Some gender boundaries can be pushed and bent. Others can’t.
I find it endlessy amusing to see how excited our culture gets as women push more and more into typically testosterone injected, male-ego infected ”man” territory. More often than not, these things seem to happen in sports.
Whether it’s a high school girl who’s a kicker on the boy’s football team, girls wrestling on boys wrestling teams, or any number of other forays into typically masculine territory - it always attracts attention. Why would a “real” girl do such a thing? She must be a lesbian. There are any number of questions and assumptions that seem to go with the territory. And whereas women tend to cheer these things (often, but not always), men generally roll their eyes, make a stupid sexist demeaning joke of it, and are far less supportive.
The most recent of these happened this past weekend. Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 and in the process became the first woman to win an IndyCar race. One photo of the trophies is especially fun (see it here). If there was ever a question – this photo graphically illustrates it. Size matters.
Racing Indy cars is not for the squeamish. Controlling these rockets on wheels around the track at speeds that would make even the most adventure of us back off is not easy. It requires endurance, strength, stamina, the ability to make quick decisions, courage, tactical saavy – in short, it’s a tall order. The risks are high, but so are the rewards. And, as a result, men have dominated this field for a long time – not because there haven’t been women who could hold their own in this arena so much as the access to the highest levels prevents them from ever having an opportunity to get there.
Danica had to overcome more than simply other racers to get where she is. She had to overcome stereotypes, ignorance, those who would refuse to give her a fair opportunity, and any numbe of other obstacles. Her continued reslience is testament to her spirit. However, not satisfied with simply being there she has been knocking at the door of the Winner’s Circle for quite a while. She finally got there on Sunday.
Unfortunately, gender transgressors in other arenas don’t receive similar accolades. Thomas Beatie did not receive this level of support. As transgender women and men position themselves to compete in the upcoming Olympics I daresay that they’ll battle prejudice and disdain more than support and encouragement. The “rules” for challenging traditional gender roles are certainly arbitrary, and often capricious.
Some of us challenge traditional gender expectations simply by being who and what we are. We don’t need to compete in sports to do that. It’s not right, and it’s not fair – but that’s just the way it is. I wish the same level of support that gender iconoclasts in sports enjoy existed in other areas of our society. Can you imagine a party, or a celebration, for someone as they begin their transition? Can you envision a world where the courage it takes to do simple things like go to the store, show up at work, or face your family were acknowledged as such rather than being a source of ridicule, harassment, and discrimination? Something stinks with this equation.
I celebrate when I see these barriers bent. Indy Car racing is simply the most recent one. Eventually it will be Nascar, the NHL, the NBA. What about a young girl that wants to joint the Boy Scouts? Or a young boy who wants to be a ballerina? Why should anyone have to justify that to anyone?
Anyway, she’s been on a national media whirlwind since her victory. Every morning news show. The View. Late Nite TV. I hope she’s truly enjoying it – she deserves to appreciate it.
A recent editorial in San Antonio puts the win into perspective:
In an ideal world, we would celebrate her victory and nothing more. But this is not an ideal world, and as a woman in a male-dominated sport, she faced barriers that will be a little easier to negotiate for every female who follows. It is a triumph that cannot be measured by distance or miles per hour, but it is there just the same, palpable and significant.
One day, we will note such victories without reference to gender. And when we do, it will be because of pioneers such as Patrick. So she should keep dispensing her life advice; she has the right. (read the article here)
Some, of course, used the race to disparage not only Ms. Patrick but women drivers in general:
Pushing an accelerator pedal just doesn’t seem that hard to me. Women are just as capable of driving fast as men. My wife,
for instance, has a major lead foot. You don’t see people giving her trophies. Tickets, sure. But no trophies.Some men, though, can’t resist making jokes about Patrick’s win. A chauvinist friend of mine, for instance, snickered, “And she did it without leaving her left turn signal on the whole time.” (read the article here)
Men, as a whole, can be such sore losers.
I would love to see the society come to a place where we are not compared to in gender standards. I would just love to see someday that the husband can stay at home and take care of the house and children while the wife goes out to her executive job. I know it happens like that in a few families but they are ridiculed by our society. We just need to be free of the gender barriers that we have put up.
I’m very happy for Danica. One of the top teams in indy racing gave her a chance and she proved she can do it.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for NASCARS Terri O’Connell. Perhaps some day.
I used to hold an SCCA license, and raced in Showroom Stock Prepared Class B, back in the late 70s/early 80s, and many of the people I raced against have raced at the highest levels – and some are no longer with us. I was lucky enough to be given a “test” at Indianapolis, and had I obtained a “drive”, I’d have tried the rookie test next. A long way from qualifying, and a lot of luck away as well, but I still had the chance to lap at Indy in an obsolete car. It is an experience I will never forget.
Danica deserves respect, as do the other brave individuals who have raced open-wheel cars at Indianapolis and other venues. It is much, much more than pushing a pedal and turning left. It is physically strenuous in ways that those who haven’t tried it cannot possibly understand. It takes great muscle tone, unbelievable hand-eye coordination, a compact build (I could not fit into the Dallaras they use now, they are not designed for a driver over 5′9″), and the ability to be at full alert for every moment you are on the track. Danica may be the first woman to win a major race in any formula, but given the trend towards requiring more compactly built drivers, she will not be the last.
Those who think or believe driving a IRL or similar car is just a matter of “stepping on the gas pedal” have no idea of what is involved with driving a real race car. These cars pull easily well over 3G’s under acceleration, cornering and braking. They produce so much down force the car can be driven upside down at speed. I have been around two seater sports car and a number of real race cars much of my adult life and even spent time on the track. Here is a good video clip from Top Gear showing just what happens when you take a mere mortal driver (in this case, motoring journalist, Richard Hammond) and stuff him into a F1 car, He is no Lewis Hamilton or Danica by any means.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0O7gFycPho
Go Danica! I’m beginning to realize that my own life – as a cisgendered female, but with decidedly masculine traits and activities – is considered unusual, although somehow I stumbled through without encountering much disapproval. I was a girl who actually DID join both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts! My mother competed in motorsport events back in the 1950s, and I inherited a love of competitive driving from her.
This post has inspired me to make my own blog post examining my unique gender position, over on http://transcendgender.wordpress.com/ later today. Thank you, Donna, for your thought-provoking words.
I have tickets for the upcoming Indy 500 and the race at Kentucky Speedway in August and you can be assured that I’ll be rooting Danica on. What she did this past weekend was huge and I’m of the opinion that it should be celebrated. Driving an Indy Car is incredibly difficult and very dangerous, especially on these high speed ovals.
It takes tremendous talent, a lot of patience, nerves of steel and physical strength that most people can’t appreciate. Those cars hit 4 or 5 G’s going through those turns and yet they make it look so easy. Going 220 mph wheel to wheel is something only the best of the best can do.
Any fool who thinks it’s just pushing a pedal and turning a steering wheel doesn’t appreciate what it really entails. Until you’ve seen those cars up close and personal, I’ve been to countless Indy Car and Formula One races, you just can’t appreciate what they are capable of and how difficult it is to not only win, but merely fiinish the damn race. She proved that women are just as capable as men in doing things at the top level. Go Danica!
Kelly,
Kentucky Speedway, eh? That’s just a few miles up the road from me.
Nice track.
[...] A Belated Introduction (Post inspired by this post from Donna Rose) [...]
I’m in Louisville and my brother and I go up each summer for the Indy Car Race. It is a nice oval, though I have to admit that I’m a bigger fan of street and road courses. Still, can’t wait to see 28 cars there this summer.