I was in Adelaide at the weekend. The joint was bustling owing to the fact that three of the biggest crowd pullers of the calendar year take over the city around the same time: Womadelaide, the Adelaide festival and fringe, and the Clipsal 500 car race. And they say nothing happens in Adelaide!
Now obviously, I was there for Womadelaide and the fringe. Cars with big engines just don’t do it for me. I have absolutely no problem with other people immersing themselves in revs, speed and petrol stink. There is, however, something about car racing that does feel a little on the nose.
Perusing the local papers in a cafe, they were full of Clipsal photos from the weekend before. Lots of nuggety drivers, fresh off the track, with glazed expressions, surrounded by amazing-looking women in super-hot outfits. Why these gorgeous babes are still a necessary component in this day and age, I’m not sure. So I tried to find out.
There was some talk in the local rag from the chief executive of Clipsal about how the “grid girls” are renowned for the glitz and glamour they bring as “ambassadors” for the event. Like when the Melbourne Cup brings out a celeb like Paris Hilton to the races, or Mum used to wheel out the Viennetta for pudding in the 80s.
There is nothing wrong with a hint of glamour in this dull and increasingly prudish world. But if the role of the grid girl is to pass a bottle of champers to the winning driver and pose for a few happy snaps, why can’t the gents join in? I know men who can handle scissors safely in the office so I’m pretty sure they can hand over a trophy and an envelope.
The world of cycling also seems adverse to trusting a man with the silverwear. Is it something to do with wheels? Are men not be trusted to do normal things like smile and shake hands when there are cars or bikes (or grid girls) around? Nor are the arts immune to this nonsense. Oh no.
The Oscars only recently started hiring young people of both genders to pass those treasured gold statuettes to the celebrity presenter. Before that, pretty much any televised award ceremony had an army of delightful ladies in pretty frocks doing the honours. Let’s hope they are getting paid the same as their newly arrived male counterparts.
There have been some small improvements made in car racing. In 2010, a group photo of the Clipsal team drivers was taken featuring almost the entire front row of drivers with pretty women on their knees. In 2010! I know that ladies in towering heels do need a rest sometimes, but surely there are chairs for that? The whole thing looked as though it had been staged by the creepiest of uncles. Thankfully, this year’s photos didn’t have quite the same tone.
I would never begrudge anyone the right to earn their money however they like. Let grid girls be grid girls. Perhaps, though, it’s time to let the men test their muscles for champagne and trophy handling and to give them a go at posing for photos in the social pages too. Equal opportunity for all, I say.
