# Extra wide, pink parking spots for women in China **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168 "2016-05-31T15:49:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/1 "2016-05-31T15:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > The Chinese Internet was awash in debate over sexism Monday, spurred on by an unlikely subject: parking lots. > > On Saturday night, the Qianjiang Evening News, a state-run newspaper, reported that since March, a highway service area in the eastern metropolis of Hangzhou had been offering extra-large parking spaces specifically for women. The women’s-only spots – 1.5 times the size of normal spaces – are framed in pink, and marked by icons representing a skirt-wearing woman. > > “The bigger parking spaces are for women drivers whose driving skills are not superb,” Pan Tietong, the service area’s manager, told the newspaper. He said he had encountered female drivers who were unskilled at backing up into spots, and sometimes asked security guards to help them park. > > The spots “are especially designed for women drivers,” he said. “It’s a humane measure.” > **[Sexist, maybe? Extra wide, pink parking spots for women in China](https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-parking-20160531-snap-story.html)** > > The Chinese Internet was awash in debate over sexism Monday, spurred on by an unlikely subject: parking lots. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/2 "2016-05-31T16:11:20Z")
Racist stereotype joke first? Gender stereotype joke first? Jingoistic joke first? Bash SJWs? Something something transgender knowing which parking spot to use? TOO MUCH MATERIAL HEAD ASPLOSION IMMINENT _pop_ ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/3 "2016-05-31T16:50:18Z")
As a female driver, I’d love a wider sspace, if only to keep from being crowded by other drivers with poor line discipline! One Navy base where I worked figured out they could add 2 extra spaces in a line by making all of the spaces narrower. Imagine the wailing by those (the majority) who didn’t drive itty-bitty econoboxes. I’ll take wider any day! But, yeah, just a little sexist, China… ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/4 "2016-05-31T16:54:07Z")
I would gladly have my penis removed if I could park in giant spots like that - then the slack-jawed idiots parked next to me wouldn’t be able to dent my car every time they opened their fucking doors. My last car looked like shit when I sold it, and none of the dents were made by me. :mad: \ Many people complain bitterly about race and gender relations in the US; admittedly things aren’t as good here as they ought to be, but articles like this remind me that we’re probably much closer to the front of the peloton than the rear. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/5 "2016-05-31T17:31:23Z")
How do you say “condescending” in Chinese ? ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/6 "2016-05-31T18:14:20Z")
Traffic in Hangzhou was _wretched_. Not as bad as Beijing, but still mind-numbingly awful. And I remember noticing that there was no place for all those people to _park_. Cars were crammed into any dinky spot they could possibly be parked - often further impeding traffic. I’m not really sure where they’d find the room for 150% wide parking spaces, but at least _someone_ will get to use them. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/7 "2016-06-01T00:54:20Z")
I’d love wider parking spots too. Trying to slither between tightly-spaced cars while carrying large, heavy objects you need to somehow get into the car isn’t fun. However, the sexism is quite jarring, especially considering that the insurance companies all seem to think that women are, in general, better drivers than men. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/8 "2016-06-01T01:13:32Z")
I feel like a few alternate theories should be pointed out: 1. The original news article was fake or specifically crafted for the sake of publicity/trolling. 2. The guy who painted the lots like that is a dick, even by Chinese standards. 3. Female drivers receive worse driving lessons or have to go through a less rigorous process than male drivers in China. Or, alternately, women drivers are discouraged from doing well at such a serious/manly task as driving, aren’t able to start learning to drive until later in their life than men, etc. Overall, while I don’t know exactly what set of circumstances lead to the creation of the article, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that the presentation is misleading. Though, certainly it may be simply a matter of generic, rampant sexism. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/9 "2016-06-01T07:42:50Z")
[This badass female driver](http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/01/feminist-boss-lady-queen-elizabeth-gave-saudi-arabias-king-lesson-power) would like to have a word with them. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/10 "2016-06-02T02:28:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Though, certainly it may be simply a matter of generic, rampant sexism. I frequently edit Chinese to English translated documents and you’ve nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/11 "2016-06-03T13:15:39Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I would gladly have my penis removed if I could park in giant spots like that - then the slack-jawed idiots parked next to me wouldn’t be able to dent my car every time they opened their fucking doors. My last car looked like shit when I sold it, and none of the dents were made by me. :mad: I believe cars are made to be used outdoors, exposed to various hazards. Museum display cases are made to protect things that are meant to be kept pristine. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/12 "2016-06-03T13:42:09Z")
A question for American men: When you and your wife/SO go somewhere together in the car, who drives? Is it not taken for granted that the driving, as well as all other details involved in car ownership, naturally devolves to the male? Either a cause (training) or a result (experience) of this (if not both) is the reality of the male as the superior practitioner of the art of driving. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/13 "2016-06-03T14:15:08Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > A question for American men: When you and your wife/SO go somewhere together in the car, who drives? Is it not taken for granted that the driving, as well as all other details involved in car ownership, naturally devolves to the male? Either a cause (training) or a result (experience) of this (if not both) is the reality of the male as the superior practitioner of the art of driving. If we use my car, I drive just because it’s a manual transmission. If we take her car, she drives going and I drive home (she sleeps). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/14 "2016-06-03T14:33:47Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > A question for American men: When you and your wife/SO go somewhere together in the car, who drives? While I am not a man, when my husband and I go somewhere together, the trip begins with “Do you want to drive or shall I?” or “I’m tired, will you drive?” or “I’ll drive there, you drive home.” As to who is the better driver, well, I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket, or any kind of ticket for that matter, while in the last 10 years, he’s had at least 2 speeding tickets, and he sideswiped a guard rail, causing a rather expensive repair bill. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/15 "2016-06-03T15:54:33Z")
Now THAT is a great idea! They should have those wider spaces in the U.S.! (Actually make ALL spaces wider.) ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/16 "2016-06-03T15:59:57Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > (Actually make ALL spaces wider.) You do understand that makes fewer spaces? If you think getting a parking spot at the mall on a weekend or near Christmas is hard now, just wait. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/17 "2016-06-03T16:06:21Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > You do understand that makes fewer spaces? If you think getting a parking spot at the mall on a weekend or near Christmas is hard now, just wait. Oops! I live in a rural area and businesses have plenty of extra spaces. Forgot about big cities where every space is taken! (Been there, done that.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/18 "2016-06-03T16:15:43Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > As a female driver, I’d love a wider sspace, if only to keep from being crowded by other drivers with poor line discipline! But isn’t the word “female” in that sentence irrelevant? The only reason I can think of why a woman might need or want a wider parking space that wouldn’t apply equally to men is if she’s heavily pregnant; but for that, you could just designate parking spaces for expectant mothers. But that’s here in the U.S. I don’t know China well enough, but it may well be that there are cultural reasons why women there are, in general, less skilled drivers. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/19 "2016-06-03T17:09:01Z")
Identifying myself as female was relevant only as it relates to the article. Plus it was a nice way to ease into my response, rather than just declaring that I want bigger spaces. MORE MORE MORE!!! OK, I’m done. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168/20 "2016-06-03T17:19:26Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > A question for American men: When you and your wife/SO go somewhere together in the car, who drives? Is it not taken for granted that the driving, as well as all other details involved in car ownership, naturally devolves to the male? No. Sometimes my wife drives, sometimes I do. She’s a better driver; I didn’t drive regularly until after graduate school. I own and take care of my car, she does hers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-wide-pink-parking-spots-for-women-in-china/756168.md?page=2)