Trans driver looking to make history

  • Thread starter Novalee
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Novalee

Novalee

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https://time.com/5603850/charlie-martin-transgender-racing-driver/

Charlie Martin hurtles around the racetrack, her gloved hands gripping the steering wheel with only blond hair visible from the top of the driver’s seat. She zooms underneath banners emblazoned with the logo of the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorsport race, her focus unbroken. Eventually slowing to a halt after a 30-minute run, Martin unbuckles her seatbelt. It’s not a helmet that she takes off, but a VR headset; not a racing car that she lifts herself out of, but a state-of-the art simulator at Cranfield Simulation, an aerospace facility about two hours north of London.
 
As with a lot of things: Gender or being transsexual shouldn't matter.
Sabine Schmitz, Michele Mouton, Danica Patrick - all of these women (albeit not trans) have shown great competence and ability behind the wheel - and frankly without pushing the gender/female card. They've shown to endure in a "male - dominated" sport.

I'm glad to be corrected on this, but I also don't think that racing is a sport, where the difference in the physiology of the body plays a primary role, as compared to say track running, physical sports (like boxing, MMA/UFC) or weightlifting.
But especially here, we seem to have a male transitioning to female, so even the physiology won't matter too much.

To me, and that's my two-cents on the whole thing, it's someone, who's pursuing a dream, which so happens to underwent a gender transition and given the current political climate and potency of this whole topic, of transgenderism, LGBTQ+*, inclusivity, sexism and politcal correctness, it's being pushed forward as this amazing thing. But it's the fact, and that's especially saddening and to me quite sickening, that she being a transgender receives much more attention, that the actual feat of scoring a place in one of the toughest and most prestigious races, which simply isn't easy, regardless of gender.
 
Motor racing isn't a segregated sport and for the most part never has been but anyone who does break some kind of barrier, it's fine. Nice accolade, good on you.

The cliche of motor racing being a white man's sport is still largely true but there are great examples of others being successful in racing like Michelle Mouton and Lewis Hamilton.

In fact, that motorsports isn't segregated into gender categories (or any other category) is a good opportunity to maintain a conceit where all the competitors are "part of the gang" without someone being highlighted quite so much as in other sports.
 
20832
As with a lot of things: Gender or being transsexual shouldn't matter.
Sabine Schmitz, Michele Mouton, Danica Patrick - all of these women (albeit not trans) have shown great competence and ability behind the wheel - and frankly without pushing the gender/female card. They've shown to endure in a "male - dominated" sport.

I'm glad to be corrected on this, but I also don't think that racing is a sport, where the difference in the physiology of the body plays a primary role, as compared to say track running, physical sports (like boxing, MMA/UFC) or weightlifting.
But especially here, we seem to have a male transitioning to female, so even the physiology won't matter too much.

To me, and that's my two-cents on the whole thing, it's someone, who's pursuing a dream, which so happens to underwent a gender transition and given the current political climate and potency of this whole topic, of transgenderism, LGBTQ+*, inclusivity, sexism and politcal correctness, it's being pushed forward as this amazing thing. But it's the fact, and that's especially saddening and to me quite sickening, that she being a transgender receives much more attention, that the actual feat of scoring a place in one of the toughest and most prestigious races, which simply isn't easy, regardless of gender.
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Racing does require quite a bit of physical exertion, more than many sports actually. The definition of a sport does not say that physiological differences need to play a primary roll as there is so much more to sports. By that definition we might as well rule out many other commonly accepted sports where mental performance is equally or even more important that physical. I do agree that gender shouldn't matter but that is due to the fact that there are women who can compete against men but that is the case with many other sports even if they are segregated based on gender.
 
Novalee
Charlie Martin hurtles around the racetrack, her gloved hands gripping the steering wheel with only blond hair visible from the top of the driver’s seat.
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I only just came across this thread and agree with many of the comments already made. I just wanted to throw up the name Roberta Cowell as it is a name which frequently comes up in the motor racing history books. She was the first British person to transition from male to female, was a WW2 Spitfire Pilot and keen motor racing driver from pre-war days onwards. She formed her own racing team and raced across Europe, but her transition resulted in her being barred from high level international competition. In 1957 she won the Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb so obviously had considerable car control skills.

It is a shame that the participation of a Trans person in motor racing is still being commented on as a novelty by the press 68 years after Cowell underwent surgery.
 
These (kind of events/headlines) annoy me.

The idea that Motorsport is some backward, exclusive white man's club just shows how little research people will do before they go propping up the champion of their cause.

Racing has women, trans, LGBT and whatever other box of people you want in it already in it at most every level. But because there's a majority of white men, it must be evil, backwards, exclusive and in dire need of reform at every level! We need to educate these evil, soulless beings that it's not fair that, despite them having no influence over the matter, that a white male majority in racing will be the undoing of society, and we must not celebrate them, their dedication or successes whilst they still have their filthy hetero brains and dirty white skin.

I for one will not be watching F1 until we have a driver of every race, creed, gender and mental illness represented! I'm supporting EVIL if I watch those rich white men do one more lap!

God, these people and their obsession with progress - this just isn't news to anyone with a passion for motorsport. It's just another "brave breakthrough" for these people who insist on characterising themselves as "oppressed" or "minorities" despite the massive global trend of social reform for greater individual freedom. I guess the fact motorsport is a literal physical embodiment of the pursuit of technological progress doesn't do it for them - is social progress the only kind that matters now?

