I Bet It’s A Woman: A Misperception Rooted in Patriarchy, Upheld by Misogynistic Attitudes Towards Female Autonomy

One of the greatest and most impactful inventions of mankind, arguably up there with the wheel, the internet and the MMR vaccine- the automobile created one of the great permanent shifts in the course of human history. After spreading throughout the globe and transforming the way people could travel, motor vehicles also obtained the status as an important tool to be handled with care- a tool for men. In this day and age, 2024, the belief that women are bad drivers, dangerous on the road, unaware of how to handle their vehicles etc. has remained as a globally shared stereotype in global societies by long held misogynistic views perpetuated by the patriarchy.

To first understand the origins of this stereotype, why it continues to persist over the years and the deconstruction of it, one must first understand patriarchy as an institution that often dictates the overarching views of civilizations. Institutions in general, serve as a guide for participating members of society by providing the parameters for successful formal and informal encounters-providing a generalized sense of order (North, para.1) Unfortunately, many of the social institutions that have developed over the years have produced schools of thought that negatively affect societal progress i.e. racism, sexism, classism, religious ethnocentrism etc. Each negative takes decades to centuries to show improvement in individual and grouped social spheres based on the work put in by those who believe in going against the grain set by social institutions. The misogynistic stereotypes and myths surrounding women being incapable of operating motor vehicles, as well as other negatives that disproportionately affect women like imposed domestication and interpersonal violence (Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence), are sustained through the social institution that is the patriarchy. 

Patriarchy is about the social relations of power between men and women, women and women, and men and men. It is a system for maintaining class, gender, racial, and heterosexual privilege and the status quo of power – relying both on crude forms of oppression, like violence; and subtle ones, like laws; to perpetuate inequality. Patriarchal beliefs of male, heterosexual dominance and the devaluation of girls and women lie at the root of… a structural force that influences power relations,.. (Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence, para. 2)

With most of both the ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ world subscribing to some form of patriarchy, religious or secular, the spread of negativity towards women driving and women handling vehicles in general tends to have unique reflections in different countries. For example, there are currently 19 countries that have restrictions on women obtaining jobs that involve operating a vehicle for transport (Schulz and Kurshitashvili, para.1); a combination of religious influence on legislation and reinforcement of gender roles in general. 

While women have played a part in the automotive world since its inception, women actively participating in car culture always appear to have seemingly practical and outright baseless criticisms. One such criticism on the logical side was the idea that operating a motor vehicle was too difficult, dangerous and/or filthy for women; in the early era of cars between the late 1890’s and 1900’s, there was little to no accessibility to experts like mechanics or auto shops to assist with the many problems of the first models of cars (Chen, pg. 2) Women were seen as shameless if they maintained or attempted to maintain their vehicles, at the time seen as a pursuit for affluent men; similar to the reactions at women who wanted to go cycling like their male counterparts. (Chen, para 2) 

In terms of media being used as a tool to promote both positive and negative messages, the way advertising in newspapers, magazines and later billboards and television would market cars towards women would often contrast the myths that women had no place driving. Some ads would market towards women using stereotypical characteristics - a result of the industry realizing women were going to drive regardless of men’s attitudes. A leading example during the era of first wave feminism were adds summarizing that,

"… woman's car is everything that the woman herself aspires to be: dutiful, easy to handle, unselfish, pleasantly companionable, graceful in exterior appearance, cozy, comfortable, and frugal. That she, like the Ford, could manage all this in less than ideal conditions further signals her stability, and makes her an even better value."(Behling)

Some will try to use statistics to back the idea that women can’t focus while driving, and thus are reckless drivers is a common trope; women being overly emotional and distractible are stereotypes projected on them in a general sense and more specifically when they attempt activities that men deem are not for them. In contrast to this, 

Social scientists and traffic safety experts say that male drivers around the world get into more than their share of bad car crashes, and that the male propensity for aggression and risk taking, fuelled by testosterone, is to blame. Men, experts say, are more likely to drink and take drugs while driving, to avoid wearing seat belts, to speed and even to choose a smaller gap to turn through across oncoming traffic.(Hartocollis, para. 10)

Viewing women as these dangers on the road, despite lack of any evidence proving these claims, has been pushed by not just individual level interactions but through media as well. While women are more than capable of being dangers on the road the fact is that overall men remain the overwhelming majority of drivers causing fatal crashes, reckless and intoxicated driving. 

There needs to be a lot more work done socially as a society to combat the existing misogynistic views surrounding women and automobiles. The researchers who commit time and effort to dispel these myths with facts along with activists pushing for progressive and feminist thought serve as enzymes in what will hopefully be a sooner rather than later social reaction and change.