Editorial: Skyline offers courses just for women
Photo illustration by Kevin Perez/The Skyline View
Skyline’s new course, “Car Basics For Women,” is actually for everyone.
It’s almost a month into 2016’s fall semester, therefore students and teachers should be well acquainted with their schedules.
Are there any students in need of another class or unit? Perhaps what some students are searching for is to broaden their knowledge in a field where they had previously been incapable of learning.
You know, like car care basics.
The full title of the course being offered is “Car Care Basics For Women,” but what makes it that gender specific?
All genders are welcome, the flyer says so. It emphasizes simple language for the layman, nontechnical instruction for beginners. Nothing else is very special about this course.
So unless Skyline College is simply assuming the female population of the campus is just so stupid they wouldn’t want to take a unisex class for the betterment of themselves, there is absolutely no reason for a beginner course to be labeled “for women” unless it is literally gender exclusive.
Too bad it isn’t.
After reading a newsletter sent out by Skyline College showcasing this course purposefully created for women, it felt as though we had been flung through a time capsule straight back into the 1950s. A woman not having the mental capacity to work on cars is a stereotype that is not acceptable.
Some people might say that women may not have signed up for the class had they not been encouraged by the inviting language of the newsletter: “These classes are presented in non-technical language and designed with the beginner in mind.”
That’s all fine and dandy, no one is upset that Skyline College is offering this course. In fact, it sounds like it could be beneficial for many Skyline students.
However, if this class was designed with the beginner in mind, it should be offered to the beginner, not just women.
It’s naive to think that “Car Care Basics for Women” doesn’t invoke a negative connotation. If this class was truly “with the beginner in mind,” why not just call it “Car Care Basics for Beginners”?
So, what’s next Skyline? Home Economics for Men?
In all seriousness, it’s not too late for Skyline to change the way this course, or at least its title, is presented to the student body and the community. Hopefully in the future such unintentional offenses will be avoided.
Not to undermine these courses or the efforts Skyline is doing to better expand students’ knowledge. It’s an excellent idea for Skyline to offer a beginning automotive course.
But that’s the only thing Skyline should be offering: a beginner’s automotive class. Lamaze is a gender specific course, this is not.
Joyce • Sep 27, 2016 at 12:26 pm
I took this course because I wanted to be in a course where its predominantly female and where you don’t feel like you have “stupid questions”. Let’s face it, automotive care is run by men and it can be intimidating to be in a class where it’s mostly guys.
Your article is condescending and rude, obviously you haven’t put any effort into research. Why don’t you actually write a substantial article that tackles real life, global issues rather than this irrelevant trash.
Amanda • Sep 26, 2016 at 11:35 am
1. Lets be clear, this isn’t a new course, I took this over a year ago.
2. I’ve worked on cars before, but often find it difficult to work in an environment where things are being “Mansplained” to me all the time. Often it’s easier to work in a predominantly female environment. If the odd guy wants to join, that’s great, but this class is great for women to feel free to raise their hands without fear of being judged or depicted a la your condescending picture above, and work together. It’s not sexists, it’s just presenting a subject which most women admittedly feel intimidated by. I say this as a combat vet who has worked in vehicles while deployed to Iraq, but needed a refresher for my own personal vehicle.
3. Your article is condescending and inconsiderate to both the instructor and any of us who took the class previously.
4. I see the picture is provided by a man, but I don’t see if the author of this opinion is a man as well. If you are a woman, with limited experience with vehicles and just want an environment where condescending a-holes like yourself don’t exists, I would recommend taking this class. It was enjoyable and informative.