Racing fans aren't just going to applaud you because of who you are, your upbringing, your beliefs, or where you like to stick your genitalia. Racing is the great equaliser of such things. White men aren't closing motorsport to anyone, there are just more of them interested and involved with motorsport. Why exactly is that a symptom of some great injustice? Why isn't it a problem that a disproportionate amount of white females like horses?

Oh right, it isn't a problem. Unless you think having any disparity in our culture is a bad thing which, congratulations, I guess, because you are literally Stalin.

Keep your little social battles on the university campus please, children, it doesn't work so well out here in the real world.

/MicheleMoutonFanRant
 
It always surprised me how few women have made it to the top tiers of Motorsport . Especially in F1 where ability and mental strength are the prime requisite for a driver .
From the diminutive yet giant statures of Senna and Prost to the manly phisiques of Mansell and Fangio , who probably (definitely) wouldn't fit in a modern F1 car there's probably more than a few women that would give them a good run for the money .
 
MaxAttack
These (kind of events/headlines) annoy me.

The idea that Motorsport is some backward, exclusive white man's club just shows how little research people will do before they go propping up the champion of their cause.

Racing has women, trans, LGBT and whatever other box of people you want in it already in it at most every level.
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With around 50 top level motorsport codes in the world with at least 20 regular competitors in each I'm sure you can produce quite a list then?
 
TenEightyOne
With around 50 top level motorsport codes in the world with at least 20 regular competitors in each I'm sure you can produce quite a list then?
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Time better spent racing and not caring who is on track with me or where they stick their naughty bits.
 
TenEightyOne
Can't back your claim up? I'm unsurprised.
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It should surprise you less that I don't think it's important enough to waste a long time to deny your smug satisfaction in your indefatigable correctness - O slain am I, evildoer who would not do a census of the entire racing world to prove my evil, bigoted opinion :(

EDIT: You know how idiotic it would be to demand that the Formula 1 driver's grid, the 20 most elite pilots on the planet, perfectly represent the beautiful rainbow of humanity? To make sure we have 10 women, 5 asians, no more than 50% straight drivers... You realise how misdirected a notion that is, right?

If 20 white, straight men called Phil are the fastest in the world, they should be the grid. If 20 completely different people from all over the place are then they should be. There's really no point trying to shift that either direction. Racing teams will always hire the person who makes them fastest, regardless of who they are outside the garage. Any team that won't hire someone - driver, engineer, in the office - based on their gender, race, whatever else - is going to be pretty damn slow.

The only thing here I can possibly see as an issue is that less little girls and non-straight men don't have as much interest in motorsport especially at a young age. I really think this has absolutely **** all to do with any exclusivity around the racing world and a lot more to do with how F1/fast fars/racing have marketed themselves for decades.

Of course the notion that women and trans people and whoever else might naturally be drawn to like different things from mustachiod white dudes named Nigel is basically vurboten so I doubt it has anything to do with that and we should absolutely waste a huge amount of money and time trying to rebrand every racing series to make sure it appeals to, and there are spots for, all these absolute legions of transexual Lewis Hamiltons-in-waiting.

If you are truly so passionate about this, how about you make your ****ing list of every god damn P.O.S to ever steal a seat from a deserving trans woman that's .1 faster than Bottas or whatever. Then you can really chuck it in my face about what an issue it is and what it says about our society and how we should completely screw 100s+ of deserving drivers, engineers, team execs, coffee runners in favour of people who look or **** along a more diverse spectrum. But you won't because it's a titanic waste of time that you only concocted to make me look like a misinformed bigot. Which I'm not.
 
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Is everybody going to deny that there aren't social politics in play when teams are picking their drivers?

Do you think that a transgender driver would have been allowed near a race car if this were 1950? This is a good thing for everyone. This driver's ability to work their way onto a team demonstrates the open mindedness of the sport and specifically her race team. Putting her efforts on a pedestal gives good exposure to the LGBT community to draw in more fans, letting them know that racing is socially safe as long as they are fast.
 
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Lets put aside the facts, it's also the frame you got from your own perspective, it's your own truth, your own fact !

I've been born as a male too and I've been raised in a family and surrounded by men, Bob the Builder kind off guys. I never was able to identify myself as the same gender as them.. I felt sick many times, I had to work for my dad, together with a guy, with side burns and a beer pack in front of him, burping and farting.. It felt so wrong.
I've switched gender 12 years ago, still a petrolhead like the person I was before the gender swap.. never interested in Barbies or make-up, but yes, from my perspective, I've seen the motorsports world as a very masculine kind of place too. As soon I was busy with photographing or discovering cars and drivers inside the paddock and pitboxes of my favourite racing series, I forgot my surroundings and could really enjoy the atmosphere !

With a coincidence I discovered next weekend would be an epic (!!) weekend at Spa Francorchamps, at the same weekend my husband (married this winter) ((no not in a white dress)) runs a trail run in Houffalize a few kilometres away from Spa, you could easily imagine what our econd stop will be that weekend ?! Watching and hearing +130 VW beetles rounding the track for 25 hours ! :drool::dopey::cool:

:gtpflag:
 
BallPtPenTheif
Is everybody going to deny that there aren't social politics in play when teams are picking their drivers?

Do you think that a transgender driver would have been allowed near a race car if this were 1950? This is a good thing for everyone. This driver's ability to work their way onto a team demonstrates the open mindedness of the sport and specifically her race team. Putting her efforts on a pedestal gives good exposure to the LGBT community to draw in more fans, letting them know that racing is social safe as long as they are fast.
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If they knew about it you would have had issues walking into a shop as a trans person in 1950 let alone a car.
 

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