Go (Away) Daddy, Or, Why Danica Patrick Is Only Secondarily a Race Car Driver

Perhaps like Iggy, you spent part or even all of your past Sunday watching the Indianapolis 500. I follow racing only a little, but I pay enough attention to SportsCenter to know the key names--Castroneves, Franchitti, Patrick. Although the dominant story of this year's race is Helio Castroneves' victory--his third, and one that came in the midst of an ongoing tax evasion investigation--what I paid most attention to was Danica Patrick. This is not for the obvious reasons, or at least not exactly.

Look, Danica Patrick is attractive and marketable. Ok, fine. That her commericals for Peak anti-freeze might be unnecessarily sexy is probably an acceptable situation given that it's at least a car-related product. But as I've noted here, here, and here, I'm troubled by the willingness of so many attractive female athletes to define themselves by their sexuality and not by their ability. Patrick has done this in numerous ways, including several magazine spreads and her endorsement deal with GoDaddy.com.

Her relationship with GoDaddy.com isn't new, but to my knowledge this commercial is (here's the "Internet Only" extended version). I'm not certain how many times it aired during Sunday's broadcast, but I can assure you it was several (and there probably wasn't a single commercial break that didn't include at least one Danica ad). This particular spot is troubling for a number of reasons, not least of which is that Patrick isn't on display so much as she is positioned as a voyeur who (perhaps unwillingly) witnesses the strip-tease of the police officer. The television version is more suggestive of what the Internet version makes explicit. Nevertheless, it's clear that Patrick is situated in a scene of heterosexual male fantasy--i.e., the interplay of two conventionally attractive women designed to hint at the possibility of lesbian lust.

There's an interesting identification strategy in the commercial, as Patrick is somewhat masculinized--she is the driver of a red sports car, wearing black leather, in the position of the "watcher." Meanwhile, the blonde officer offers herself overtly as a sexual object before reaffirming her authority by writing Patrick a speeding ticket. The gender ambiguity, coupled with the power tensions between the two women, is clearly designed, as are all GoDaddy.com commercials, to please the predominantly male television audience. All of which most likely prompts them to want to see more of Danica Patrick in these commercials, regardless of whether or not they see her in the race.

The constant exposure certainly generates a lot of publicity for Indy Car racing, and Patrick's presence in the race undoubtedly heightens ratings. Yet, despite her steadily improving results, Danica Patrick is overwhelmingly valued for her sex appeal and not her skill. This is very profitable for her, but it grows the deficit of positive images for young women in and around sport. Patrick finished this year's race in third place, a career best. But as she crossed the finish line in her GoDaddy.com-sponsored car, I can't help but think that her athletic integrity is at an all-time low.