt in my mind that having female models on the grid adds a touch of class and elegance to the proceedings and makes the whole trackside environment feel less male dominated, and I can assure you that having their presence around the paddock makes other ladies attending the race weekend feel less outnumbered.

Nevertheless, a big congratulations to you, and others like you, in your belittlement of female models, and on your success in having them removed from F1.

@Helen78 Alright let me try to address your indictments, which by the way I am pleasantly surprised by how thorough you were.

- Regarding my previous comments, I'd have to look back on the context and level of seriousness. If you were interested in my real view on the issue it would be what we've discussed in this post.

- I suppose our main disagreement would be on this statement you made "whilst I do acknowledge there are likely to be some men who view a female model as a mere object, it has been my experience that such men are in the slightest of minorities, and that the overwhelming majority of men see a female model for who she is, an attractive woman who possesses a mind, feelings, integrity and dignity; and a person who is worthy of their respect." I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree with very few exceptions, particularly when it comes to luxury/prestigious brands. But in general, a model is hired because her looks enhance the product they promote. Thoughts, feelings, intelligence are hardly considered for a modeling job, because the model is not selling herself, but the product. Sex sells very well, that's why attractive and voluptuous women are often dressed in revealing clothing to get more attention to the product being sold. Some models are truly there to enhance and present a product. Others are there to sexualize the product (e.g. American Apparel brands, Abercrombie & Fitch, PETA, Dolce & Gabbana)

Now, this obviously does not apply to women doing their job (even modeling) in a way that their bodies become more important (e.g. captivating) than the actual job they are there to perform. Sky Channel commentary team has females, but they don't do it mini-skirts, or low-cut dresses showing cleavage do they? I even mentioned specifically grid-girls in some countries where they were dressed in traditional attire (not overly revealing) and I thought that was great (you seem to have ignore that part).

Finally, my argument is not that there shouldn't be grid girls on the grid. My point was that F1 management was right in doing so because of the potential implications of a controversy, and the low impact on the show from removing grid girls. I too believe having more women in F1 would be great and that's still available in the paddock as engineers, management, or driving the cars. Removing grid girls in no way hampers women's ability to participate.