A bit of a rant and a question too. Cars. I like them and it confuses people ...
Is it just me? Do you get asked why you are photographing cars (with a look of astonishment and kindly meant but slightly patronising interest ... ).
So, you know I like Jaguars. In fact I like a lot of cars. I like their looks, style, purpose (mostly) and the freedom they bring. As I child I lived on a main road (A24) and watched as the car became a thing and more and more people used them, and traffic became busier. I always wondered about the lives of the people driving them and where they were going. I liked the look of the cars. I earned pocket money by washing them and polishing the chrome (yes I'm that old!). I enjoy going to car shows and I'm trying my hand at photography.
The odd thing here, apparently, is not that anyone would enjoy doing that, but that I as a girl would enjoy it. On my own. With a camera. Photographing details, and stuff.
Every car show I go to on my own, I take my camera and take lots of photos. I strike up occasional conversations with the lovely proud owners and the people manning (hmmmm) the stands. Sometimes women man the stands too. We know how as well. Anyway, I know what I'm in for when they look at me in that slightly puzzled way. Some like to chat with a lady and show off their cars in a sweetly 'look at me' way. Some just ask me "why are you taking pictures of cars?" in mild astonishment. Others like to blind me with technical details (sorry I'm not very technical, but I do pick up occasional facts, just don't ask me to remember them). If I want facts I go to the internet usually. For me it's design, style, looks and practicality, history too. I'm not a geek. I'm just an ordinary person, who happens to be female, who likes cars and their surrounds. I don't go to shows about washing machines and cookers although I'm sure they're riveting and someone out there will be having the time of their life ... I digress.
The thing I can't get over is the initial puzzlement, and sometimes the distain and dismissal*. Are we still in the dark ages here? I suspect we are and there's still some work to be done. Do any of the ladies who love cars (most of them here possibly even more than I do) still get this response at car shows?
Rant over. Thoughts welcome. Is it just me?
*I would like to point out that it's not all of them but a fair proportion. I had a lovely chat at the weekend with the owner, and his pal, of a gorgeous yellow E-Type who didn't blink an eye at my interest and was just pleased I liked it. Lovely people. That will be another article.
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Comments (13)
This is a huge problem that girls or women like us who love cars are seen as the odd ones out or something like this...I seemed to like cars from a small age..so what's the problem if women are into cars??? I don't also like women being used for advertising cars only by standing or sitting. Car companies should make women drive cars and then use that for TV ads.
I get quite angry at women used as decorations at car shows, F1, etc. Obviously they choose their careers but I've never understood why anyone would actually want to do that. I was very sad when Suzi Perry was dropped from F1 commentary.
I have not had issues at car shows or meets, but I haven't been to any very recently. I boldly wore my Stig shirt to a rally many years ago and the few that got it thought it was cool. I did get a lot of flack in my early school years with boys declaring my interest in cars "fake". Mostly I exist not caring what anybody thinks and if and when my interest is questioned I simply stand my ground, smile at their idiocy, and go on with my business - they usually back off immediately. I believe it best to smile at idiots, saying "you're a really stupid turd this moment" with your eyes, and not waste your time and breath getting much into anything.
I agree, it doesn't stop me at all, but am just disappointed that such attitudes still exist.
Not everyone has the confidence to go be assertive in that environment. Conversation can at least give people the strength to go there and know they are not unusual and help with that. Just being there and it being a normal thing to do will...
Read moreI have had it at race tracks before where guys assume you're there because you fancy a particular driver. Yes, I paid £400 for a ticket to see him less clearly than I would on my TV. Very annoying, as if you couldn't possibly admire their actual sporting credentials. In fairness, this is now rare, but no less annoying. What I do notice more, is that if you are at a show or a track with a guy, people will speak past you, to the guy as if you're not going to know what they are talking about or be interested.
That would be very irritating, but it is a gift in that you can listen first to decide if its someone you would ever want to talk to before actually doing so. Usually no, they're idiots. If you think they otherwise have any intelligence...
Read moreOh yes, that's pretty standard. Why I like going on my own is to have my own conversations, and not be ignored, but obviously that's when it starts ...
I haven't been to a car show yet. To be honest, I might even be kinda afraid of going there unaccompanied of a large member of the other sex because my country tends to be incredibly sexist in every single of my areas of interest. I get the sort of response you get way too often in real life. When I told one of my very good friends about an article I wrote on Car Gramophone comparing a 4x4 transfer case to the ways quartets are engineered, he called me crazy. Told me nicely that I was wasting my time writing about a subject that, according to him, I'm not very knowledgeable of.
I'll write more of a response once I get home. But one of the most important things I've learned in life is don't let the stupid biases and opinions of others have any bearing on your life. Especially don't let them deter you from doing things...
Read morePlease don't be discouraged by sexist behaviour. Keep your good work going..I feel so proud that women who love cars and are quite knowledgeable abt them have tribes in DTRB. This is very positive for young ppl like me.
Thoughts, ?