Umm... "Subaru" = "lesbian car"??? What???

[CanadianJohn]

So, I'm reading a crime novel, set in the US in 2021. Two detectives are interviewing a wealthy, middle-aged widow about a suspicious car.

Witness: "I don't know the kind, but I think it was one of those lesbian cars."
Detective 1: "Lesbian cars?"
Witness: "You know . . . lesbian cars."
While detective 1 was thinking, detective 2 asks "You mean... a Subaru?"
Witness: "Yes, that's it, one of those."

Okay, so how does the witness equate Subaru with lesbians? And how did detective 2 know what she meant?

"Subaru" is Japanese for the star formation the Pleiades, which is also know as the Seven Sisters, but it seems quite a reach to get to lesbian.

Or am I missing something here?

According to MN, a visit to Center Parcs is code for Bum Sex. I don’t think that’s the case either. I shouldn’t dwell on it OP.

I lived in the US for a long time. It’s not a play on words, it’s simply a stereotype that exists - lesbians drive Subarus. Very common trope there, consider it like ‘hairdresser car’ in the UK.

I think it was in the 80s, 90s that Subaru did some market research in the US and found that one of the identifiable demographic groups which already disproportionately bought their practical, sensible cars was lesbians. So they started directly targeting a chunk of their advertising at this demographic in ways that would be very obvious to the target audience. Apparently it became cemented there as the stereotypical lesbian car. There's some interesting articles about it if you Google.

'"Subaru" is Japanese for the star formation the Pleiades'

I never knew that, but it suddenly explains the badge on the back of the cars!

Thank you!

I don't know but I read that snake tattoos are common with lesbians and now I'm noticing a definite pattern. I do think certain cars are popular with certain groups of people like older men like to drive sedans, WAG-types like 4x4s. I guess the author is just being funny.

Thanks for all your replies. Suburu = lesbian, who knew. The two women who live next door have a very large black pickup truck, a Chevrolet Silverado. I wonder what message they're sending. Maybe "We're just good friends, don't fuck with us".

I drive a Hyundai. Signalling that I am cheap, no doubt.

What on earth is a 'hairdresser car' in the UK?

I was born in the UK, lived here all my life and have never heard that expression.

Although, thinking about it, that could be because I'm old and the expression has passed me by.

Definitely a thing but perhaps not so recently.

XR3i Cabriolet, Golf Cabriolet (both in white of course), MGF.
Anything along those lines. 😁

I think one definition would be, stereotypically, a slightly effeminate (somehow), flashy little sports car that might be a bit cheap/underpowered, perhaps more about the image than about genuinely going fast or performing well, probably convertible, often something like a Mazda MX-5 back when I heard the term, and supposedly preferred by gay male hairdressers. Seemed to mostly be a term used by men to insult a sporty car their mate had just bought, to stop him acting too proud about it, and/or used to impugn the manliness and heterosexuality of the owner of the car in question. It's just stereotyping with a bit of nasty homophobia lurking in some corners; you were better off never having come across it IMO.

MX5's used to be considered a hairdresser's car.

I know someone who used to sell Subarus for a dealership. They were extremely popular with doctors. Whether they were lesbian doctors or not I'm not sure.

Oh god

Incidentally, a friend of mine once pointed at an apparently random car parked nearby, and said “hairdresser car”. It was my mum’s car, and she is, in fact, a hairdresser.

Ah, okay. Thank you for that.

Something a bit 'flashy' I supposed is the idea; no offence to hairdressers😉

I've known one or two people that owned cars like that but none of them were hairdressers and all were women.

Not keen on those sort of stereotypes tbh.

It is just a demographic trend in America. At least it was at one point, no idea of it is still true. Subaru was a popular brand with lesbians.

it reached trope status by adding in the assumption that Subaru owning lesbians wear cargo pants and flannel shirts.

I have a small Audi ... 4 people have commented on my hairdresser car

I'm a nurse

On The L Word around 2005ish, a character who was a professional tennis player had all sorts of contracts and sponsorships with Subaru.

The tennis tournament was by Subaru, they drove Subarus and mentioned the brand name all the time. Subaru definitely paid the production company to have that much input in the show. I guess the vast majority of viewers were lesbians so there must be a connection somewhere.

The Vauxhall Tigra was a good hairdresser car too.

I did know about the Subaru lesbian trope, as PP has said there's plenty of interesting articles about it online, definitely worth a read. Some really clever marketing.

Hairdresser's car because it's about as powerful as a hairdryer.