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Bridgeville, PA, USA
Edited Date/Time
3/28/2018 4:34am
This was mentioned on the Indy SX broadcast.
Do female riders/racers get enough recognition?
If we had a pie chart of motocross participation, how big is the female slice?
Can anything be done to bring more females to the sport? I believe more participation will result in more recognition, but how can we accomplish this?
I also believe if women/girls race non-female specific classes and hold their own, that would increase recognition. Is this true, and if so how do we accomplish this?
Do female riders/racers get enough recognition?
If we had a pie chart of motocross participation, how big is the female slice?
Can anything be done to bring more females to the sport? I believe more participation will result in more recognition, but how can we accomplish this?
I also believe if women/girls race non-female specific classes and hold their own, that would increase recognition. Is this true, and if so how do we accomplish this?
They had pro womens racing at many of the outdoor nationals a few years ago. Can't recall exactly why they no longer do it, but not sure how much more of a chance for recognition you can give than that, without shoving it down peoples throats... which is simply counterproductive.
It was amusing. I recall the winner smoked them all in both motos.
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Either way my opinions a little biased because the women in my life ride, but I have watched some of these girls ride and they haul ass, and if they showed womens racing on TV I would watch it. I wish they had a women's supercross class. If they go to the Triple Crown format full time, I think having a Womens class would help fill in some of the dead time we have all been complaining about...
I've always enjoyed women's sports. They're intense and crazy competitive.
Idk if I'm alone but I pay attention to the women's races at the GNCC.
what even IS recognition? why do ppl need so much validation anyhow. joy of riding is internal. ffs
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I'm not trying to discredit them because they are fast. But its hard to justify all of this when their top female pros probably wouldn't win Loretta's in the C class.
the sport has a large accessibility problem that is encompasses much more than the gender question.
The simple answer is there in no ROI for professional womens mx right now. I feel really bad for the women that are fast but the cold hard truth is that women will not be able to retire from racing mx. I'm not sure if JP$ and Ashley Fiolek were able to make enough money to retire but they are the only 2 that I know of that were making a decent living racing. Hell only the top 5-6%of men will be able to retire and not have to work again. This is exactly why my wife stopped racing once she graduated high school and went to college. She was at the top of the sport, had a factory ride and could've made some good money for a couple of years. She was smart enough to know that mx wouldn't afford her the future she wanted in life. Our daughter will ride/race if that's what she wants to do but she will know it isn't a career choice.
Although at some levels I almost think they can have it better. For example it's a lot easier for a girl to enter a local race, chose the pro womens class and come 5th and win some money than it would be for a guy to race the A or pro class and come 5th. Definitely can't be a career for them though.
As for female MX: I think the system in the GP's is great for both females as well as 85cc/125cc youth: Let them race during the GP weekends which works as a catalyst to get the level up and also offer the female riders a better way to get some attention and therefor sponsorship. They won't make any serious money anytime soon, which i also think is fair because to be honest i don't think they have a significant effect on (bike) sales on the moment (which is what drives most sponsorships).
Wmx in it's hayday with JP, fiolek, Geiger, was ran by another woman and then mx sports bought it out, ran it into the ground, and now has their "C" team trying to organize it. The schedule doesn't come out until 2 weeks before Daytona and the rules are made up as you're lining up on the gate.
The current Fasnacht/Hodges battles are awesome, and the new blood coming up is actually very good with Jarvis, Astudillo, and others. They are not comparable to Tomac and Anderson, but on their own it is great racing and would be marketable.
Look at the effort the NFL and other major org's have pit into attracting a female audience. Girls at the tracks may account for 10% of the riders max, but marketing wise your missing out on 50% of the population by not trying to bring females in
Stop the sexist, macho bullshit that is pit girls, monster girls, 30 second board girls - all the softcore porn. Basically, if motocross was advertised as if the target demographic was people, not dicks with wallets attached, then maybe women would be interested.
I have no idea why all these companies exclude half of every age group/income level/ethnicity in all their advertising. It makes zero sense to me.
None of them have ever wanted to come moto, I had the ex on the front with her feet on mine as we ripped through some trails. That was enough for her. My daughter likes being on the back of my bike riding street, but is content to sit with the dog when I'm riding dirt.
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