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Women in Motorsports

 

Women had no part in this organization and were denied access. Women were used for their looks and had no other function. They were used to attract people to look at the cars or had the job, the only sanctioned job allowed by the SCCA, being the guide on race day for a man. Another role that was acceptable for a women was the " pit-bunny" who added a welcome distraction for the racer or the " pit-wife" who brought sandwiches or was even allowed to hold the stopwatch ( Hylton, 2009). This secondary job brought women to be more interested in the navigation of racing. The " Ladies Navigator Trophy" was the way the SCCA of the Indianapolis Region honored women in their supporting roles in navigation later on ( Hyton,2009), but still this was only for a supporting role, actually letting a women race was never even thought of in those day. The acknowledgment of being a contributor even in a supporting role was s step in the right direction. .
             Special "Ladies Races" were took place in the 1950th. These races were in conjunction with the regular races, but deserved no separate announcement and they were just "something fun to do" for the women ( Hylton, 2009). Women were allowed to borrow a racecar and go around the track a few times, no real competition took place and there was no winner, just some fun for the ladies. This unjust treatment of women in racing led to the forming of the Women's Sports Car Club in1953 in Los Angeles, California. After a mutual agreement with the member from the SCCA women were granted permission to play a bigger supporting role in racing. This elevation in status included checking passes, registering the racers, time keeping and the counting of laps. This again was a step towards the goal, women in racing, but still only a step. It would take a leap to convince these males to give up some of the dominance in motor sports.


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