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In the founding stages of this project, I formulated the idea to produce a creative product surrounding the concept of supercar detailing. I work alongside my father’s company in the detailing industry and have done for the past two years. Of course, the part that makes this concept unique is the male-dominated nature of the industry, alongside the fact that I am a woman producing a quality of work that is level with other male detailers. I have experienced first-hand both positive and negative reactions to my job. As I decided to mention in the proposal, most of our client-base are male, therefore, the reactions I have recieved usually begin with an element of surprise. Of course, it must be mentioned that within the industry there appears to be a paradoxical structure which affects the percentage of women who choose detailing as a profession; the detailing industry has always been so male-dominated that women themselves likely automatically assume that the job would not suit them. However, by choosing an alternate profession, this allows the industry to remain male-dominated. Although there are a number of female detailers prevalent on social media, the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in vehicular industries has allowed stereotypes to be perpetuated through past generations and into modern society, in spite of feminist progression. Therefore, my intentions for the project are of personal nature, because I am a member of this underrepresented demographic.
In this supervision session I presented a draft copy of my project proposal. The outline I first put forward communicated ideas regarding gender imbalance within male-dominated industries. However, at this stage, both the research question and the outline were quite broad. It does not appear completely obvious that the topic relates to underrepresented female detailers, rather, the focus relates more to voyeurism. Hence, after this supervision session, it seemed necessary to change the wording from ‘female eroticism’ to ‘female sexualisation’. This encompasses the idea that women’s bodies are not only exploited for male visual pleasure, but also, feminine sensuality is questioned in regard to the anthropomorphisation of cars. For example, men often use the pronoun ‘she’ when referring to their cars. Therefore, in the proposal, my supervisor suggested I highlight photographers Ansel Adams and Mapplethorpe as theoretical critique in regard to their representation of sensuality through non-sexual objects.
After I presented my first draft to my supervisor, I made some changes regarding the use of ‘female sexualisation’ rather than ‘female eroticism’. I also furthered my theoretical research, deciding to include Karen Lumsden’s (2010) reference to gender performativity, through her observation that some women ‘act like one of the boys’ when attempting to fit into a male-dominated environment. This theoretical analysis continued to prove effective as it carried into my Interim Report. Furthermore, the decision to reference photographers, Mapplethorpe and Ansel Adams, in the proposal encouraged me to progress the aesthetic critique of cars themselves throughout the entire project. The concept that both women and cars share similar attributes, curves and smoothness, reinforces the theorisation that perhaps cars are designed with feminine characteristics, in order to appeal to a heterosexual male audience. I did not initially possess this viewpoint prior to the proposal process. However, through research and support from my supervisor, I was able to broaden my theoretical analysis regarding the reasons for female underrepresentation and sexualisation in the detailing industry.
After completing the proposal, the ethical side of the project had to be considered. However, as discussed with my supervisor, I do not have ethical considerations with participants as my documentary and research project do not place anyone at risk.
