Katrina De Las Hondas is a pseudonym -ed.
Today's Snatches of Feminist Discourse subject is the distressing Patriarchy at work in the automobile aftermarket. This Patriarchy often takes the form of unconscious bias.
I am always hyper-vigilant for signs of the Patriarchy. Today I saw an advertisement for Safelite Auto Glass Repair Service on television. The advertisement uses the narrative device of the damsel in distress to sell their service. A hypothetical woman is on her way to work, but first she has to drop her child off at day-care. She notices a crack in her windshield. This is the crisis that propels the narrative forward.
The woman telephones the Safelite Corporation, and the technician appears, seeminingly out of nowhere, to rescue our helpless damsel. And this technician is a male. Straight out of Patriarchy central casting, too, I might add. He drives up in a car, which represents his gallant steed. He doesn't have a suit of shining armor, but he does have facial hair, all the way down to his neck. I'm just surprised that this neckbeard wasn't wearing a fedora.
I would have liked this commercial to have a different narrative, one in which the woman fixes the broken windshield herself. Short of that, why not have, for example, a transitioning woman of color be the service technician. Isn't Safelite merely reinforcing the harmful stereotype that women aren't good at fixing cars?
This bias begins in high school, where the focus seems to be more on indulging those with mechanical ability rather than nurturing potential talent. The image of the stereotypical automobile technician hasn't changed in the last one hundred years. It's always a male, and usually a white male. There is a glass ceiling to break when it comes to being considered exceptional, especially for minorities. These are people who do not have access to a car.
This bias is acted out thousands of times every day in automobile repair shops. Technicians routinely tack on unnecessary services to the bill of those who are not genius-level automobile experts. These people are usually women.
I reached out to the Safelite Corporation by clicking on their website, and looking at employment opportunities. The cultural bias is right out in the open. They require the "ability to operate various hand and power tools and equipment." Patriarchy. Women are systematically excluded from shop class. They also require the "ability to lift and carry large, heavy (up to 75 lbs.) objects." This requirement blatantly favors men over women.
Diversity benefits everyone. Safelite, think how that woman feels when the technician rolls up to her home, possibly wearing a fedora? As he assaults her with his eyes, how can the woman feel safe in her own driveway, knowing that the guy is raping her in his imagination? If Safelite wants to be an inclusive corporation that respects female empowerment, they must begin a diversity program at once.
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