‘We are finally saying no to this kind of monetised objectification’

In response to a recent article in Bristol24/7 about grid girls and their right to keep jobs that many of us are see as anachronistic and typifying of the sexist status quo, I commented on the false equivalence that underpins much of the discussion on the matter.

Namely, that the right of a few select women to keep their jobs as sexualised accessories to an existing male-dominated sport is equivalent to the rights of women and girls not to be regarded as sexual objects first and foremost.

I don’t necessarily blame those commenting, as we have all been socialised into the same society which routinely treats women as second class citizens without the full range of choices and rights that allow us to live full and rich lives as we see fit.

Indeed, in a country where breast feeding in a public space is seen by many as a crime akin to flashing your genitals at unsuspecting strangers, it is hardly surprising that this ‘equivalence’ has been accepted by so many. But I could not allow this to pass without comment and it is why I am writing this now.

Jo Priest

We must never underestimate the power of prevailing attitudes and culture to brainwash its citizens into believing the most hideous things that would otherwise be unacceptable to any right thinking and morally sound society.

History is littered with examples of otherwise ordinary and decent folk accepting a status quo, and committing the most brutal acts of barbarity against fellow human beings. Back then too, there were plenty of people around who profited from the exploitation of other human beings, and who would go to great lengths to justify their actions.

Today, most right thinking people perceive these actions to be utterly unjustifiable as we have moved on in our thinking. But history isn’t something that happens in the past and stops when we get to the present day. Our present will be our history soon enough and we want to be heading in the right direction.

Grid girls, like Isabella Worlock, having grown up in a male-dominated society as we all have, sees her job as a normal way to make money. For her, it is an acceptable choice to make a much higher wage than usual for women in a society where men are still paid more than women for the same jobs, and more likely to be promoted to higher paid roles.

Isabella Worlock is campaigning against the Formula One ban on ‘grid girls’

But what they see as a choice for themselves; a minority of attractive women, comfortable with the idea that their worth be tied to their appearance alone, as well as adopting a subservient role to the ‘alpha’ men in their midst, means that they unwittingly help to perpetuate a system that inhibits choices for a great many more women and girls.

They have a privilege in our society due to the fact that they happen to fit a very narrow definition of attractiveness, and are thus able to reap the ‘reward’ for this lucky happenstance.

But by doing so, and asserting such a choice as a right, they help prop up a system where all women and girls have to put up with second best in all things, and a world where sexual assault and harassment are commonplace, rape is sadly an everyday occurrence, and intimate partner violence and murder of women and girls by men is still shockingly high.

While I sympathise with their vexation at having to find another job, this is not the remotest equivalence to the women and girls who suffer trauma at the hands of men every single day, or at the very least, find their own choices with regards jobs and careers inhibited by virtue of their gender.

Some have argued that the solution is simply to have the male equivalent of these sexualised roles for female sports participants.

But, until we correct all our power imbalances, so that women sports stars are paid as much as their male counterparts, that female sports be given the same attention as male sports, that we see parity in the presentation and commentating of sports by women and men, and all those positions on sports boards reflect the 50:50 gendered split, it would only be a token gesture anyway.

We would also need to see parity in terms of how images of men are used to sell products to women and indeed other men in wider society. In short, we would need to see a society where objectification of men is as commonplace as objectification of women in order for that scenario to make any sense at all, or to have any meaning in terms of correcting gender imbalance.

How about we just evolve and stop seeing objectification of human beings as normal and a right?

How about we start treating the other half of the population with dignity and respect, and not expect every single one of them to fit a ‘one-size fits all’ mould of sexual attractiveness and availability? How about that?

Has the world with all its ‘political correctness’ gone mad? Isabella seems to think so. But in the wake of Weinstein, #MeToo, #timesup and Yewtree, the nasty underbelly of how our society functions is finally being exposed.

The #MeToo campaign made Time magazine’s person of the year 2017:

https://twitter.com/MeTooMVMT/status/938510876641976320

We are finally joining the dots, and saying ‘NO’ to this kind of monetised objectification. It no longer serves us as a society and, frankly, never did.

Another point I want to make absolutely clear is that I do not blame the grid girls themselves or even condemn their poor choice of job.

In many ways, it is a sensible economic decision in a patriarchal society. But a moral right at the expense of the vast majority of women in this country? Definitely not.

Isabella and some of her supporters may see my view as ‘anti-feminist’ and her own position as ‘feminist’, but labelling something a certain way does not automatically make it so.

Feminism isn’t about never finding other women at fault, or supporting the actions of every woman just because they are female. We need to be fighting against these gender norms, not allowing them because of ‘freedom of choice’. It is not a free choice in any meaningful sense within a patriarchal society anyway.

I don’t personally have a problem denying this woman and others like her the ‘choice’ to continue to perpetuate sexual objectification of women, because it serves a far greater good. Her ‘choice’, such as it is, serves to deny many, many other women and girls the choices we so badly need and deserve.

To hold up these kinds of jobs that objectify women as something worth preserving because they represent some kind of ‘liberation’ ’empowerment’ or ‘free choice’ for women is laughable while the rest of us struggle daily with this established paradigm. It amounts to throwing the rest of female kind under the bus for the sake of a few stereotypically attractive women.

I’m not under any illusions. I know that simply banning women like Isabella from doing these kinds of jobs is the easiest thing in the world for her employers to do.

Yet again, women are the losers. She is as disposable as the rest of us are perceived to be. I do hope that sport as a whole is not just interested in token gestures like this as a way to appease public appetite for something more evolved, and that as an institution it starts to value women in a fair and equitable way.

There are good people working in sport who seem genuinely committed to making it a level playing field (again, excuse the pun) for all people, and I hope that these people continue to gain traction.

I hope for change, but I will reserve the right to be cynical.

In truth, I blame the people who hold the power to continue to employ women in denigrating positions that hold the rest of us hostage to a damaging ideal of womanhood which equates our bodies with both public property and makes them the sum total of all our value.

I blame the patriarchal structures that hold these men in power, and continue to harm women and girls. If any of these institutions are creakily and grudgingly moving towards a climate where scantily clad women fawning over male ‘superstars’ is seen as outmoded and unnecessary, then great.

After all, these are men engaged in pastimes as valuable to society as driving cars really fast and throwing pointy sticks at round boards. If this is the way we are collectively moving, as a society, then wonderful. And not before time.

Jo Priest is a freelance private tutor, writer, musician, women’s rights activist, former teacher and general concerned citizen. Read more via: http://thoughtsmusingsjottings.blogspot.co.uk.

Read more: Bristol grid girl’s campaign against Formula One ban