I wanted to call this article “A Golden Shower.” BUT, i think some might take it the wrong way.
On the other hand, that is exactly the angle that i am going for. Maybe all the uproar about Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton spraying champagne on a “grid girl” is just pissing about nothing.
For those that do not know, Lewis Hamilton is a bad ass. He is a two-time champion, including the defending F1 champ, and has made it to the podium in all three stages of the 2015 season. The British racer is good and he knows it. But, not that U.S.ians know anything about him…or F1.
Nevertheless, he has become newsworthy not because of his awesome, but because of this:
Well, that looks like fun. A nice-looking Chinese woman receiving a champagne shower from a mischievously grinning Hamilton. Good times all around.
Oh wait…
Apparently, some group named Object has objected [ha!] to Hamilton’s showering of the hostess. According to the Daily Mail, the head of Object Roz Hardie stated the following (emphasis added):
The photographs appear to show that the woman is not just being splashed, but that the champagne is being very specifically directed into her face, which does not look like a voluntary piece of horseplay on her part. . . . It is surely a very difficult position to be a grid girl and she would have had little option but to stand there and take it. That is something of which he should be aware. But instead, he appears to have abused her position. . . . It’s unfortunate that a great victory has been marred by what appears to be selfish and inconsiderate behaviour.
Well, then.
Let’s start with the obvious. Object is an organization that apparently attempts to call out attempts to objectify women. So, it is not surprising that this previously (largely) unknown group would OBJECT to Hamilton’s actions. That is not what interests me here.
To me, the outrage seems somewhat false. Or, at the very least, the outrage is superficial. And, i think that it is superficial on two levels.
First off, i am always a bit uncomfortable when i read and hear about a group complaining about the objectification of one sex over another. It does not mean that women are not constantly objectified as sexual OBJECTS, but there is a tendency to ignore similar objectification of men. Further, there is ignorance of the “be a man” shaming that is targeted at men when they do something that is not, well, “manly.” Yeah, i know, it is not “sexual” objectification, though there are elements of it. But the objectifying and role-assigning of men is just as big a problem as the objectifying of women. These should be equal issues.
Anyway, why nothing about the men being sprayed with champagne? Why nothing about men taking a full load into the face, like this shot of Hamilton unloading on Sebastian Vettel’s face at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix:
oh yeah, give it to me!
Or hell, even from this year’s Chinese Grand Prix, the same race with the “controversial” post-race celebration, were Vettel and Hamilton’s teammate Nico Rosberg take it to the face:
oh yeah…double shot!
Hmm. Now, compare that to the shot of bubbly into the hostess’s “face”:
Now, granted, this pic she is seen turning her head. And, the last in the series of pics on The Daily Mail‘s website shows it more in the face. But, it appears mostly in the side of the head. If anything, it was a dick move by Hamilton to unload in her ear. THAT is likely why she did not “enjoy” it.
But, i think there is something more significant here. And, i think the above pictures reflect that. You see, apparently Hamilton did this before in the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix.
big ups to Lewis Hamilton’s website, which hosts this picture
But, one has to wonder how often this happens. Or, in other words, if anyone truly notices the grid girls. I mean, this women stand there and are shown off as “objects” who are to fawn over these conquering men…these champions. They were background OBJECTS. They were just there.
And then, Hamilton involves them into the celebration. He is the one that brings them into the fold. Ignore as props, he now celebrates with them as he does his fellow competitors. If anything, why not credit him with actually acknowledging the grid girls’ existence?
Well, that is a bit silly…just like this controversy. Because, groups like Object, if they really cared, would have called out Formula 1 long ago. You see, having these women stand up there like props is objectification. And, if anything, that should have sparked their anger loooooooooooooooong before a bit of the bubbly in the ear. Instead, by becoming angry about a normal celebration that long included only men seems to be a bit of misguided anger. It appears as though they never cared about these women — though, surprisingly they should have all along — until these photos hit the press.
I am not buying into this controversy. If groups like this wanted to be upset, then that outrage should be towards the use of grid girls to begin with and not with a girl getting a champagne shower to the side of the head. Not that i think the grid girls should be removed — i honestly do not care if they are there or not — but it would appear that would be more worth their effort than getting angry about the champagne.
If anything, Hamilton was an ass for unloading into her ear. C’mon! Who the hell does that!?
UNCLE POPOV's Drunken Sports Rant 