No more 'Walk On Girls' or 'Grid Girls'?

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I recommend this video, but I realize that not everyone can watch or prefers another format.

If you're unfamiliar with these terms, "walk on girls" were pretty young ladies usually clad in swimwear or a mini dress or something like that who would escort the players out in professional darts and present trophies to the winners (it's now a popular spectator sport in the UK for those who didn't know). "Grid girls" likewise played a similar role in Formula One racing.

Now, in fairly short succession both of these sports have decided to end the practice, and the women who played these roles are out of a job. Feminists and apparently broadcasters like the BBC had pushed for this because they felt the roles sexualized and objectified women. I suppose you could say the same thing about cheerleaders in American sports.

Darts: PDC to scrap walk-on girls after broadcaster talks

Quote:

Walk-on girls will no longer be used by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) after talks with broadcasters. The long-established practice of women escorting male players to the stage will be abandoned, starting with this weekend's Masters in Milton Keynes. World number one Michael van Gerwen has said the tradition should end. But walk-on girl Charlotte Wood, who says darts accounts for 60 per cent of her income, says her rights "are being taken away".

'Walk-On Girls' Should Be Banned Across All Sports, Says Women's Sport Trust

Quote:

The Women’s Sport Trust has called for the end of female models across the world of sport, following the landmark decision to ban “walk-on girls” in darts. On Saturday, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) confirmed women will no longer escort male players to the stage after talks with broadcasters. A leading voice campaigning for gender equality in sport, The Women’s Sport Trust, has now called on other sports to follow suit. In a statement given to HuffPost UK the body said it supports the PDC’s decision, but would now like to “encourage other sports such as motor racing, boxing and cycling to follow their example”. Many on Twitter have also called on a banning of female models employed in this way across sport, although the darts ban isn’t without its critics. Some have accused the PDC of “political correctness gone mad” and putting women out of work.

And for an opposing viewpoint:
Bitter Feminists Go After The Hot Cheerleaders. Here Are Their First Victims.

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