Ever since I was a little girl I always knew exactly what kind of car I wanted. A British racing green BMW Z4 with tan seats and a mahogany interior. For those of you do not speak car this is a two-seater BMW convertible in a forest green. I remember expressing my enthusiasm of this automobile to my mother. She just looked at me and said, “Where are your kids going to sit?”
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| A Sketch of my Dram Car |
This question has always baffled me. Why can’t my future husband own the reasonable car and I get the awesome sports car? It seems to me that more often then not, the husband gets to have his dream car while the wife get’s stuck with the honker of a car called a minivan. Sure, it may be that the female just doesn’t care so much about the type of car she drives. But I can’t be the only girl in the world who wants a expensive convertible when she grows up.
Talking about female and male roles during class really made me think about how society has installed in us the “rules of the sexes” since a young age, even when it comes to fantasy cars. When you ask most young girls what car they want when they grow up they’ll say a prius or an SUV, both reasonably sized and have room for company. Boys will go all out saying a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and the crazy ones will say the bat mobile.
It seems just part of American society to have the stereotypical caretaker, the female, to have the more child friendly car and the stereotypical breadwinner, the male, to have the flashy car. But now, these stereotypes are not the case. Women can be the breadwinners and the men can be the caretakers of the children. If roles have been switched, I think cars can be too. So let me say, I will have my Z4 someday! (Ha! That rhymed!)
Emma, I LOVE cars, too. Only my dream car isn't a BMW, it's an Audi TTS Roadster convertible, also a 2-seater. Before middle school, we had to do a money planning project and pick one thing to save up for, and that car is what I chose. I completely agree that the wife always seems to get the minivan and the husband the sports car, my family follows that stereotype. And as the new driver, I get to drive the car that's available, if my parents aren't both using a car. But when I took my driving test, I chose to drive the minivan. Don't get me wrong, I love the feeling of the pick-up that the sports car gets, being the first across the intersection after a red light turns green, easily maneuvering the car, etc. but I also love the feeling of being high up in the minivan, I feel more safe for some reason. Even though the sports car is proven to have better safety ratings. I guess what I'm trying to say is, that while the minivan is the more sensible car for driving carpools and holding smelly sports gear, sometimes it's also the preferred car by some people. So maybe it's not just the stereotypes of society determining a person's car choice.
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