Female parking spots spark sexism furor
Print Edition
Emblazoned with a black high heel shoe with a pink background, extra-wide parking spaces for women have sparked debate on sexism on social media in China.
The parking spots at the Jiande and Tonglu highway service areas in east China鈥檚 Zhejiang Province are 1.5 times the size of normal spaces, with the color and icon indicating 鈥渨omen only.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 significantly larger, and I find it a very considerate design,鈥 said Yang Xin, a female driver who recently got her driver鈥檚 license.
The microblogging site Weibo has been awash in debate over women鈥檚 parking spaces, with many contending that the spots perpetuate the stereotype that women are bad drivers.
鈥淭his is utterly sexism. Parking depends on driving skills, not gender,鈥 said Weibo user 鈥測ouyouzizi.鈥
Yet many female online users said the parking spots just showed concern for those in need, and calling the spots an example of gender discrimination was an overreaction.
According to a survey on Weibo, 63.7 percent of 1,700 respondents said it was a good idea to designate female-only parking spaces.
Fang Hongying, manager of Jiande highway service area, said that the women鈥檚 only parking spots were launched in October 2017, and that driving skills were only part of the reason behind them.
鈥淭he women鈥檚 parking spaces are closer to exits and monitoring systems, which is more convenient for female drivers to take a break or go shopping, and much safer, especially at night,鈥 she said.
鈥淚f it could be called a parking space for new drivers, the discrimination label could be shrugged off,鈥 said Chen Jianguo, associate professor of sociology at North China Electric Power University.
A number of priority seats, corridors and subway carriages for women have appeared in public venues in Chinese cities in recent years. Women鈥檚 security check channels have been opened at some airports as security staff explain that the special lane can improve efficiency and protect the privacy of female passengers.
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