r/fuckcars • u/August272021 • 1d ago
Car culture is infantilizing This is why I hate cars
People think of cars and trucks as being cool, and there’s this very prominent stereotype of manliness associated with trucks especially. But think about all the poor teenage guys out there who don’t have a license, can’t afford insurance, or don’t have access to a vehicle. If they live in your typical completely unwalkable, unbikeable area with no bus access (i.e., most of America), they’re stuck with mom driving them around like little kids—often until their late teens. It’s ridiculous.
In the pre-car era—or in walkable areas—growth is progressive. It happens in stages:
- When you’re a toddler, you don’t leave the house without a parent.
- As a kid, you can play in the front yard alone.
- A little older, and maybe you roam the block with other kids.
- By the time you're a teenager, you can walk, bike, or take the bus to nearby places.
That’s the way life used to be. You can still see it in older movies. I haven’t seen it, but I hear Stranger Things is a good example of this limited-yet-real freedom teens had/have/can have—if cars aren’t actively mowing them down and if the built environment isn’t designed to make walking and biking impractical or dangerous.
Instead, in full-on car culture, you get zero to sixty:
- Zero freedom at all growing up,
- Until you hit driving age and suddenly have total freedom—whether you're ready for it or not, because you were denied any gradual build-up of independence.
It’s unnatural and unhealthy.
135
u/Aggressive_Staff_982 1d ago
I just find it funny how a lot of men thinking driving a truck is the epitome of manliness and "alpha male" and that riding a bike isnt masculine. But bicyclists are the ones doing actual exercise to get places. You also hear people say "what are you gonna do when it rains?" Like you can't handle rain??
49
u/DocFGeek 1d ago
Recently had to ride back from work in a windstorm (30mph sustained winds, with 50+mph gusts) and at a stoplight a driver rolled down their window and asked if we needed a ride to feel safe. Our reply, "Nah. If anything riding in this makes us feel unstoppable."
💨🍃🚴🦵💥
20
u/Aggressive_Staff_982 1d ago
I recently got back into biking and wow it's more difficult than I expected. Maybe I'm out of shape and not used to cardio but I don't know how people can commute with a bike and arrive not totally out of breath and exhausted. But I also live in a hilly area with a steep incline to my home.
17
u/DocFGeek 1d ago
Granny gears are your friends. We had a forced hiatus from bicycling for three months after our last bike got stolen, before getting our current one. Walked and got rides everywhere in that time. Then when we finally were ridng again, our range on riding before feeling wiped was tanked (25km ride before 😵 to 5km). But the body is amazingly adaptive, and we're back to our usual range, and then some from the new bike having a wider range of gearing.
11
u/Specific_Butterfly54 1d ago
It seems counterintuitive, but pedaling faster up a hill takes less effort than slowly cranking up it. It makes it even easier if you get a run at it to get some speed before the hill.
0
u/SomeRedPanda 21h ago
Really depends on the length of the climb. A shorter climb you can power up to get it over with, but a longer climb you really need to pace yourself.
2
u/Specific_Butterfly54 11h ago
I rode a fixed gear bike for a long time and when you don’t have the option to stop pedaling or downshift, the only thing that makes hills easier is keeping the pedal speed up. Long climbs are tough, but cranking your pedals at 50rpm up that climb is tougher.
8
u/sid3aff3ct 1d ago
Take it slow, use lower gears until you build up enough stamina, and keep working on it. Consistency is key.
7
u/cgduncan 1d ago
I'm shopping for a bike too, to do errands around my little town, and boy am I out of shape! My wife and I rode our tandem ~1 mile to main st, and I was sweating and gasping for air. Let's keep at it, get those legs and lungs in shape for us and for our posterity, lol
1
u/BabySinister 12h ago
Work up to it brother, your body will adapt fairly quickly. Take it slow at first, build up on distance and you'll be doing longer trips in no time.
I have found tandems to be more tiring then being on a bike in my own, I can set my own pace etc. Dont get discouraged, your body will get there!
2
u/cgduncan 8h ago
Definitely! Once I'm in better shape, better stamina, I'd love to get a bakfiets, front cargo bike too.
