A fascinating history of how the automotive industry and consumers battled to define what women wanted in
a car.
Since the commercial introduction of the automobile, US automakers have always sought women as customers
and advertised accordingly. How, then, did car culture become so masculine? In Pink Cars and Pocketbooks,
Jessica Brockmole shares the untold history of women's relationship with automobiles: a journey marked by
struggle, empowerment, and the relentless pursuit of independence.
This groundbreaking work explores the evolution of women's automotive participation and the cultural shifts
that have redefined their roles as drivers, mechanics, and consumers. Brockmole traces the rise of gendered
marketing of automobiles over the course of the twentieth century. Auto companies created ads that conformed
to commonly held ideas about women's relationships with automobiles. As the century progressed, marketing
to women became less informative and even more gendered: the automotive industry portrayed women as
passengers, props, or reluctant drivers, interested primarily in aesthetics. And yet, by the 1970s, female drivers
were communicating directly with each other, forming clubs, and teaching each other through women-focused
repair manuals.
By examining market research studies, advertising archives, trade journals, women's magazines, newspapers,
driving handbooks, and repair manuals, this book shows how women bought their way into the automobile and
masculine car culture. Brockmole uncovers the stories of pioneering women who defied conventions, such as
trailblazer Alice Ramsey, the first woman to drive across the United States in 1909, and Barb Wyatt, whose
contributions to automotive manuals broke new ground. Women have always been users of technology, and
this book illustrates how the auto industry evolvedas well as how it chose not to evolvein response.
