|
Author
|
Topic: Real men don't drive SUVs.
|
Granola Girl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8078
|
posted 09 September 2005 09:47 PM
Only the masculinely threatened do, apparently. quote:
"I found that if you made men more insecure about their masculinity, they displayed more homophobic attitudes, tended to support the Iraq War more and would be more willing to purchase an SUV over another type of vehicle," said Robb Willer, a sociology doctoral candidate at Cornell. Willer is presenting his findings Aug. 15 at the American Sociological Association's 100th annual meeting in Philadelphia."Masculine overcompensation is the idea that men who are insecure about their masculinity will behave in an extremely masculine way as compensation. I wanted to test this idea and also explore whether overcompensation could help explain some attitudes like support for war and animosity to homosexuals," Willer said. Willer administered a gender identity survey to a sample of male and female Cornell undergraduates in the fall of 2004. Participants were randomly assigned to receive feedback that their responses indicated either a masculine or a feminine identity. While women's responses were unchanged regardless of the feedback they received, men's reactions "were strongly affected by this feedback," Willer said.
And quote:
Masculinity-threatened participants also showed more interest in buying an SUV. "There were no increases for other types of cars," Willer said.
.Hmmmm...what does that say about ultra macho men like California Governer Arnold "The Terminator" Schwartzenegger? That he keeps smoking cigars, driving hummers and voting Republican because he doesn't feel manly enough on the inside? Cornell U. link. [ 09 September 2005: Message edited by: Granola Girl ]
From: East Van | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
|
posted 09 September 2005 10:14 PM
As I recall, the majority of those I saw driving SUV's in Sept-Iles in June were women (soccer moms?), while virtually every pickup truck was driven by a man; no doubt connected with his job or weekend hobby. When I visited New Mexico a few years back, my girlfriend was driving a SUV - because she lives just where the Rockies start, and drives up the mountains for skiing all winter. This study completely ignores in my opinion the practicalities of a SUV. Some of the folks I know who drive SUV's drive them because of a sense of greater protection, others for the interior space. I drove my girlfriend's Ford Explorer 4X4 from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Tucson, Arizona, and I loved the thing - room for all my suitcases, the two of us, and groceries. And, with on demand 4x4 if we needed it. I'd love one if my circumstances warranted one, which they thankfully don't - I instead drive a much smaller Mazda 2x4 pickup which gets the highest gas mileage of any regular gas powered small truck. I drive this vehicle because I need the ground clearance, undercarriage protection, and carrying capacity. edited to add: I live in an isolated area with dirt roads, and, outside the village, it's basically a rocky cowpath that is really too rough for cars. All the cars that traverse outside the village here have broken suspensions, while our trucks have no problems at all as far as I know. [ 09 September 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
|
posted 09 September 2005 10:31 PM
My mother was a very attractive woman, and that didn't stop her from being a drag racer with her Plymouth V8 in the 1960's. When I was last in the UK, my longtime friend and company hostess was escorting me around Cheshire in her Rover sports coupe when we came up behind a Ferrari GTO roadster in black driven by a gorgeous blond woman, and I asked my escort to follow her around just for fun. The Ferrari GTO, btw, is an enormously powerful and expensive car. I think SUV's appeal to women because there's some kind of image or status associated with some of the larger ones - the Lincoln and Cadillac SUV's are massive, and very luxuriously equipped.edited to add: maybe the problem with that survey is that it should have addressed men's insecurities rather than the end result of insecure men purchasing a SUV - how can the "problem" of insecurity be addressed? Once addressed, perhaps the need for an SUV would disappear - at least in the insecure group. edited to add another note: I have never seen a Hummer driven by a woman, but that's not to say women don't drive Hummers! [ 09 September 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
|
posted 09 September 2005 10:54 PM
On Saturday afternoons I occasionally channel surf through the various car, motorcycle, and truck racing programs to see if there's anything really interesting on. I grew up in a family or car and motorcyle racers, so it's second nature to me, although honestly none of it interests me very much nowadays. I still like vintage sports car racing. Anyway, the point of this post, related to this thread, is that on any weekend, you can catch live from around the world thousands of men and women taking in motorized competition events. Stock Car racing in the USA is one of the biggest sporting draws, while in Europe, F1 and motorcycle races are huge draws. I wouldn't personally call these 'macho' events because that's not how I view them - they're competitive events, and for the most part, fun. I used to go drag racing, sports car rallying, sports car ice racing, and vintage sports car racing at Shannonville. All great fun. I don't do any of these anymore because they're frightfully expensive, and, in my opinion, too competitive nowadays, and the fun is out of them. Also very wasteful. In most races, one set of tires will only last at the most one or two races, racers get very little fuel economy, and, generally, the fans sometimes act like drunken sods. But this is mainstream entertainment in America and around the world. Is it macho? If you say so. As long as this kind of activity exists, you'll find men and women who enjoy powerful automobiles, trucks, SUV's, and motorcyles, just for the sensation of driving a powerful vehicle. For some, it's a powerfully addictive drug.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Cartman
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7440
|
posted 09 September 2005 10:54 PM
quote:
I think SUV's also appeal to women because there's some kind of image or status associated with some of the larger ones - the Lincoln and Cadillac SUV's are massive, and very luxuriously equipped.
