Does 'lady-driven' still sell cars? There are reasons to slam brakes on the term
CBC
Used-vehicle ads can be snappy and effective, and some even go viral for their cleverness — but others miss the mark.
Some are so misguided, they veer into sexism and misogyny.
Enter lady-driven — for decades, the term has come to mean a car has been "driven gently."
Today, it's considered by many to be an antiquated term.
Sudbury, Ont.-born Sarah Pelletier, who lives in Ottawa, was perusing the used-vehicle section of online marketplace Kijiji in the Greater Sudbury Area, curious about prices and availability.
Her search brought up dozens of ads, and some of them frustrated her.
She posted the following tweet, saying it made her "angry for so many reasons."
In a later email to CBC News, Pelletier said, "This language got under my skin because driving can't and shouldn't be gendered.
"The act of driving, adhering to the rules of the road, paying attention to obstructions, are not inherent skills, traits, qualities of a particular gender, but perhaps stem from the way that folks might be taught to drive differently and have different expectations imposed on them because of their gender or how they present."
The term also focuses on women and men, leaving gender-diverse people out of the conversation.
CBC reached out to the four Kijiji ad posters that Pelletier tweeted about, and asked them about the condition of their vehicles and what they meant by the term lady-driven.
Two of the four ignored the message.
However, the third responded: "Apologies for wording the statement that way," and explained the vehicle's condition. And the four poster said that to them, lady-driven means, "Grandma never went four wheeling with it in bush or drag racing."
Half the listings are still on the site.
