Men’s Rightsers and MGTOWers regularly lament what they see as the baleful influence of feminism on everyday life and popular culture. So it’s perhaps worth reminding people what things were really like before modern – that is, second and third wave – feminism.
Second-wave feminism was in its infancy in 1970 when this charming Goodyear ad was shown on the first broadcast of Monday Night Football.
Obviously, the whole “women drivers suck LOL” attitude lives on — in the form of countless dumb jokes, demotivational posters, YouTube compilations, you name it.
But none of that shit hits on the same visceral level as this ad. I think that’s partly because of the smug, patronizing tone of the narrator of the Goodyear commercial, and the hint of contempt that slips into his voice when he mentions the possibility of a mere woman taking the wheel. I think it’s also because to whomever made the ad—and presumably a great number of those watching it — the idea that women are awful drivers is simply considered an incontrovertible fact; the ad isn’t even trying to be funny.
Indeed, this deliberately cutesy vintage Volvo ad, while equally sexist, seems fairly innocuous by comparison. (My only question is why that poor woman seems to have married her father.)
Evil said: “Because women aren’t supposed to be accountable for ANYTHING they do.”
Why on earth should women be held “accountable” for having a flat tire on a deserted highway? WTF does that even mean? That if they have a flat tire they need to be punished for it?
Perhaps Ion is right. I will avoid getting raped and robbed in the furture by being fully clothed dressed like I am a homeless person. Not to provocative while at the same time looking very poor. No money to steal here. If everyone will do the same rape and robbery will go down to zero! YAY!
@Captain Bathrobe…You are dense, women drive more then they used to NOT more than men. Please learn to read your own links properly.
“@Captain Bathrobe…You are dense, women drive more then they used to NOT more than men. ”
NWOSlave – Please quote the specific statement Captain Bathrobe made that you are refuting. Oh, right, he didn’t actually say that so you can’t. Please learn to read the comments you’re replying to properly.
@Ion:
You and other have presented false analogies. Walking in a bad neighborhood with cash strapped to you, or leaving your keys in an unlocked car’s ignition is more like a woman walking up to a known rapist naked and bouncing her bouncy bits in front of him, or bending over and pointing earnestly. That is asking for it.
What is not asking to be robbed is living in a well-to-do neighbor hood in a fancy house. It is not asking to be car-jacked if you drive a mercedes (however attractive that may be to theives). And it is NOT asking to be raped to dress in sexy (even mildly revealing) ways.
I did remember someone explaining this to me in a bar.
Women do seem to get into more accidents than men. But these accidents are really minor like “small dent” worthy accidents.
Men don’t seem to report these small issues as much because men don’t consider these to be accidents and tend to fix them up without insurance coming into it.
There is however one undeniable piece of statistics. Men are more likely to be in serious accidents. Nearly 75% more likely. Even if we regard women as having more accidents which may be due to reporting errors, men are more likely to die from them.
Most insurance companies actually charge higher premiums for male vs. female drivers for this reason. The guy who explained this to me was in insurance himself and I do know my insurance was higher than women who I was dating despite often having driven longer than them.
Actually Ion-I think you should be able to. I know that it is not a great idea but there should not be the expectation that you will be robbed just for walking down the street looking like a low rent version of Mr. T.
The ad can be interpreted in a few different ways. Yes, one could make an argument for subtle misogynist undertones in the ad. But I don’t agree that the theme is “women drivers suck” necessary.
Watch the ad again, she’s driving “alone” and at night, on her way to pick up her husband from the airport. But worry not! This car has Goodyear tires, so she’s going to get to the airport safely — which means “more than just mileage.”
Also, look at how the husband jumps in the drivers seat and she scoots over at the end. She gladly lets her husband assume that responsibility.
FACT: Most women prefer someone else, whether it’s their friend, boyfriend, husband or father, to do the driving.
Looking and thinking back to the family dynamics of the 50s, I would say that the ad pretty much portrays “safety” as a selling point for the tires. Sure, nowadays the way they promoted this product seem kind of silly and *gasp* sexist.
I don’t find the ad particularly offensive either. Especially since most women I know would prefer *not* to do the driving. Heck, they even brag about getting driven everywhere.
Ha ha! NWO, half way down the page is a table showing the number of accidents per 100,000 miles driven, broken down by age and gender.
You are a living study in the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Old Glory’s argument compressed: “This ad isn’t sexist because of [insert sexist stereotype].”
Perhaps Ion is right. I will avoid getting raped and robbed in the furture by being fully clothed dressed like I am a homeless person.
Yes, Ion is totally right, because — oh shit. Homeless women get raped all the time. Because they are in a vulnerable position, and most rapists are predators.
Whoops! There goes Ion’s ridiculous theory.
The only time I want someone else to drive is when I want to read a book or my best friend is annoying me again.
Otherwise, *I* drive the damn car.
It’s also a bad analogy because robbery is stealing something, and rape is assaulting a person. Bashing would be a closer analogy. Also, smurf.
evilwhitemalempire:
I think you have me confused with someone else; I haven’t been involved in any “take back the night stuff”, and I have only the foggiest notion of what such stuff might be.
As to your proposal that, before the age of cell phones, women signaled interest in SM rape scenes by stopping on the highway and removing a tire from their car, I’ve never heard of such a thing and I find it somewhat unlikely. Admittedly, the leather community probably did steal all the good symbols — but I’m thinking they probably left straight women with SOMETHING more convenient than a thing weighing twenty pounds and covered with road mung.
And even if they don’t, mechanical breakdowns lacking in ulterior motives are sufficiently common that suggesting that a woman “asks to be raped” by simulating one would be similar to suggesting that a woman might ask to be raped by wearing red nail polish or having attractively-shaped calves — such a signal would produce much offense and confusion, and might possibly even get someone shot.
Or were guns, like spare tires, invented after the cell phone also? I was given to understand not, based on the estates of my older Texan relatives… but possibly I am confused again.
You know, there is no defense to robbery, theft, assault, or murder called “the victim was just begging for it” either and victims of these crimes are not presumed to be liars if they left their door unlocked, they are not interrogated for hours on witness stands about how they really wanted to be the victim of a crime, they do not come face to face with archaic “upmost resistance” standards that make them have to display that they did everything possible (including violence) to stop the crime or let the perp walk. There actually is an old ABA Journal article satirizing this, available in part here http://womanofsteele.tumblr.com/post/3811556833/if-robbery-victims-were-treated-like-rape-victims-the). The reality is that we do not actually treat and speak about victims of other crimes the way we treat and speak about rape victims.
A couple weeks ago, my mom rented a giant 24-foot moving truck. If it were five hundred pounds heavier, she would have needed a CDL. Even my dad admitted that she drove it better than he did. Women can be great drivers. All it takes is having a confident attitude.