Zie je nou: stuntcoureur dankt carrière aan tijd als grid girl

Na de column van de Nederlandse Seyda en de woedende reactie van de Britse Rebecca Cooper, beiden zelfstandig ondernemer, is er nog een boze dame die haar mening geeft over het besluit om geen vrouwen meer uit te nodigen bij de Grands Prix. Stuntcoureur Michelle Westby dankt haar werk volledig aan haar toegang tot het race-circus dat ze had doordat ze een tijdlang grid girl was.

Aanvankelijk wilde ze niet reageren op de hele situatie, maar de reacties van sommige socialjustitiekrijgers schoten haar dermate in het verkeerde keelgat dat ze een lange post op Facebook plaatste. We knippen en plakken haar hele tekst hieronder.

"I wasn’t going to get involved in this whole ban of grid girls debate as I felt all the girls were handling it great but recently seen some comments which really have got my blood boiling like 'they have no purpose, intelligence, or even knowledge of cars / racing' and 'about time they got a proper job'. 

First of all the majority of the girls working on the grid have a very strong interest in racing and like myself got involved in pit duties where possible and even used my time at race events to learn and better my knowledge of cars and racing! Also most girls do this work as extra money, when, again like myself, already had a very good full time job and or at uni studying. Most these girls are far from just a pretty face! 

People have forgot the saying don’t judge a book by its cover. The most important point I’d like to get across is in fact that if it wasn’t for grid work/promotional modelling I wouldn’t be where I am now in a 'males dominated' sport/job as a Stunt Driver/Drift Competition Driver inspiring and influencing females into this 'intimidating male environment'. I get girls message me all the time saying how I inspire them and made them want to try get into racing/drifting, when they didn’t want to before, thinking girls wouldn’t be accepted as much. 

Now I hear all the negative people ask how on earth standing on a grid looking 'pretty' helped... Well I had always been into cars and racing, but like most girls I didn’t think I could, due to not being male and also finances, it was thanks to European Drift Championship giving me a job as a grid girl that helped with that. I saw drifting for the first time and thought seriously I would love to do that, after talking to drivers they all supported me and advised me how to start up myself, from then on I used there advised to start myself up and then further grid work helped me finance it. Again what most people don’t realise the girls have knowledge of the products/teams they are promoting, that’s part of the job! 

We also always get a brief on what our uniform will be, it’s then up to us if we feel comfortable in it but I think we are more clothed then what teenagers wear down the super markets nowadays! I’m now retired from it all, but to think girls have now lost a lot of important income because feminists think they know best when they haven’t a clue is really frustrating, we have our own voice, we loved doing the job, this is all basically because some men can’t control what comes out their mouth and nothing to do with the girls. I can walk past a building site and get the same comments so why suddenly a job should be taken away due to some unwanted male attention is a joke. What’s next? No female magazines, commercials... where does it end. 

Hope the right people get to see this post!"

Wij hopen het ook, Michelle.