equilibrium-girl.com

You May Find Yourself Behind The Wheel of a Large Automobile

That's two seasons on the The Apprentice where the "men's" team assumed they would win the ad-campaign-promoting-the-sports-car challenge...but failed miserably. It irks me that men assume they have the capacity to know more about cars just because they are men. It's just like football to me-cars are a vehicle for male bonding, and men have the tendency to learn more about cars because they sit around talking about horsepower. But just because you are male doesn't give you the right to be elitist about the capacity to actually know more about cars. I've found this attitude to be one that persist, and it pisses me off.

I used to moderate a car forum, and when I'd say stuff, it took a long time for the men there to give me some credibility. It often took other members chiding a newbie by saying "[insert my user name here] knows more than 90% you guys, so shut it."

The partners at my law firm would talk raw horsepower, but when I chided in to factor in weight-to-power ratios, they'd go on talking. These days, I bore my clients half to death when I tell them how excited I am about my brake pad and springs install that's hopefully going to take place soon. Believe me, I'm not as knowledgeable as some, and I "married into" the car enthusiast realm, but I know some of my shit. But still, I get the same treatment if I jump in when men around me are talking cars. So why is it that men are still so uncomfortable about women knowing something about cars? The only answer I can come up with is the simplest one: Ego.