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More Room to Park for Women?

(53 Posts)
HollyDaze Sun 20-Jul-14 14:04:30

'The parking spaces outside a Chinese shopping mall are distinctive: marked out in pink, signposted "Respectfully reserved for women", and around 30 centimetres wider than normal.

The slots at the Dashijiedaduhui -- or "World Metropolis" -- centre have sparked debate in China, which officially embraces gender equality but where old-fashioned sexism is rife in reality.

the 10 spaces outside the main entrance were provided after women had trouble parking in the standard basement slots, managers said.

"I think this is very convenient," said user Yong Mei. "Other parking spaces are too narrow."

"It's not gender biased," she told AFP. "It's just that women have a few issues with vision when parking."

But outraged commentators on Chinese social media accused the mall managers of sexism and cliched thinking.

"This is supposed to respect women, but actually it's an insult," said one.

The parking initiative is not unprecedented -- other countries have similar female-dedicated spaces, including South Korea and various European nations.

The latest Chinese controversy echoes a series of microblog posts Beijing police made last year advising women on driving techniques -- including not wearing high heels, releasing the handbrake before setting off, and not panicking if they suddenly realise they're going the wrong way.

"Some women drivers lack a sense of direction, and while driving a car, they often hesitate and are indecisive about which road they should take," reads one of the entries on the police department's verified microblog.

Another featured a cartoon depicting a confrontation between a police officer and a woman driving a vehicle shaped like a large red high-heel shoe.

According to a World Health Organization estimate in March 2013, globally males are more likely to be involved in accidents than females, and 77 percent of all road traffic deaths occur among men.'

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/plus-sized-parking-spaces-chinese-women-drivers-022323971.html#h17kcCe

Would you consider this to be sexist? Would you find it offensive? Would you welcome wider parking spaces?

henetha Sun 20-Jul-14 14:08:41

Is it April 1st? Is this a joke?
Do I find it sexist? .... er, yes! Would I find it offensive? .. er, yes!
Would I welcome wider parking spaces? NO.
I can drive and park as well as any man on this planet!
grin

granjura Sun 20-Jul-14 14:09:06

Yes, an insult really- if women 'have a few issues with vision when parking' they really have issues with space awareness and should not be driving, surely???

Totally agree with larger spaces for parents due to more space needed to take kids in and out of child seat, carrycots, etc.

glammanana Sun 20-Jul-14 14:11:22

Why would you need a wider parking space is beyond me if you have passed your driving test you should be able to park in any available space,only exception is for mum & tots spaces or disabled parking.

annodomini Sun 20-Jul-14 14:22:07

If they have 'issues with vision when parking', they must have issues with vision full stop and shouldn't be driving!

MiniMouse Sun 20-Jul-14 14:22:40

Why not make all parking spaces bigger, so that it's easier for people to get in and out of the car instead of needing to be a contortionist? Different debate?!

HollyDaze Sun 20-Jul-14 14:25:45

I want to say it is sexist but I can see the advantage of wider parking spaces.

I was reading some of the comments on that page and someone stated that cars had become wider but not the spaces - maybe that's the problem. I can fit my car inside the yellow lines (equal spacing both sides) but in some car parks, I can barely open the car door.

HollyDaze Sun 20-Jul-14 14:26:52

MiniMouse

Different debate?!

Not at all - it's a valid point.

Lilygran Sun 20-Jul-14 14:30:04

Hear, hear MiniMouse. Cars seem to be a lot bigger now (Range Rovers, anyone?) than when a lot of car parks were laid out and even if you have no trouble parking, like glammanana, you still have to contend with other people who park too near the white line or otherwise trap you.

HollyDaze Sun 20-Jul-14 14:40:26

I didn't really realise just how much cars have widened over the years until I was at the Classic Car rally and was looking at some of the old cars - there was an Austin A40 and it seemed tiny. The chap said I could sit in it (he did too) and I felt uncomfortably close to him! It made me realise how roomy my car is by comparison so surely, car size has to be a big part of the problem.

