Stereotype - Women Are Bad Drivers

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People have come to realization that everybody should have the same opportunity to do anything irrespective of their gender or race. Interestingly, I read a cartoon joke in a newspaper that said women need men’s skills and judgments in order to be a good driver. Out of curiosity, I search this particular stereotype on the internet and found out that it is actually not a remote perspective. There are people that believe that women are bad drivers. Several factors that can be considered as the reasons why this stereotype emerges and stays in today’s society such as lame jokes and nature of competitiveness among human being, but, arguably the major reason is gender inequality in society’s hierarchy where men think they are superior and should dominate everything. According to Michael L. Berger, who wrote a paper entitled “Women Drivers!: The Emergence of Folklore and Stereotypic Opinions Concerning Feminine Automotive Behavior”, the history of this sexist expression begins with serious social reasons. Mr. Berger wrote: “For although often presented in a humorous context, folklore concerning women drivers, and the accompanying negative stereotype emerged for very serious social reasons. They were attempts to both keep women in their place and to protect them against corrupting influences in society, and within themselves.” Women are always portrayed as inferior to men. Women should not do what men did because women do not have the abilities and capabilities like men. It is only been in recent decades where gender equality is accepted although not as much as it should be. To start with, women drivers did not start out on the right note when cars became popular in the 1920's. Cars were known as manly machines because it was hard to spin a hand crank to start a car, difficult to work on a car and then to operate a car thus creating lacks of faith from men towards

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