Sunday, May 10, 2009

Stereotype: Chinese Women Are Bad Drivers

I am offended when people assume I am a bad driver or are surprised when I can actually parallel park. I am a good driver, damnit. It's the damn stereotype that Chinese women are bad drivers. However, I can't argue with it when evidence is staring me in the face.

I was with my husband driving on the highway when, all of a sudden, the car in front of me swerved to the left (almost into the divider) and then changed to the right lane. That was strange, I thought. I passed the car and saw that the car was driven by a little Chinese lady with glasses. What the heck! Then my husband and I were laughing about how Chinese women can't drive. Then not 5 minutes later, a van that was supposed to yield to me drove right in front of me. I think the driver realized their mistake and just stopped! I was joking to my husband that it would be funny if it was a Chinese woman driving. So when we got a chance to pass the van, we both turned to see. And you guessed it! It was a little Chinese lady with glasses! Haha! What are the chances. Then it got me thinking of all the stupid things I've done on the road and of whether other drivers look at me and conclude that it's not just a stereotype. =(

2 comments:

marco said...

sorry to say, but it's not a stereotype. I think it's possible for an asian girl to become an outlier to the phenomenon, but it takes a lot of effort and concentration and discipline to not apply make up while driving.

Tara said...

Marco, why am I not surprised by your comment? =p