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VIDEO: NO MORE F1 GRID GIRLS! APPARENTLY 'MODERN DAY SOCIETAL NORMS' DON'T ALLOW FOR THEM ANYMORE










In the wise words of Bob Dylan way back in 1963, "The times they are a-changin'", and it's never been as clear as now in the history of motorsport of this truth.

At this years' Australian F1 Grand Prix there will be a vacuum in the space where our eyeballs would expect to see the lovely "grid girls", usually dressed in shapely uniforms, standing in front of each driver, holding up their race number.

That's because F1 has said, "the long-standing practice is no longer appropriate or relevant today and they won't be used at any more Formula One events".

According to F1's managing director of commercial operations, Sean Bratches, "Over the last year, we have looked at a number of areas which we felt needed updating so as to be more in tune with our vision for this great sport.

"While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 Grand Prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern-day societal norms.

"We don't believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world."

And it's not just F1 that the ban applies to, it also extends to other motorsport series that take place during Grand Prix weekends.

It's a pretty controversial decision though. The Women's Sport Trust tweeted, "Thank you F1 for deciding to stop using grid girls. Another sport making a clear choice about what they want to stand for," applauding the decision as a step in the right direction.

But, on the other side of the coin are the girls themselves, saying they've been put out of a job by feminists.

Lauren Jade Pope, a grid and promo girl, also took to Twitter to vent; "The world has gone mad! Supposedly these feminists are ‘defending us’ when actually because of these idiots we are losing our jobs! In the 8 years of promo – mainly being on the grid I have never once felt uncomfortable! I do this because I enjoy it and I have the choice.

"Because of these feminists, they've have cost us our jobs! I have been a grid girl for eight years and I have never felt uncomfortable!

Quote: "I love my job. If I didn't I wouldn't do it! No-one forces us to do this! This is our choice!"

This has been an ongoing saga for quite some time. Back in 2015, we were given male models dressed in white shirts and jeans at the Monaco Grand Prix. This caused a bit of a stir, with driver Sebastian Vettel, joking: "Why didn't we have any grid girls today? What was that? F**k! You get there and park behind George or Dave. What's the point?"

And, to be frank, over the past few seasons it hasn't been the risque, flesh-fest it may have been in eras gone by.

Needless to say, as a brand that celebrates the beauty of the female form and empowers young ladies with a platform to express their personalities too, we certainly know which side of that coin we sit on.

We asked the lovely Fae Evans, who we've recently photographed, for her opinion, this is what she had to say, “The whole topic on grid girls seems pretty silly to me. It's stupid that women who say they are "fighting for women's rights" are telling others what they should and shouldn't do. I've been an "umbrella girl" many times and those days are some of the dopest days I've had.” Her shoot will be published later this week.

Perhaps Dylan was right but, considering his anti-establishment views, he would most likely applaud for freedom of choice rather than for the conservative view of a minority.

Take a look at the rather heated debate on the Good Morning Britain show below and let us have your thoughts on the topic. Is it better for the sport and women in general, is it taking away their right to choose for themselves, or will it make no difference in your life either way?


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