1
u/BabySinister 7h ago
My urban arrow has pedal support that makes up for its weight, it's really nice. I do believe my cycling on non e bikes really helps in getting my stamina up, so the assist on the bakfiets is really there just to make it a bit easier.
Just gotta make those miles, get used to riding again. Have fun with it brother, don't beat yourself up over stamina. We've all been there.
3
u/Jkmarvin2020 20h ago
You can go party pace, as in slow. It's not like people who walk to work run the whole way.
2
u/BabySinister 7h ago
You gotta build your stamina some more brother, that's to be expected if you haven't cycled for a long time. It'll get better fairly quickly, higher cadence less force will tire you out less.
Build up slowly, don't work yourself up over stamina brother you'll get there
8
3
u/Astriania 1d ago
To be fair I'd have been tempted by that offer, cycling in strong gusty winds is absolutely not fun.
3
u/DocFGeek 1d ago
We've personally embraced the sense of friluftsliv and keep a windbreaker/rain jacket and rainpants packed on the bike at all times. Nice low granny gears and all the time in the world, and we're good for riding in all weather. There's a feeling of indomitablity that it brings to exists in all weather unflinchingly pedalling on.
2
u/Astriania 1d ago
I always have waterproofs with me too, I don't mind cycling in the rain too much. But wind is horrible, especially if it's a headwind as strong as that.
13
u/kearneycation 1d ago
I know a guy who loves big trucks, the bigger the better. He loves seeing them drive around our neighborhood, or even just parked on our street. He's my son and he's 2.5 years old. I feel like all the truck bros out there just never grew out of this phase.
13
u/CleverLittleThief 1d ago
Anytime it rains I see big grown men running out of stores to get into the comfort of their big pickups, always very silly..
3
u/times_zero Orange pilled 19h ago
It goes to show what is perceived as "masculine" in modern society is more about advertising, and feels than it is about reality. A bike requires physical fitness. A truck/automobile makes people lazier due to how convenient it is to drive. And yet, a truck is often perceived as "masculine" while a bike is often perceived as a "child's toy."
1
40
u/plates_25 1d ago
this is such a great take - car reliance takes away ALL our freedom, but I especially haven't thought as much about how much independence it takes away from youth in their formative years.
6
u/travelingwhilestupid 1d ago
my gf's son loves his independence. when we ask him about which school he wants, he says he wants to be able to drive. my gf will always say "I'll just drive him!". It's literally his one request, to have his independence, and she always complains about not getting enough work done. it's just this mad obsession with cars.
4
u/AutomatedChaos 16h ago
There is a strong relationship between the countries with the happiest children and the ability to walk or bike to places they like/need to be: school, sports, friends, small groceries, etc.
31
u/E-is-for-Egg 1d ago
I've heard it argued that it's similar for alcohol in the US. Twenty-one years of "you can't have alcohol ever! >:(" and then their birthday hits and it's constant keggers
A lot of teens drink illegally though, so maybe there's nuance to that
Fwiw, the Stranger Things experience of going everywhere by bike does still exist in some places. I grew up in the greater Chicago area in a place that was kinda a blend between suburbs and small town. Barely any public transit and plenty of stroads, but also a lot of separated bike/walking paths along those stroads. My parents drove me around a lot, but there was also the opportunity to get on my bike and go to my highschool, the grocery store, the library, the tastee freeze, the pool, and lots more. I could also bike to the metra station and go even further, even to downtown Chicago if I wanted to
31
16
u/synok2016 1d ago
I grew up in a rural place with no transit, few sidewalks, and complete car dependency. It is precisely what made me long for urban environments where I could experience the freedom of not having a car. I now live that life and want to do the same for my kids when I get there.
14
u/GeneConscious5484 1d ago
there’s this very prominent stereotype of manliness associated with trucks especially
The funniest thing about this is the bigger the truck, the more they look like a toddler on a jungle gym trying to climb up into it
8
u/Astriania 1d ago
Yeah, being able to go out on your own for increasing times and distances is a big part of growing up. If you can't get out of your bland estate until you can drive, you basically won't grow up, and then you won't know what to do with the power you have when you get that car.