Galen Sun 20-Jul-14 14:43:58

I HAVE to have a wider space. With my arthritis and THRs I have to "fling wide the gates doors" to get out of the car. Fortunately I have a blue badge!

glammanana Sun 20-Jul-14 14:45:02

Lilygran here here !! you can gaurantee that I can park my car in some out of the way area in a car park and some one will park so close to me you need a tin opener to get back into my car,bit like when you pick somewhere nice and quiet to have a meal and a loud mouth plonks themselves right next to you when there are loads of seats elsewhere.hmm

Tegan Sun 20-Jul-14 14:51:14

I'm rubbish at parking sad. And can't really practice because to do so means I might scartch someones car blush. But even in my little Yaris there doesn't seem to be enough room to open the door and get out of the car without the risk of scratching the car next to me. When we park in town and the car park is pretty full the S.O. tends to let me out of the car before he parks up which gives him a bit more room to get out on his side [neither of us are very big, either].

Tegan Sun 20-Jul-14 14:52:23

Just a thought hmm; are pregnant women allowed to use mother and child parking places?

hildajenniJ Sun 20-Jul-14 15:09:09

Yes I think it is sexist! Ican park anywhere better than my DH. When my DC were little they used to tell me I was much better at driving and parking than Daddy.wink

Malcolm102 Sun 20-Jul-14 15:09:14

I park in the parent and child. Or even my daughter will park in same when I am with her.
I am the parent and she is still my child at 49. wink

Nonu Sun 20-Jul-14 15:40:15

WT MM , in essence that may seem FUN , however, you could be depriving a mother with a baby or toddler a space.

They have enough trouble as it is , so the extra space must be a boon
for them , I know it is for us when we have the GC on board

Anne58 Sun 20-Jul-14 16:23:29

I do get annoyed at supermarket parking spaces where it is impossible to get a trolley between cars.

Yes, I know that trundling the long way around the rows is good for me....mutter mutter ........

Nonu Sun 20-Jul-14 16:25:31

((hug)) especially for you

annodomini Sun 20-Jul-14 16:35:10

The biggest bugbear I have is the very large 4x4 vehicles that we find in supermarket carparks in this part of the world. They do take up more than their fair share.

granjura Sun 20-Jul-14 16:42:18

Malcolm102- what is your excuse? People who park in disabled or child and parent places and are not eligible really make me annoyed (having been handicapped in the past and on my way back to being again...)?

Tegan Sun 20-Jul-14 16:47:40

I think he was joking.

sunseeker Sun 20-Jul-14 17:23:48

People who park in disabled or mother and child spaces when they are neither really make me angry. I am fortunate enough not to be disabled and I don't have children, or grandchildren for that matter, so I park in the other spaces. Yesterday I saw two fit young men park in a disabled space at the supermarket - I was thinking about pointing it out to them when a man approached them and had a word - all he got was a mouthful of abuse and some threatening behaviour.

Galen Sun 20-Jul-14 17:28:45

I am disabled and I can't shop at waitrose any more as all the disabled places are taken illegally.
1 the disabled person stays in the car while companion goes shopping
2 badge has been borrowed to do a Grannies shopping.
3 parent of disabled child is doing it without disabled child
3 really do not warrant a blue badge - normal walking
3 no badge, just closer.
angryangryangry

janerowena Sun 20-Jul-14 17:34:39

I want wider spaces, I have seen some carparks over the years squeeze in more spaces to get more revenue, which is fine if you own a baby fiat. The rows are often closer too, which makes reversing hard if you have a small turning circle. We parked in a carpark yesterday that had barely 6" of the space left on either side of our car. I noticed last week when I washed my car that my small ford puma has big scratches on the backs of both its wing mirrors - and they certainly didn't occur while I was in the car.