Driving alone at night can be nerve wracking enough, but what if all of a sudden a loud, blaring beep goes off in your car? As a woman, I’d probably freak out. We typically aren’t the most knowledgeable of cars. But our dads, boy friends or brothers around would know exactly what to do.

In our society, there are so many things labeled as “a man’s job.” Working with cars is certainly one of them. But really, where did this stereotype come from? Ladies have been depicted as the ones to turn their noses up at things that will get dirt under their fingernails or ruin their clothes while it’s been shown that men are rugged and glad to perform messy jobs.  

By playing into these stereotypes, it contributes to the harmful interpretation that women cannot do hard things and shouldn’t because they’re too fragile. Obviously that is completely untrue, and believing in these ideas underlyingly encourages the wrong treatment of women. However, there is nothing wrong with enjoying things that make us feminine and embracing those aspects of life; there is also absolutely nothing wrong with men partaking. In the same way, both men and women doing masculine activities should be recognized as a great thing. This type of inclusion should never be discouraged. Raising awareness and inclusion of all genders and sexes will really reflect a difference in opportunities for everyone, not just secluded to one group of individuals.

Lockport offers build trades and autos classes with awesome teachers that are extremely immersive. They get students working on actual vehicles and building more than tiny bird houses. Some of the classes built a Santa Chair for the Christmas Crossroads Event in December! However, there are mostly boys that take these and very few girls. Girls are typically discouraged and steered away from these classes because of the environment predominantly full of guys, which is disappointing for girls who really want a chance to get into learning more about the trades. Regardless of gender and skill, everyone deserves access to any and every area of education they seek.