Photo: news.xinhuanet.com
Sexism is popular in China, as authorities in Hangzhou showed when they introduced pink-painted “female” parking spaces.
Not only did the parking spots have pink paint around them and a drawing o a woman wearing a dress/skirt, but they are about 1.5 times wider than regular ones. The new parking spaces are reportedly present since March, when they were introduced on highway service areas.
According to Xinhuanet, a website from China that published images of the new spots, these new spots are a convenience feature, not a sexist measure. Sina Weibo, a popular social media site in China, had many users that did not agree on this, as its users were outraged at the bigotry shown by local authorities.
As one of their users said, this measure is sexist because it shows concern based on gender that someone could not park in a regular spot.
The bigotry is heightened by the pink paint used to signal the place, as well as the figure that shows a person wearing a skirt or dress of some sort.
At this point, some of you are wondering what alternative would the city of Hangzhou have had to this problem, of people with poor parking skills? Easy - make the same kind of parking space in size, but remove a gender designation from it, as well as the pink paint. Instead of the two sexist elements, the authorities could have just labeled the eight parking spaces as “newbie drivers,” an entirely acceptable term for people who are not as good at parking as they should be to fit their cars into regular spaces.
China is not the only country to have implemented female-only parking spots which that with sexist designation and possibly pink paint. The country is joined by South Korean capital Seoul, and some areas in Germany. However, the German parking spots come with a less-sexist approach, as cities oblige companies to have woman-only parking areas by law as 30% of the total number of available spaces.
Instead of just making them wider and painting female figures on them with pink, Germany placed female parking spots in well-lit areas, and located them closer to lively streets or buildings, to help prevent potential attacks against women. Moreover, that is not sexist, it is sensible, as this kind of attack happens more often that you would think. So, China, please take note.
According to Xinhuanet, a website from China that published images of the new spots, these new spots are a convenience feature, not a sexist measure. Sina Weibo, a popular social media site in China, had many users that did not agree on this, as its users were outraged at the bigotry shown by local authorities.
As one of their users said, this measure is sexist because it shows concern based on gender that someone could not park in a regular spot.
The bigotry is heightened by the pink paint used to signal the place, as well as the figure that shows a person wearing a skirt or dress of some sort.
At this point, some of you are wondering what alternative would the city of Hangzhou have had to this problem, of people with poor parking skills? Easy - make the same kind of parking space in size, but remove a gender designation from it, as well as the pink paint. Instead of the two sexist elements, the authorities could have just labeled the eight parking spaces as “newbie drivers,” an entirely acceptable term for people who are not as good at parking as they should be to fit their cars into regular spaces.
China is not the only country to have implemented female-only parking spots which that with sexist designation and possibly pink paint. The country is joined by South Korean capital Seoul, and some areas in Germany. However, the German parking spots come with a less-sexist approach, as cities oblige companies to have woman-only parking areas by law as 30% of the total number of available spaces.
Instead of just making them wider and painting female figures on them with pink, Germany placed female parking spots in well-lit areas, and located them closer to lively streets or buildings, to help prevent potential attacks against women. Moreover, that is not sexist, it is sensible, as this kind of attack happens more often that you would think. So, China, please take note.
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