Before I begin my rant, let me link the video, so you can judge for yourselves.
Here is the Broadly video.
The video is about Verena Mei, who is a model, actress, and race car driver. Before I go any further, let me point out that I respect Miss Mei's accomplishments as a driver. This post is in no way a personal attack on her, nor do I wish to take away from what she has achieved.
My only response to her personally, would be to think a bit longer and harder about what media outlets she chooses to work with. I would also strongly suggest she make a public statement apologizing for the complete lack of research and the misinformation in this video.
Now.... I have to say that my initial reaction upon watching this was absolute and utter disgust. And while that may seem strong, let me preface that by saying that I am not a fan of women who wish to gain attention for themselves simply for being a woman. If you ever want genuine equality, you must begin by allowing your actions and accomplishments to speak for themselves. If you are skilled at whatever you do, your sex should have absolutely nothing to do with it. If you allow yourself to be recognized merely for having a vagina, you are doing a disservice to females everywhere.
In the video, she points out that auto racing is one of the very few sports that allows women to compete head to head with men. This is true. And that is why I loathe seeing the word "female" in front of driver. When interviewing a man, no one says "Introducing male rally driver David Higgins." Because his sex is irrelevant. Unless you plan to ask him something regarding his penis, it's unnecessary information.
I love rally. And one of the things I love most about it, is that it genuinely doesn't matter what sex you are, how old you are, how fat or skinny you are, or how much money you make. Rally accepts everyone. If you can build a car, pay the entry fee, and fit in the seat, you can race. And if you can't drive, you can volunteer, crew, or codrive. There is no advantage or disadvantage to being a woman. (Aside from how quickly & easily you can urinate from a one piece fire suit that is.) I believe this is a big reason so many women are drawn to the sport to begin with. Which leads me to my next, and possibly biggest point....
"One of America's Only Female Rally Race Drivers"
Ummm.... WUT?!
Without even trying, I can name at least ten or more current American female rally drivers. Give me a minute, and I can probably increase that number exponentially. As a matter of fact, when I watched this video, I was at a rally event, crewing for, wait for it.... A FEMALE RALLY DRIVER! (Let me give you a second to allow the shock and awe to pass.) Believe it or not, there were at least three female rally drivers at the event. And shockingly enough, none of them were Verena Mei.
In the video, Verena says that she wishes there had been other female rally drivers when she started. Well, I hate to break this to you, honey, but there were. And if you were looking for some hardcore rally inspiration, might I suggest, oh I don't know.... the legendary Michele Mouton. She competed (and kicked ass) from 1974 to 1986, decades prior to Miss Mei becoming a driver. And there have been, and still are, countless other ladies competing since.
If the point of this video was to be informative and encouraging to other women looking to participate in rally, it failed miserably.
By choosing to disregard the plethora of other women in the sport, and focus on only one, who isn't even a current competitor (Verena Mei competed as a driver in 2012 and 2013. To the best of my knowledge, and based off my research, she has not driven in a rally event since.) you did yourself and the sport a great disservice.
I myself, am proud to know many talented rally drivers, several of whom happen to be women. Maybe I need to introduce them to Verena and Broadly....
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| The team I was crewing for this past weekend, and some of the OTHER ladies of rally. Driver: Tracey Gardiner, and codriver: Tracy Manspeaker. |
