I love New Girl. It’s a television show that manages to hit on some big social issues, all while making us laugh. Does it get much better than that? No, it doesn’t. And in one of its most recent episodes, Jess and the gang gave me the opportunity to write about one of my favorite television shows for work.
Here’s a quick summary: Jess needs a new car. Jess goes to buy a new car. Jess gets treated like idiotic crap by the dealership salesman. Jess emails said salesman as a man. Hijinks ensue.
Now, during this episode, New Girl did what it typically does. It put a hilarious, delightful spin on a bad situation. But this episode brought up a very, very important fact—a fact that I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to write about.
Women are often mistreated/manipulated/patronized when we walk into dealerships. And we really have to stop ignoring it.
Case in point, here’s a quote from the show straight from Jess’s mouth after she went in to purchase a car:
“Billy from Car County started playing misogynist bingo with me as soon as I walked in the door. He called me “doll face,” started pointing out all the room in the trunk for my shopping bags. Then, he explained four-wheel drive to me. I don’t need four-wheel drive explained to me, it’s very well named.”
What Jess is describing is a pretty common thing in the automotive world. Women are seen as being inconsequential—and this is no more apparent than in dealership show rooms. One might even say that car dealerships are massive time machines capable of transporting everyone back to the 1950s.
Yeah. I went there.
It’s a well-known fact that, because we have vaginas and boobs, women are treated in a different manner than men the moment we step into the dealership showroom. But it’s also a well-known fact that, when it comes to buying cars, women play a leading role in 85% of car purchases. 85%.
Click below to read the full article:
The News Wheel