Realy good point BB. My wife is quite feminine, but this is not to say that she is not masculine in some ways. I usually drive the environmentally friendly car while she drives the SUV. Had it not been for recent fuel prices increases, she would have purchased a much larger vehicle (employee pricing). I think she enjoys the "power" that accrues from driving a large vehicle. IMO, both men and women can behave in masculine and feminine ways. They are simply constructs after all.
From: Bring back Audra!!!!! | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
|
posted 10 September 2005 12:00 AM
quote:
I think she enjoys the "power" that accrues from driving a large vehicle.
This got me thinking. Here's an idea: Perhaps the desire of women to drive an SUV is not so far removed from the men in this study. Think about it. Why do these men feel threatened by being misidentified as female? I'd argue that there's a good chance that, men having more power in our culture, they feel they are having their power taken away from them. They overcompensate with heightened masculine behaviours and desires in order to recapture the perceived power that goes along with being male. Women didn't react with heightened femininity after being misidentified -- they didn't lose any power through the misidentification. So perhaps the women who drive SUVs are looking for a power symbol. The attraction is you feel safe, invulnerable to other vehicles on the road. If you feel less empowered, more vulnerable (as many women do), you're going to find that attractive. There's also the status element, but I think that's also a power statement, regardless of gender. Not necessarily the case, but it's a plausible theory. [ 10 September 2005: Message edited by: Zoot ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
|
posted 10 September 2005 01:48 AM
With all due respect because I like you, but.... Oh, bullshit, Boom Boom! The minivan is the current incarnation of the station wagon. Cheaper on gas, not especially cool, but it works for 2+ kids and a dog. Even better than an SUV because it isn't so goddam high off the ground and has better cargo space. (We checked this carefully when we were going from a company vehicle to buying our own.)We have, in fact, a good friend a block away who borrows our minivan to head out to Rona because he can't fit plywood sheets in his 2x4 SUV. Besides which, the station wagon was never marketed as a sexy vehicle (neither are minivans), but SUVs sure are, usually with a rugged, good-looking male in the driver's seat. Don't give me this nonsense about SUVs being like station wagons... Myself, I'd rather be driving a subcompact.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
brebis noire
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7136
|
posted 10 September 2005 10:15 AM
I tend to think that women who drive SUVs are led on by the feeling of security - of being higher up on the road, or if they're driving in rural places or where there's lots of snow, they find it easier to get themselves out. However, from my own experience with a pickup and an SUV (an Explorer) I find them less safe on normal and icy road conditions (they're top heavy and tend to fishtail - unless you're in 4WD mode, which consumes more gas). They are useful for going places you can't go with a car. That's useful - if it's really justified. Otherwise, I think it's not such a good thing, because to me, vehicles belong on the road, not on the off-road. For our farm, we'd find it useful to have a pickup, but we don't right now. We get along with an old Camry, and now we have an Echo, mainly for the fuel economy, for long drives. It has a surprising amount of space and you don't have to crouch down to get in because of the way it's designed.
From: Quebec | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
|
posted 10 September 2005 10:41 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Zoot:
I haven't driven a recent-model Explorer, but an older one. I learned to drive in a 3/4 ton pickup truck. I can also parallel park a 25 foot motorhome -- they're gas pigs, too. What has that got to do with anything?You may see more SUVs in places that are more rugged, and that makes sense.
Back in high school, I drove a Chev 30 dump truck on Saturdays while working for Ottawa Neighborhood Services. It had daullies in the back, not as long as your motorhome, but with a huge, honkin' V8 - when the back was empty, I could almost do a 'wheelie' in low gear while flooring the accelerator. Fun, fun, fun, especially as I was also racing during those teenage years.  Two summers ago I leased a 2000 Dodge Caravan in Sept-Iles, and just could not find a comfortable driving position in it - and, it was way too cavernous inside. I much preferred driving my girlfriend's (now ex-girlfriend, hence my current membership in BWAGA) 1998 Ford Explorer down New Mexico way. The 2003 Chevy Venture I leased last year was much more intimate and easier to drive than the Caravan - a much lower seating position helps. But I still would have preferred the Explorer and my current Mazda Dual Sport pickup. If I lived in the city, I'd be driving a Toyota Corolla - it's my favourite cheap car; I love them. I always rent one when I'm in Ottawa. If I lived on the farm, my brother's, for example, out in the sticks with a lot of snow in winter and mud in the spring, I'd buy a used Explorer. edited to add: I've no experience with smaller SUV's like the RAV4 or the Escape. Are they safe on the highways in a strong crosswind? The Explorer is wider and less likely to be influenced by crosswinds. The Caravan was terrible on slippery roads in a crosswind. [ 10 September 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Email this thread to someone!
I'm so embarrassed. Much of what I wrote can be applied to minivans - especially being the vehicle of choice for soccer moms. Arrrggghhh! Easy to forget about minivans, because there aren't any here. 
