People often say that women aren\u2019t interested in cars. The reasons usually given include:<\/p>\n
\u30fbThe cost of ownership is too high
\n\u30fbThey don\u2019t feel confident behind the wheel
\n\u30fbThey\u2019re happy just riding in the passenger seat
\n\u30fbThey\u2019re afraid of the risks involved in an accident<\/p>\n
Those explanations do make sense. But I think the biggest reason women aren\u2019t interested in cars is that they don\u2019t have many women around them who own and drive cars as a hobby<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Few women around you drive It\u2019s a bit of a vicious circle.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard that people who grow up in families that run their own businesses often see starting a business as a perfectly normal option\u2014and many go on to do just that. By contrast, people raised in families of salaried employees tend to see working for a company as the natural path for themselves, too.<\/p>\n My husband was born into a family that had run a business for generations. He once told me, \u201cThe idea of putting on a suit and going into an office every day felt so strange to me<\/strong>.\u201d I, on the other hand, grew up in a family of company employees, so starting my own business seemed like something people in a completely different world did.<\/p>\n When someone does something that wasn\u2019t part of the world you grew up in, it can feel unfamiliar\u2014and may not even occur to you as an option. We\u2019re deeply shaped by our environment. That\u2019s why I think a major reason women aren\u2019t interested in cars is that they can\u2019t picture themselves driving one when they don\u2019t know many women who love cars, own them, and get behind the wheel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n So why has this situation come about? I think the reasons run deeper than they might first appear. Here are the five factors I\u2019ve come up with.<\/p>\n Buying a car costs real money\u2014often millions of yen\u2014and then there are the ongoing expenses. It\u2019s hard to buy one yourself unless you earn a decent income, and until relatively recently, there were still few women earning enough to do so. Although the share of women in the workforce has continued to rise, even just ten years ago, many women left their jobs when they got married or had children.<\/strong> (That was the situation when I started my first job after graduating.<\/span>)<\/p>\n But today, more people\u2014regardless of gender\u2014have careers of their own. I think that may mean more women will get into cars in the years ahead.<\/p>\n Even when money is tight, plenty of women take out loans for expensive beauty treatments. Some cut back on groceries to spend a significant amount each month on skincare. I\u2019m a woman myself, so speaking from that perspective, I\u2019d say women are creatures who want to look beautiful and cute at any age<\/strong>. It\u2019s not about logic; I think it\u2019s instinct.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not necessarily about looking good for someone else. We want to feel good about ourselves. When we feel beautiful, we gain confidence, like ourselves more, and can make big changes in our lives. (Every now and then, I seriously daydream about how I could somehow become more like Haruka Ayase\u2014haha.)<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not quite Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs, but perhaps for many women, wanting a car comes after they\u2019ve satisfied their desire to feel beautiful to some degree. And, of course, that takes money.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, women who love cars don\u2019t always have the best image. I think some people assume they\u2019re \u201cspeed demons who love to drive flat out\u201d<\/strong> or \u201ctough, masculine types who don\u2019t need a boyfriend.\u201d<\/strong> That\u2019s not necessarily true, of course, but plenty of women may be put off by the stereotype.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just women. Japan doesn\u2019t have a particularly strong motorsports culture, so there\u2019s often a prevailing image of \u201ccar enthusiast = geek\u201d<\/strong> or \u201ccar enthusiast = street racer.\u201d<\/strong> When I first met my husband and heard he was into cars, I thought, \u201cOh, so he\u2019s like someone from Initial D, drifting through mountain passes while delivering tofu.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n We often hear about carmakers designing or marketing cars for women. But the ads I see tend to be overly sweet and girly: \u201cA pastel color that suits me! It even comes in pink!\u201d or \u201cA stylish compact car that\u2019s perfect for me!\u201d Without us even realizing it, we seem to absorb messages like \u201cThe right car for a woman is a pink compact\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cWomen should choose a car for its cute looks, not its performance or sound.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n But lately, even in the world of fitness, we\u2019re seeing plenty of women train hard and take a disciplined approach to getting in shape. The mood is shifting toward \u201cwomen can be cool, too!\u201d<\/strong> Maybe car ads aimed at women will change along with the times.<\/p>\n In Japan, there\u2019s a strong tendency to value fitting in. Maybe that\u2019s even more pronounced in a relatively homogeneous society. Stepping outside the conventional image of what a woman is \u201csupposed\u201d to be can make life harder. That may be why publicly saying \u201cI love cars\u201d<\/strong> takes courage for some women. Though, of course, this isn\u2019t limited to women.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve covered a lot of ground, but I don\u2019t think women\u2019s lack of interest in cars comes down only to things like not feeling confident driving or worrying about accidents. The causes may run much deeper. What matters is this:<\/p>\n It\u2019s okay not to be interested in cars. It\u2019s okay to love cute cars, and it\u2019s okay to love sports cars. The world has room for all kinds of people.<\/p>\n If a culture of openness continues to grow in Japan\u2014a culture that says, \u201cI can see why you think that,\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cIt\u2019s not for me, but I\u2019m glad it makes you happy\u201d<\/strong>\u2014then perhaps more women will feel welcome in the world of cars.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Why Women Aren\u2019t Interested in Cars People often say that women aren\u2019t interested in cars. The reasons usually given include: \u30fbThe cost of ownership is too high \u30fbThey don\u2019t feel confident behind the wheel \u30fbThey\u2019re happy just riding in the passenger seat \u30fbThey\u2019re afraid of the risks involved in an accident Those explanations do make sense. But I think the biggest reason women aren\u2019t interested in cars is that they don\u2019t have many women around...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=23","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nocar-nolife","en-US"],"yoast_head":"
\n\u2192You can\u2019t picture yourself owning a car
\n\u2192Buying a car doesn\u2019t even seem like a life choice
\n\u2192The number of women who drive doesn\u2019t grow
\n\u2192There are still few women around you who drive<\/p>\nFive Reasons More Women Haven\u2019t Gotten into Cars<\/h3>\n
1\u3000Fewer Women Had Their Own Income<\/h4>\n
2\u3000Beauty Often Takes Priority Over Cars<\/h4>\n
3\u3000The Stereotype of Women Who Love Cars Isn\u2019t Very Appealing<\/h4>\n
4\u3000Car Brands\u2019 Marketing to Women Is Too Cutesy<\/h4>\n
5\u3000Japanese Culture Doesn\u2019t Always Embrace Being Different<\/h4>\n
This Is What Diversity Looks Like<\/h3>\n