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I began researching theoretical sources during the proposal stage, which I continued to develop through the research stage. Not only did this research open my eyes to the existence of certain female stereotypes in the Media (and their inceptions), it also showed me that there are very little, if any, resources that are specific to female detailers and their underrepresentation in the Media. Therefore, I had to focus my search for content surrounding women in car industries, aside from detailing. Lumsden’s (2010) Gendered Performances in a Male-Dominated Subculture discusses women in the racing industry, although the industries are not exactly the same, the representation of men within both are quite similar. It could be said that in both detailing and racing, men use luxury cars as an extension of their masculinity. The exploration of hyper-masculine characteristics within these texts actually ended up resurfacing throughout the project. In the documentary itself, during an interview conducted with my father, who is a professional detailer, he provided evidence to support the notion that hyper-masculine tendencies, or ego, can actually hinder productivity and outcomes within the industry.
The decision to use autoethnographic research throughout the project stems from the personal nature of the topic itself. It seemed appropriate to use my own anecdotes and experiences as forms of primary research because I have two years of experience within the demographic I am analysing. One example of autoethnographic research that became prominent throughout the project involves a man I used to work with and comments he made to me whilst I was working by myself on a car. That particular comment was “don’t use too much of that ceramic”. This man was neither a detailer, nor knew what ceramic coating even were, hence the irony of the comment. It could be interpreted that he simply made it in order to belittle me, asserting a higher standing for himself because for some reason he wanted to believe that I didn’t know what I was doing, even though he’d witnessed me working on cars for two years prior. Nevertheless, this comment was part of the reason I chose this topic of research, therefore, I felt it required recognition. Hence, when my supervisor suggested it be used as the updated title of this research project, I felt it fit both the documentary and Interim Report perfectly.
I took inspiration from these two BBC Three documentaries that use autoethnographic practice as a mode of research and presentation. They both use a mixture of primary and secondary, investigative-style footage in an effort to inform and evoke an emotional response from audiences. Similarly, these autoethnographic documentaries both place the focus on one particular woman’s experiences. Whereas, the focus of my documentary is predominantly myself, but my sister also, who provides further first-hand experience, strengthening the study.
| PLATFORM | DATE POSTED | USERNAME | FOLLOWERS | CAPTION | IMAGE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16/3/19 | Robornesdetailing | 330 | Today we have Eloise in the house doing machine polishing demos of vehicle paint correction. She’s one of the UK’s youngest and best up and coming female vehicle detailers. #girlpower #femaledetailers #gogirls |  |
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| 2 | 29/9/20 | Thebuffinqueen | 11k | Happiest working on the big boys 💪 #truckqueen👑 #mack #doingwhatilove #callmecrazy #itsmypassion #suckerforabigrig #detailer #polisher |  |
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| 3 | 8/3/21 | The_valeting_gal_ltd | 985 | Happy international woman’s day!! Because why the hell not 😁 be what ever you want to be, strive for perfection, push the boundaries and be the best you! #internationalwomensday #machinepolishing #thisgirlcan #bewhoyouwanttobe #pushyourself #pushyourlimits #femaledetailers #carboncollective #carboncollectivehex |  |
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| 4 | 19/9/20 | Missdetailing | 95 | Just doing what I do 🥰 #femaledetailer #autodetailing #detailersofinstagram #paintcorrection #rupesbigfoot #bmw5series #girlsdoitbetter #603 #manchesternh #ifoprep |  |
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| 5 | 12/4/21 | Detailing_girl | 87.6k | Hey, I know it’s Monday. But it’s also a new day and new week. And in that lies a new opportunity for something special to happen! ☺️💪🏼 #mondaymotivation #aplina |  |
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| 6 | 26/3/21 | Satuzainen | 3122 | No better you than the you that you are No better life than the life we're living No better time for your shine, you're a star Oh, you're beautiful, oh, you're beautiful #fìnnishgirl #selfietime #suomityttö #friyay #booty🍑🍑 #car #follow #followme #instagram #igerssuomi #igers #selfie #fridaybooty #girlswhodetailcars #perjantaiperseet #fridayvibes #unnessesaryhashtags #bootyass #finnishgirls #bootilicious #bootie #hellyeah #belfie #detailergirls #suominainen #girlswhodetail #bootyyy #womendetailers |  |
