The China Daily editorial section has always been a bit odd (looking at you, "Fake Peter Hessler Op-Ed") but today one contributor has penned a particularly juicy morsel entitled "Women are 'better' drivers than men."
The piece seems to be based on the idea that everyone thinks women - all women - are terrible drivers. And the author seeks to say that some few, precious females are not, as it's elegantly put, "killers behind wheels."
It isn't really necessary to break down why the piece is wrong, because the entire thing is so utterly, amazing, confoundingly ill-conceived that it becomes self-parody. And so we begin:
According to Chinese tradition, men should work outside home and women within the confines of home. This gender bias has made some people suppose men are good at driving cars while women are not.
Ah yes, the ancient Chinese tradition of "driving cars."
If men in general have a better sense of space, women normally are better with languages. But that doesn't necessarily mean all women have a poor sense of space or all women are good with languages. Therefore, it is ridiculous to say that no woman is suited to driving cars.
Article seems to be aimed at someone who would say "no woman is suited to driving cars," a statement which, both for reasons of sense and grammar, likely hasn't been said for a very long time.
Women can become excellent drivers as long as they have the courage to challenge traditional gender roles and believe in themselves to achieve success.
Listen to this pep talk, ladies, and one day you might drive as well as a man.
The piece never really decides that women are 'better' drivers than men; instead, it just speculates that women - despite their inherent inability to drive, of course - can practice really hard and can probably become competent drivers one day, if they really try.
Keep up the good work, China Daily. Perhaps next time you can investigate whether men and women really have the same sized brains.
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