C'mon, Danica, Women Deserve Better

The thing that Laura Helmuth loves best about auto racing is that it's the one sport in which women get to compete against men as equals. Which is why Danica Patrick's decision to become a "GoDaddy Girl" and make a "series of stupid, sexist ads"—like this one—rankles so much, writes Helmuth at Slate. Women like Janet Guthrie, the first woman to drive in the Indy 500, deserve our admiration. Patrick is not only embarrassing herself, she is "undermining" the accomplishments of Guthrie and others.

Patrick has "squandered the good will of a multitude of fans who wanted to see a woman win at what used to be a man’s game," writes Helmuth. "She’s become a harmless, hair-flipping mascot for another subculture, technology services, that still suffers from rampant sexism." Click for Helmuth's full column. (More Danica Patrick stories.)