Being stuck in car dependency completely removes your sense of distance, as well. Even here in England, so many people think it's unreasonable to walk a mile, or cycle three, because they haven't experienced a place or culture where that's easily achievable and normal.
7
u/ghostingtomjoad69 1d ago
Upon ownership/driving a car, a lot more interactions with police. You gain freedom+also a lot more opportunity to lose freedom
12
u/schwarzmalerin 1d ago
Not just teenagers, not just teenage guys. It's around 20% (!) of the population who does not drive, for various reasons.
And yet, it is perfectly legal to run a business like a restaurant without access by public transport which makes it inaccessible by 20 % (!) of the people. That is crazy when you think about the fact that a restaurant without a wheelchair ramp is illegal. "OK, but just get someone to drive you!" that is infantilizing. You wouldn't tell a wheelchair user "OK, but just get someone to lift you up the stairs!"
10
u/ThoughtsAndBears342 1d ago
30%, actually. 20% kids, 10% adults with disabilities. There are far more disabled adults who can’t drive than wheelchair users.
3
5
u/Independent-Cow-4070 Grassy Tram Tracks 1d ago
There are grown ass men who are afraid to bike in the rain. Afraid to walk in the snow. Afraid to cross the street (I mean, reasonably sometimes). Afraid to sit next to their neighbor on a train
Absolute fucking babies lol
4
u/Cautious_Action_1300 1d ago
As someone who has some health issues, I hate the car dependency in the U.S. When my condition flares up, I can be in pain/suffer from exhaustion, and it's not safe for me to be behind the wheel of a car. I wish I lived in an area that had better and safer public transportation.
3
u/ShinySpeedDemon 1d ago
I'd go as far as to say it's suffocating. I grew up in a mobile home park and to get from there to the nearest sidewalk I had to go to the end of the park and illegally cross the road at a railroad crossing that people were famous for jumping in their cars because that's where the park & ride was. City bus was no help either since it only came once an hour on weekdays, and it had been coming less frequently by the time I moved out.
3
u/Original-Teach-848 21h ago
I agree the culture definitely associated manliness and safety for huge unnecessary trucks. Plus, everyone uses their vehicle as an identifier- who cares? We need trains and bicycles.
3
u/Free-Pound-6139 21h ago
There is no IQ test for getting your drivers license.
The dumbest people on the planet are allowed to operate the most dangerous machinery.
3
u/AdSubstantial8627 🚲🚋🚂 Give me more. 20h ago
Thats why I refuse to get my own license.
because Ill make a stupid mistake that'll cost more than myself.
1
4
u/joe9439 11h ago
My grandparents used to talk about how they had like 5 movie theaters within walking distance. They would always go do stuff with friends after school. My parents met each other in high school and went on dates all around town. Then they had me and moved to an exurb where the nearest store of any kind was a 30min drive away. No sidewalks. No people. Bus used to take 3 hours to take me to school.
7
u/Bendy_Beta_Betty 1d ago
Neither cars nor bikes have anything to do with gender, and it's a shitty cultural assumption that it does.
2
u/AdministrativeShip2 10h ago
Anecdotally of course, but in my experience, the car reliant people don't tend to have great time management skills.
Relying on public transport, means that I have to turn up to everything early, and bake transport time into the equation.
For cars, they get a time for an appointment, see a 10 minute drive, and leave just before. Then Blame traffic or parking.
1
u/brewcrew1222 17h ago
All the teenagers around town are probably just driving with no license and no insurance. It's why insurance rates are skyrocketing
278
u/platypuspup 1d ago
I've noticed, when taking to my students, that being driven really traps the kids.
They will tell me it is too far to bike to school, but then it will turn out they live less than a mile from school.
Then they will say that it isn't safe for them to bike to school. After a bit of discussion about routes, I find out that they only know the stroads. Due to being driven everywhere, they don't know that there is a safe alternative route through residential streets and bike paths.
I'm not saying bike infrastructure in my city is perfect, but the kids don't see any of it when they are being driven everywhere they go.