Kanadische Presse: Deutsche Frauenparkplätze als institutionalisierter Sexismus

Frauenparkplätze führen in Deutschland zu der Debatte, ob diese Einrichtungen frauen- oder männerfeindlich seien. Das berichtet der kanadische Toronto Star. Ein Auszug:

Many people know that driving in Germany can be quite different from North America: There is no general speed limit on most motorways, for example. Perhaps more astonishing, however, is another distinctive feature: Many German parking lots are equipped with special spaces for women. In some regions of Germany, law forces parking lot owners to designate at least 30 per cent of their space specifically for women.

Those parking lots are bigger than usual, which is supposed to make it easier for women to maneuver their cars. Some Germans like the idea, but others call it a sexist way of implying that women are worse drivers than men. So, are parking spaces for women sexist?

Yes, but actually it’s discrimination against men, German tabloid newspaper Bild suggested in a recent article. “Are men really not allowed to park here?” asked the paper, which until recently featured a naked woman on its front page and is Germany’s best-selling publication.

Bild’s agitation is as a contortion of facts, according to the paper’s critics: If someone should feel offended by designated women’s parking spaces, it should be women.

(...) More recent police data suggests that the risks posed by dark German parking lots were exaggerated — nevertheless, women’s parking spaces are so deeply ingrained that few would dare to remove them.

"Today, nobody needs women’s parking lots anymore – especially not in the modern, lucid and well-lit shopping malls," reporter Werner Mathes argued in an op-ed for German weekly Stern. "In some Swiss cities, such as Zurich or Luzern, one has gotten rid of those spaces years ago, because parking lots are much brighter and better lit than in the past."

It’s not obligatory for women to use those spaces, and supporters refer to the fact that there are also designated men’s parking lots. However, those ‘male’ spaces are especially tiny and difficult to use – which could be perceived as sexist, as well, some argue.

Eine Unzahl breiter und günstig gelegener Parkplätze speziell für Frauen, und einige wenige engere Parkplätze speziell für Männer. Ja, da ist es schon schwer zu beurteilen, ob dieses Muster sexistisch zu Lasten von Frauen oder von Männern ist ...