Women car lovers still face prejudice
#16
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (6)
There are lots of girls into cars...they dont post on forums.
and guys do act like jerks when a female walks into a dealership or repair place....and will look at you like you're an alien if seen in a performance shop LoL!!
"Cars" are a "guy thing"...I get that
and guys do act like jerks when a female walks into a dealership or repair place....and will look at you like you're an alien if seen in a performance shop LoL!!
"Cars" are a "guy thing"...I get that
Last edited by DriftGirl; 07-06-09 at 08:21 PM.
#17
Lexus Champion
I don't know about most of the guys here on the forum, but it's always a big thumbs up when I do meet women who know cars and can talk about them. I don't expect women to know a lot about cars because, in general, most don't.
What I can't stand are guys who don't know squat about cars!
What I can't stand are guys who don't know squat about cars!
#18
Lexus Fanatic
What I can't stand are guys who don't know squat about cars!
Last edited by mmarshall; 07-09-09 at 06:46 AM.
#19
Super Moderator
Oh, no no, I'm not saying that there is a prejudice, more like a sterio-type & I think it is brecause most girls aren't as interested in cars. So while it is ture that most girls aren't interested, there seems to be a universal auto-assumption that girl doesn't know what she's talking about. Perhaps I didn't express my thought quite as well the first go-round.
Maybe refering to car culture as a boys club isn't entirely accurate because it's not usually purposeful exclusion; just more like s lack of inclusion by default.
Maybe refering to car culture as a boys club isn't entirely accurate because it's not usually purposeful exclusion; just more like s lack of inclusion by default.
I've observed similar phenomena in a variety of other traditionally male-dominated aspects of life. I work in IT, where women are generally pretty rare. Therefore the few I've worked with tend to stand out, for better or for worse. One was dumb as a whole box of rocks, another didn't have a wide range of knowledge but was exceedingly talented in her specific area, and the rest have been more or less brilliant. I don't know if that's because women generally have to be REALLY into tech to deal with the prejudices and preconceptions in the industry, or if they have to be that much better than the men to even merit consideration during the selection process. Of my admittedly small sample, the average competence of female IT workers is leagues ahead of the average male--largely because there are so many completely worthless male IT workers.
As a final humorous example, when I was in high school, I had a friend who worked at Ace Hardware. She was 5'2" and looked like she was 12, but was very mechanically-inclined. A lot of times she'd greet people walking into the store and ask if she could help with something, and they'd walk past and go find one of the guys. When they'd ask their question, 75% of the time, the answer was "I don't know too much about that, but Karen would know." and they'd point back towards the door. The customer invariably made the walk of shame back up front, where Karen was standing with a big s***eating grin on her face, and proceeded to thoroughly answer every question they had. The few times I saw it, I nearly fell down laughing.
#20
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (6)
I also think a lot of us girls make it hard on ourselves. if you're gonna be around a car coulture..atleast know SOMETHING about it. I see this mostly in the Import world.
Every single day I get emails from girls asking me how did I get into 'car', etc, etc. So I know there are other chicks that want to get into it, but a lot are ran off by guys on Automotive forums who think that cars can only be a male thing.
Ive been on boards a while and know that over half just repeat what theyve read on the forums...
I have tough skin, Plus I can put my skills up against ANYBODY in the car game, so it never bothered me. I'm a cocky-*** sometimes but just like GEko29 stated: They dont respect you at first sight.
...some simply dont wanna put up with the BS and decide to jus go to the mall.
Every single day I get emails from girls asking me how did I get into 'car', etc, etc. So I know there are other chicks that want to get into it, but a lot are ran off by guys on Automotive forums who think that cars can only be a male thing.
Ive been on boards a while and know that over half just repeat what theyve read on the forums...
I have tough skin, Plus I can put my skills up against ANYBODY in the car game, so it never bothered me. I'm a cocky-*** sometimes but just like GEko29 stated: They dont respect you at first sight.
...some simply dont wanna put up with the BS and decide to jus go to the mall.
#21
This is an interesting discussion for me.
My husband is a car nut. I've learned a LOT from him, and discovered I like cars too. I'm the one who likes to go to the LA Auto Show, and I was on a Saturn Owners' Group on a Usenet BB waaaayyyy back in the day (1993!)
There IS still prejudice, although I think it's less than it used to be. The worst offenders, IME, are car SALESPEOPLE. You'd think that women would be more represented in auto sales; it's a pity they're not.
I think it is largely a matter of confidence, in regards to career exploration. For both autos and IT, when career and college major decisions are made, many women/girls are still deferring to mom, dad, the boyfriend, the girlfriends, and just don't want to generally stand out and fight for their place. It's easier to "go along" with what others expect of you. By the time you're 35 and don't give a d*mn what others think, you're already locked into a more traditional field.
Happily, I haven't had much of a problem in those areas, so I'm willing to point out stupidity and assumptions about women and "field XXX" when I come across it. Which does still happen (ask me about the salesperson who asked me "what color do you want to drive?" - 2 months ago!!)
Sandi
My husband is a car nut. I've learned a LOT from him, and discovered I like cars too. I'm the one who likes to go to the LA Auto Show, and I was on a Saturn Owners' Group on a Usenet BB waaaayyyy back in the day (1993!)
There IS still prejudice, although I think it's less than it used to be. The worst offenders, IME, are car SALESPEOPLE. You'd think that women would be more represented in auto sales; it's a pity they're not.
I think it is largely a matter of confidence, in regards to career exploration. For both autos and IT, when career and college major decisions are made, many women/girls are still deferring to mom, dad, the boyfriend, the girlfriends, and just don't want to generally stand out and fight for their place. It's easier to "go along" with what others expect of you. By the time you're 35 and don't give a d*mn what others think, you're already locked into a more traditional field.
Happily, I haven't had much of a problem in those areas, so I'm willing to point out stupidity and assumptions about women and "field XXX" when I come across it. Which does still happen (ask me about the salesperson who asked me "what color do you want to drive?" - 2 months ago!!)
Sandi
#22
Lexus Fanatic
But, to be honest, many auto salespeople, both men and women, don't know much about cars at all, much less the ones they are actually selling. They are often just buisnessmen and women out to make a buck. This is not necessarily a gender thing....I've seen it on both sides.
Of course, salespeople have to make a living, too...I'm not denying that. They have bills to pay, just like anybody else. But many of them (not all) seem to look at it as more of just a job than a real love of cars.
Last edited by mmarshall; 07-09-09 at 06:31 PM.
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