“The bigger parking spaces are for women drivers whose driving skills are not superb”, Pan Tietong, a manager of a local service area which has the spots told the Q Saturday.
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One of the most beloved and universal stereotypes of all time is that women can’t drive. The lot also includes handicapped parking.
Last year, Frankfurt airport was attacked for introducing “ladies parking” areas complete with pink paint and wider spaces. He said he has witnessed multiple women struggling with parking their cars in reverse.
Others fought back against the critics, stating that they were appreciative of the extra space and praised the service station management.
That’s precisely why managers at the Tonglu rest stop in southeastern China have created female-designated parking spaces.
China’s Hangzhou province now offers parking spots exclusively for women, but not just ordinary parking spots.
Geraldine Herbert, editor of Wheels for Women magazine said at the time: “It’s very patronising for women to be singled out in this way”.
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While the science will probably never offer conclusive proof on anything as subjective as which gender is “better” at what, studies have found that women learn faster than men, are cleaner, and are more likely to survive vehicle accidents, Cosmopolitan reported. According to the Washington Post, “female only” spots in Germany were originally created for safety reasons-for example, so that women didn’t have to walk long distances to their cars in dark parking lots-but now they’re mainly seen as sexist among both men and women.
