After having waded through this endless thread I do have a few comments.
It doesn’t matter whose daughter the drag racer is livid over Courtney’s appearance in the magazine. It wasn’t her decision, it was Courtney’s.
Did she receive advice and counsel from her family and the team’s well-respected and highly professional public relations team before agreeing to do this?
Absolutely. This was very much a business-related decision. Everything had to be considered. How will our sponsors react to this? How will our fans react? Will other women be offended or supportive?
Sad to say, but most of the people on Nitromater are a bit up there in years (on average), and some of the responses in the negative may be a result of that age factor more than anything else. Painful though it may be, it’s time some of the people here realized they are no longer the ideal demographic, so in essence, what they think means nothing compared to the vast majority of people.
In other words, and using nice round, meaningless numbers, if 65% of those between 18-34 approve of the Force photos, while 50% of those between 35-50 disapprove, who do you think the marketing types are going to “listen” to?
It’s easy to suggest that neither Ms. Angelle or Ms. Shirley would have done this, but as much as I hate to say it, the truth is they weren’t asked. When Shirley was active in racing there was no ESPN The Magazine “Body” issue, and the same can be said about Angelle.
I think we must all keep in mind that the Body Issue is about athletes at the peak of their physical perfection. “Physical perfection” in the case of Ms. Force clearly includes exceptional musculature along with a gorgeous overall appearance. In the case of the vast majority of women who appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue it’s far more about their overall appearance than the look of sheer physicality. Simply put, the two issues are after decidedly different “looks.”
Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s 2013, not 1953 or even 1983. Times change and so do attitudes about nudity and the physical form.
If Ms. Force were to have appeared on TMZ or any other celebrity web site climbing out of a low-slung car without her underwear a la Britney Spears/Nicole Richey/Lindsay Lohan/Amanda Bynes et. al. we could all be outraged about the negative impact it might have had on drag racing. This magazine appearance is a positive for drag racing.
The sport has made a tremendous effort to publicize our diversity, certainly including women competitors. That word is actually beginning to get around. The use of Ms. Force in a high profile magazine spread like this helps: “Man, I heard there were some girls driving these cars, but I never figured they’d look like this! Wow, I’m going out to see her in person!” Don’t laugh, that will happen.
When Paul Sapienza decries her appearance and worries about a centerfold in Dragster I can only say that one of the largest selling issues of Car Craft Magazine ever was the one in which Bill Jenkins appeared in his underwear, lying on a bearskin rug.
What became Hot Rod Magazine’s annual best seller? Their attempt at a hot-rod’s-‘n-chicks-in-bikinis issue – which worked.
When Jim Dunn had the Penthouse Magazine sponsorship drag racing’s Prude Patrol went into high gear complaining about it. Many wrote letters worrying about nude and/or semi-nude women from the magazine being in the pits, but guess what? Every Penthouse Pet who appeared wore black slacks and a very unrevealing white blouse, so those fears were groundless. And besides, at the same time there were far more revealing outfits being worn – and approved of by NHRA -- by both the Bud and Skoal girls, yet there were no “organized” protests from the PP. Why? Could it be the outrage was simply because of what some people thought the Penthouse deal would bring?
Chris Williams, the stuff your daughter’s going through is SOP in virtually every activity in which both men and women are competing/involved. That goes from T-ball to drag racing. Everyone from Janet Guthrie to Shirley Muldowney to Leah Pruett has heard that trash talking, and if they couldn’t deal with it they wouldn’t have made it. And yeah, Chris, there are always going to be those bufoons who immediately take something like this right into the basement in terms of a classy response.
Justin League you are way out of your element in your derisive mention of Jungle Pam. You are definitely right about your comments regarding older guys and how they ogled and went nuts about women at the races in the so-called old days, but the use of the term “half hooker” is an indication of how little you know not only about that era of drag racing, but about Ms. Hardy as well.
During WWII GIs went nuts over the iconic Betty Grable poster (the one where she’s looking back over her shoulder at the camera), which was revealing for its day. In the Fifties men whimpered at the vision of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt blowing up. In the Sixties it was Raquel Welch in that fur stone age outfit. And now it’s Courtney Force.
Times change. It’s time to grow up with them.
If someone personally feels this isn’t the way to go, that’s fine, but don’t try to bring your censorious attitude to the rest of us. Let us – and Ms. Force – make our own decisions.
Jon Asher
Senior Editor
CompetitionPlus.com
