Feminism, SUVs and road rage

There is certainly a view, perhaps brought into focus during the misogyny wars during Julia Gillard's tenure, that feminism is too coloured by an image of women as an oppressed minority that simply does not hold water for educated professionals in the workforce.

The behaviour of women in association with cars suggest the oestrogen laden sex is more than happy to assert themselves in a forthright, even aggressive manner when left to their own devices. This is more so when a bumper bar is attached and the suspension is raised. Perhaps the SUV compares to wearing high heels on the roads, but making for smoother mobility?

But as soon as men are in the same vehicle, most girls then revert to submissive, passive map readers fearful of reverse parking and roundabouts.

There are similar overlaps with education. In spite of women outperforming boys in almost all measures in the past decade, girls invariably perform better in single sex schools. Many teachers and educationalists have observed that girls are far more likely to sit back and allow attention seeking blokes the stage in co-educational situations thereby hampering the girls' performance.

While the popularity of women and SUVs appears certain, the attraction and even meaning of feminism seems less so. Altering the balance of power in boardrooms may depend upon first changing habits in the driver's seat.