Source? Just wondering.
"The PDC faced pressure from fans and broadcasters to stop the practice in a row over sexism.
Campaigners called on other sports including motor racing, boxing and cycling to follow the PDC in deciding to no longer use walk-on girls."
pressure from fans
That means theyâre responding to their customers.
For me, the irony is that the almighty PRIVATE SECTOR is doing something you donât like, and you donât have the economic influence to change it, so itâs bad.
There will always be pretty ladies (and men) you can look at if youâre willing to pay enough for them.
Some sports fans are willing to pay more for pretty ladies. Whatâs there to fix?
You can read post from the actual girls themselves and also former champion niki Lauda.
And this is my perspective from someone who has experience in the business of MMA entertainment. I was responsible for hiring our ring girls as part of my job hosting the largest and first televised mma even in Taiwan. We found models who had fans and followings. IG, twitch, YouTube, etc. we wanted them to work with us and we help promote their brand and they help promote our brand and also bring their fans to us. They got paid well. Got on TV, our commercials, and their fans got free tickets in contests. They even had a chance to get commission using their code if fans bought tickets putting their code. They got on a bunch of our posters and we got to use them to model. They took pictures with world class fighters and the fighters enjoyed winning and holding a belt with the girls surrounding them. Nothing wrong or sexist about it. There was also a womenâs fight between a local Taiwanese girl who won and use the win as platform to get a contract with a big time fight league one championship where she got a title shot there. So I donât see the sexism and inequality here at all.
PDC seems to be responding to their customers, yes. I wasnât aware that fans of Professional Darts were such an egalitarian lot, but the PDC does seem to be facing a backlash.
According to the ES article, F1 is using the PDC backlash as an excuse to proactively get rid of grid girls. They are facing a backlash from current fans. Looks like they are making a wager that future fans will find grid girls offensive, not current fans.
They replaced it with grid kids like in soccer. I guess a smart move since itâs now hard to hate on the kids, sneaky lot. But ugh, fast cars and sexy women just go well together. I think the average fan will agree.
So boycott them! Thatâs the beauty of capitalism, innit?
Sure, but it also goes to Andrewâs point about #metooâs effect. To be clear, it does not seem that the #metoo crowd are fans of F1 and as such are exerting pressure from the inside to change. Instead it seems to be a case of an outside organization successfully pressuring F1 to change.
Thatâs irrelevant to what you said, and what I clearly quoted. I have to say, a discussion with you is a continuous stream of tangents. Should I assume that you donât have a source for your assertion? Iâll go further and guess that youâre saying it not because itâs true but because it fits the picture youâre trying to paint here. Iâll say it againâlooks like a business decision to me, nothing to see here.
Iâve posted sources of what the girls actually said. Iâve posted what niki Lauda a former champion said. Itâs a business decision pushed by the current #metoo feminist crowd.
What I said later is an insight of how ring girls actually are important. And it isnât some sexist ploy to take advantage of them.
Whatâs the source for that, thatâs what Iâm saying. Thatâs not what the Formula1 people are saying. Frankly it doesnât matter too muchâitâs their business and they can make decisions for whatever reason they want, as long as they donât break the law, violate contracts, etc. The âfeminist crowdâ can push things. You can try to influence the situation as you wish. Iâm just wondering if thereâs any more to your assertion than bald assumptions.
Who are the people who watch those sports?
Formula1 fans? Why?
Beach volleyball
This is both an art and a science, like pairing wine with food.
Why stop with fast cars? Donât sexy women go well with politics, science, medicine, public transit, court proceedings, space travel, university exams, Taiwan discussion websites, and all kinds of other things?
Perhaps, but I think thereâs a danger of overgeneralizing here.
A survey of customers (including passive customers who just watch sports on air or online without PPV but are nonetheless participating in the sports economy by being exposed to ads) might shed some light on this.
At the end of the day though, a business owner doesnât actually have an obligation to make as much money as possible as fast as possible (unless the person has signed a contract to that effect). Thatâs also the beauty of capitalism â itâs not just he who pays the piper calls the tune, but also he who owns the pipe decides whether or not to accept your money.
I admit you have to read between the lines. But itâs no stretch to see that, for now grid girls are more trouble than theyâre worth. And you can always bring them back later, once the novelty and outrage of #metoo fades away. Which itâs bound to do, because human nature.
Not a fan of F1, but I agree that racing and women go together. Take V8 motors, which came back with a vengeance after being nearly regulated out of existence. Or coal rollers in the US. There will be a natural backlash, the pendulum will swing down again.
Itâs been a dominoe affect. I donât think it would be good PR to say it was caused by feminist and the metoo trend. You donât really think they would say that? But I think itâs a bit of a coincidence that a long tradition just happens to be banned and more might be coming into boxing, MMA, cycling etc.
And itâs been faced with backlash by most fans, the girls and the drivers themselves. It seems almost sexist in itself telling women they donât have the right to do this jobâŚequality and rights my ass.
Itâs basically modeling. They model for sponsors and teams and the formula 1 brand. I donât get whatâs wrong with it. Why isnât all modeling just banned? Its basic principle is being good looking adds value so we hire you to stand or wear our stuff.
Probably not, but that doesnât mean I would assume it either. If some feminist group had lobbied for it, I bet theyâd be crowing about it.
But I think itâs a bit of a coincidence that a long tradition just happens to be banned and more might be coming into boxing, MMA, cycling etc.
It makes sense to me that they feel itâs the right move for the times as theyâve said.
Right move for who though? Like I said, the large majority of racing fans are men. Iâm guessing thereâs a high crossover of men who like fast cars and men who like pretty women. Itâs not like theyâre stripping and grinding on the drivers. They just model for the sponsors and brand. I donât get why is it so offensive that we are no longer going to let women have this job.