When I say lowrider, what’s your first thought? Music videos? Movies? Are they about gangsters, drug dealers, or guys who ride around simply to make trouble? Yeah, me too. But this suburban, yoga pants-wearing, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, middle-aged white lady is here to tell you that women are claiming their place in this automotive subculture, and they are doing so in unique and powerful ways.
Who Are These Women of Lowriding?
Before I experienced the glory that is a woman behind the wheel of a lowrider, I just assumed that women in the lowriding scene were there simply as eye candy–whether sitting in the passenger seat or as a part of the elaborate decoration.
And while that is still true, there is an entire movement of #ladylowriders that is claiming their place in this male-dominated scene.
The First Time I Met A Lady Lowrider
The first time I went to a lowrider show, I’ll admit to being more than a little terrified. And if I’m honest, people were 100% staring at me. But everything changed after I spoke to two women sitting in folding chairs around a purple Impala.
“Is this your car?” I asked as I walked up nervously.
“Yes it is,” said the older woman.
“Wow, I didn’t know..”
“That women did this?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I prayed she wasn’t going to tell me to go home.
“Yup,” she said very matter of fact. “Hand me your phone.”
Note: this woman isn’t smiling or anything. She grabs my phone and presses on the screen for a minute or two then hands it back to me with this profile open.
“Oh, wow,” I said.
This is when they both smile.
They continue to tell me that #ladylowrider is a thing and women everywhere, many mothers and daughters, are engaging in this culture and not just as arm candy. They’re the real deal. They’re building, they’re designing, they’re driving. All of it. I got chills.
Women + Lowriding = More Than Cars
As this NBC News special tells, women across the country are using their lady lowrider clubs to raise money, empower women, and pave the way for more to enter this exciting movement.
Latina women are also using their involvement in the lowriding scene to celebrate their unique culture as Mexican Americans. Check out this shamaness I met at a lowrider event here in Los Angeles while she was blessing the cars:
How You Can Learn More
This month, in honor of Women’s History Month, MotorTrend has teamed up with Modelo to produce a special magazine highlighting the women behind this growing phenomenon. Check it out here.
There’s also a fun BTS (behind the scenes) video on YouTube about the making of this issue. Check it out:
Follow #ladylowrider on IG or watch this: