Danica Patrick has appeared in a commercial for Boost Mobile, a phone service provider. The commercial features a pit crew wearing women’s clothing (high heels, skirts - you know the drill), and it has angered some transgender people who say that showing men in women’s clothing can lead to attacks on transgender rights. Others seem to have no problem with it. One blog complains that the commercials “also uses men in women’s clothes in a negative context.” Negative context? They’re efficiently getting Patrick in and out of a pit stop. How is that a negative context? You might not like that they’re wearing high heels, but the context just isn’t negative.
Patrick is a woman in a male-dominated sport. Her entire career and persona has been built on bending gender stereotypes. If it was Tony Stewart or Dale Earnhardt Jr., I might buy more into the complaints; But the commercial is playing on who Patrick is. I just don’t have a problem with it anymore than I have a problem with Bruno. As one blog commentor said:
See the commercial and quote after the jump.
Danica is arguing for the acceptance of her cross-dressing pit crew. I don’t see the problem. Rather, she’s doing some serious genderf**k on the racing world, breaking into an all-male sport with style. Let’s not position ourselves in opposition to this barrier-smashing woman. She’s not going after us, and I don’t think this has anything to do with us.
I watched the piece three times before I could find something “wrong” with it. At one point, Patrick says, “Think this is wrong? This is just teamwork.” You could say that Patrick is acknowledging that some people may think men in women’s clothing is wrong, but that is a reality. But she dismisses that notion and says “It’s just teamwork.”
I’m generally pretty sensitive when it comes to transgender equality, since I think trans people are really left out in the cold and endure so many issues far beyond what I have ever had to deal with. But I just don’t think this one is worthy of much complaint. Still, I’m so tired of Danica Patrick, I’m not upset that she’s stirred up yet another controversy.
Hat tip to Deadspin.
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Not having seen this ad, I still suppose it’s better than her sleazy GoDaddy ads…
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 1:59 am
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 am
I had never heard of danica Patrick. I saw those awful godaddy ads this Super Bowl and thought “eugh”.
Not good.
I saw this ad on a website which was complaining about it. Watched the whole ad a couple of times. I think it is funny. I am not a white male … I’d be classified as one of those outside the box kinda thinkers and I think this is funny… if transgenders are offended they are being a bit oversensitive. I always thought men in drag were mocking women. This turns the whole idea upside down because she is a woman (even if she uses sex to promote her career in racing) doing what could be called “a man’s job”. She gets to poke fun at the whole role reversal notion because of her notoriety in her male dominated profession.
It would take some convincing before I found major offense over this ad.
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I don’t find the ad offensive.
I find DP offensive. She’s a plain looking hag that won one race, finished third at Indy and and made an anti freeze ad, where she claimed that winners used the product.
Milka Duno and Sarah Fisher are way better reps for the sport. The only reason DP gets the face time is that she has to show her arse to get noticed…and her arse wins the contest by a tad.
By the way, Dude looks like a lady…not the pit crew, the driver.
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Yes it’s offensive. First of call, her opening line is about “think this is wrong?” which assumes that viewers will find men in dresses (surprise!) offensive and inappropriate. Yes, she says “this is just teamwork.” But be real — the whole point of the ad is how ridiculous men in dresses and high heels look to the rest of us (ie., those of us who aren’t transgender).
Danica is great — this ad, however — is not. It does play crossdressers for laughs. Nothing new in that — nothing particularly admirable about it either.
One day, someone somewhere will do an ad that *doesn’t* play men in dresses for yucks. Sigh… but I’m not holding my breath. In the meantime, please call it for what it is instead of looking for reasons to get her off the hook because she (not this ad) is a trailblazer.
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Check under the hood. There’s alot of cheatinggoing on with this one. A sellout and a cheater.
…and doing nothing but allowing a crap load of sexism continue to exist for every other women in moter sports that wants to be acknowledge for talent not t&a.
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Gender variance should not be seen as the exclusive domain of transsexuals. I think its great that they show men dressed in traditionally female clothing being successful in stereotypical male occupations.
on Jul 7th, 2009 at 1:56 am
Riki Wilchins hit the nail on the head. In order for someone to not see this ad as bigoted against nonconformist gendered individuals, they would have to completely ignore the tag-line, which would defeat the whole point of the commercial. I noticed another company with similar marketing tactics recently and wrote a blog about it: http://scottlaforce.blogspot.com/2009/07/bigoted-advertising.html
This needs to be challenged.. anyone who fights for this as innocent humor is ignorant and/or afraid of the truth. Don’t tolerate bigotry.