When I attend car shows with my dad, we get a lot of “I wish my daughter was into this” or “I remembered you guys because your daughter drove in, and I thought that was really neat” from folks. Usually, my brother and I have historically been the youngest people in attendance for these shows, excluding toddlers and children that are usually there against their will (it’s okay, I was once said child). Being the inquisitive engineer I was born to be, I always feel inclined to ask, “Why aren’t they interested?” or “Why is hanging out with my dad at an event like this such a novelty?” But personally, I know the answer.
My father, brother and I at a car show in 2021. Dad's car on the left, my first car on the right.
In my childhood, I was never raised to believe specific hobbies and careers are gender orientated, which is why I was a heavy Thomas the Train fanatic for the first 6 years of my life. However, being an observant kid led me to realize the world doesn’t necessarily work that way, and that disparity was recognized when I attended car shows.
A lot of times, the invitations to sit in cars was extended to my brother rather than myself when we went to shows. I, personally, never made a big deal out of it. I quickly came to understand that not everyone will recognize or validate the same sentiments I was raised on. They simply saw that he’s a boy, he should be interested. I was a girl, they likely thought I would rather be doing “girly things” instead. Even to this day as adults, my brother and I experience this exact dynamic under a variety of circumstances, but now with different outcomes of course.
A specific moment in my life, however, made me recognize how important it was to continue pushing through those beliefs I was raised on. I was somewhere between the ages of 7 to 9 and attending San Diego Race Week with my family to watch a Trans Am Series Race. We happened to be at the Edelbrock trailer when their cars began to pull in. Christi Edelbrock got out of one car and, according to my mom, was more excited to see me than I was to see her. I didn’t know who she was until later. She immediately came over and asked if I wanted to check out her car. I remember feeling dumbfounded (although I didn’t know the word for it then) that she would want ME to sit in her car. Once that wore away, I began to feel comforted as she talked to my parents. I thought, “There’s a lady about the same age as my mom, and she’s driving cars… how cool is that? I’ve never seen that?” Years later when I started my engineering degree, surrounded by a lot of men, did I recognize that she was making sure *I* got to experience what it was like to sit in a race car. Christi grew up in an automotive world where there was even less women than there was 15 years ago. She was doing her part to make sure she would inspire the next generation of women in motorsports, and the next generation just so happened to include me.
As the years went by, I felt more comfortable expressing my interests, as they simultaneously began to shift into male-dominated hobbies and a male-dominated career. As I began resonating more with these interests, I began wearing automotive t-shirts as a form of self-expression. However, they weren’t what *I* wanted to see or wear. They were marketed towards adults and men. I then began to question, are there really so little of us?
When I turned 20, I began documenting my own restoration on TikTok of my second classic car. Then did I learn there’s a lot of young women out there who are just like me, either interested or currently restoring a car. This made me realize there’s a whole group of young women the automotive world is overlooking because they don’t believe that we exist. A whole community that’s being neglected and stunted from growth, caused by the age-old assumption that we are not interested. But we are. Clearly. I met a fellow engineering student at the Society of Women Engineers Conference last Fall with a tattoo of her Firebird she restored. I’ve had other young ladies reach out to me, excited that there are more women interested in the hobby they love so much. I kept asking myself, how do we cherish this? How do we let each other know we exist?
I came up with the answer unknowingly in 2022 by coming up with the phrase “Pretty Girl Motorsports” as a joke to myself for all the times I had been told, “If you fail out of engineering you could go model”, or the “you’re too pretty to be an engineer.” It doesn’t matter what I look like, it doesn’t matter what anyone looks like. It doesn’t matter your race, your gender or whatever circumstance or identity that makes you unique; if you have a passion for something, you should be able to enjoy it free of judgement and unwanted commentary.
Pretty Girl Motorsports is meant to be a brand to foster and cherish this community of girls and women that currently exist. For those who have a passion for their hobby and want to wear it proudly. For those who have an interest and have no clue where to start. For those who have an interest but currently cannot afford to have their own vehicle. Even for those who have no clue about the automotive and motorsports world and just resonate with the clothing in the name of self-expression.
So welcome. As time goes on, this community will blossom into something beautiful. Hope you’ll join us for the drive!
