Now let's seem them do the opposite. Teach little boys it's ok to play with dolls and bake cakes. Send a Barbie to some first grader boys. Guarantee this never happens because we aren't seeing "gender equality" in this commercial, we are seeing pandering to a fad.
In reply to Vajingo :
My boys played with dolls.
Stampie (FS) said:In reply to dean1484 :
This is tb. It's like the story of the scorpion that wanted to get across the river. He asked the frog if he could ride on his back. The frog said no you will sting me. The scorpion replied back of course I won't because if I do so both of us will die. So the frog allowed the scorpion to climb on his back and started swimming across the river. Half way across the scorpion stung the frog. The frog cried out but why now both of us will die. The scorpion replied back because it is my nature.
Probably true, although from my point of view the lessons in the story are not necessarily the same as what others take away from it...
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Vajingo :
My boys played with dolls.
They're ACTION FIGURES
Grandma's Boy Lara Croft
A lot of us played with dolls. I helped my mom bake cookies and make pizza dough. I played house with the neighborhood girls after I showed them how to jump their bikes of a sketchy ramp.
What are arguing about?
Given that more women than men are attending college these days, and that I know a few "mr. moms", I suspect that this stuff will take care of itself. That said, it's still a cool commercial.
My dad was a top motorcycle racer, and all the guys that he used to go cow-trailing with were fast as blazes. I got into motorcycles at a young age, and much to my chagrin found out that several of those hotshoes had girlfriends who were really fast as well. So as a strapping teenager I often found myself dicing with the women and not the men. When I tried to push hard enough to catch up with the fast men, I'd crash. The women almost never crashed.
It took me a few years to figure out that the women had an advantage over me. They had grown up in an environment where there were no illusions about who was stronger, so they had to be smarter and more skilled. I OTOH somehow thought that I could muscle a motorcycle that is exponentially more powerful than myself around. My testosterone and machismo were actually a detriment to my riding ability. This is one of the reasons why I am never surprised when I see a fast-driving woman. After all, it's also women who prefer horses, even though those horses can easily break their spine or give them an instant lobotomy.
One if the reasons I was so blown away by the movie On Any Sunday is that the riders were all short and skinny like me. Despite having some athletic ability I was actively discouraged because I was small. Once I found out my size could be an advantage I came alive. My desire to go motorcycle racing pushed me to where I am today.
So back to the Mercedes commercial; I don't care if its patronizing or not, if it inspires more kids to take up our hobby then great. I didn't see it as a woman driving all I saw was a driver flinging a big sled around corners with abandon. I also saw a really smooth driver.
In reply to Kreb; while I'm a solid road racer my motocross skills were pretty lacking. The person who coached me is a lady named Lisa Gallo, she is a former AMA Vet-Pro National Champion. I'd still be struggling if it weren't for her.
Are there any more videos of the Argentina races ?
Looks interesting and something we do not see , normally its European races
thanks
Roasting may be too strong of phrasing, but even having an idea or mindset of what they are or roles they often have within the automotive scene. Some parents are great about raising their children to not see gender roles and to engage in and to play in whatever they choose to and want, this isn't about them. This is about the majority. If it weren't a concern, if not an issue, then the advertisement wouldn't have resonated with people.
Motorsports is definitely better about this then marque specific clubs, the show scene or the cars and coffee scene. Motorsports needs women. When you look into sanctioning organizations the percentage of women involved in making events go, it's far closer to a 50% ratio then the percentage ratio with regards to the number who sit behind the wheel. I understand not everyone wants to take the wheel and some people just want to be supportive of their partner and their hobby, but when it comes to autocross and hpde, I've done my best to get any partner who I've been with to take the wheel from a safety and driver's education standpoint.
I have a close female friend who is an active racer within Lemons, she autocrosses, she's LS swapped a miata, she's built a forged bottomend on a MS3, then turned the boost up north to north of 550hp and blown it up again, she's a long time GRM subscriber and participates yearly in wear your helmet to work day. She proclaims, and accurately so, that she's not a car girl. She's most definitely a car person, but she's not a car girl. That's not due to any sort of non binary preference, it's due to society and the various scene's views of what a car girl is. That's what needs to change. What a car girl is.
Not having expectations of roles, duties, ceilings, desire or level of involvement are a start. Patrice Banks and her efforts are a start. Making any automotive setting a comfortable place and space, including for questions, is a start. Providing or steering towards mentors or even heroes within the hobby, as the video was attempting to showcase, is a start.
We can do better as a hobby. I won't say that it's our job or that it's or duty. I won't say that it's a reflection of what type of people that we are if we don't. I'll just say that I prefer a smile without a beard underneath of it, so more of that in the paddock area is alright by me and acknowledging that may even make me part of the problem, but it isn't about objectifying at all, it's about enjoying experiences and sharing space and time. Close racing is the art of sharing space together in close time and promiexty.
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