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| 7 | 8/3/21 | Detailgaragemurrieta | 6641 | From the Murrieta team of wonder women🦸♂️💪, to all of you beauties, we want to wish you all, a Happy International Women's Day😍!!! Drop some love for our team!!! #womensday #womensday2021 #womendetailers #detailgaragemurrieta #detailgarage #chemicalguys #detailersofinstagram #detailingaddicts #womenrock #autocare #autodetail #culture #tradition #lifestyle |  |
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| 8 | 10/3/19 | RobornesPro | 2789 | Robornes are training several females to apply ceramic coatings at present. They will be part of our in-house team of technicians. #robornes #ceramic #PVD #detailers |  |
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| 9 | 8/3/21 | RUPESSpA | 2371 | Celebrating International Women's Day. How many female detailers out there? #rupes #rupesbigfoot #march8 #internationalwomensday |  |
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| 10 | 29/12/20 | That Detailing Girl | 2740 | Dying to get back at it already 😂🤟🏽 I hope everyone had a good Christmas! Anyone who received a gift voucher please get booked in as soon as. Availability is now into May 😆 |  |
The use of content analysis as a form of secondary research helped to support the notion that female detailers are quite underrepresented in the media; across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, the presence of female detailers in comparison to male detailers was significantly lower. Furthermore, the female detailers that possessed a higher following, like @detailing_girl on Instagram for example, often appeared to represent online content in a way that could be interpreted as being sexualised. In comparison, @the_valeting_gal_ltd represents herself mostly through her work, posting images of cars rather than presenting herself as a brand. She has a following of under a thousand, whereas, @detailing_girl has 87.6 thousand followers. Using content analysis allowed me to progress within the project through the contrasting modes of representation prevalent. I initially theorised in my proposal and Interim Report that female detailers represented on social media appear to either do so utilising their sexuality as a point of interest (i.e. reclaiming ownership of their bodies and using sexualised imagery simply because they want to, not for the visual pleasure of others), or by remaining neutral. This can be seen visually in my table of content analysis, for example, That Detailing Girl on Facebook shows herself working on a car, representing her strength and capabilities. Whereas, @satuzainen poses alongside a car in a sexualised manner and uses hashtags such as #booty. Either way, both women are making a choice to represent themselves in such a manner, and have every right to do so. Nonetheless, this content provided secondary research to support the theorisations made in the documentary and encouraged me to reference my own reasons behind staying away from social media in the final narrative.
This plan encompasses the research I had initially carried out for the Interim Report. Out of the sources gathered for the literature review, I chose my final four to be:
Although a slight coincidence, all of the authors chosen were women, which I believe is perfect for the project; each theorist possesses a level of personal identification with the topic they are writing about, therefore, adhering with my personal intentions for the project as a whole.
In the Survey of Related Practice Section of my Interim Report, I mentioned that I would take inspiration from the two documentaries above, as well as from photographers Mapplethorpe and Ansel Adams. When analysing the history and reasoning behind outdated stereotypes of female detailers, I chose to investigate both written theory, but also visual theory. Initially, I simply took inspiration from these photographers due to their use of curves and smoothness in order to create a sensuality amongst non-sexual imagery. However, once I began researching further, I uncovered an abundance of gender-related theory that served as additional reasoning for gender imbalances within our society. As I discuss in my Interim Report, Mapplethorpe’s horticultural imagery, particularly orchids and calla lilies, connote ideas relating to size and power in regard to phallic imagery. Moreover, his aesthetic contrast between masculine-connoting flowers and feminine flowers reinforce the association prevalent between smoothness and femininity. Adams continues to perpetuate this association through his representation of smooth curvatures as a symbol of nature’s perfect artistry.