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That's really interesting. I never knew about the Subaru-lesbian connection. I remember the "da-da-da" VW ad and has no idea about its gay friendly-ness. Great

That's really interesting. I never knew about the Subaru-lesbian connection. I remember the "da-da-da" VW ad and has no idea about its gay friendly-ness. Great article. Thanks for posting.

homero 10y ago
My lesbian neighbor has a Subaru and I didn't understand why
- biot 10y ago
  Is she a teacher, doctor, outdoor enthusiast, or IT professional?
  - jsmthrowaway 10y ago
    I had no idea hackers were so into all wheel drive, at least at the time. The article's exploration of the main topic was of course fascinating (and full of perspective), but that little nugget of information was equally thought-provoking to me. Understanding and appreciating the engineering, maybe? I'm genuinely intrigued by that. Also, I'm a hacker four wheel drive owner outdoor enthusiast, so I'll be discovering a penchant for medicine and a couple other interesting things about myself soon enough, I suppose. Come to think of it I do have first aid in the Jeep...
    - csydas 10y ago
      This is merely anecdotal and definitely tangential, but I've noticed a strong trend between programmers and common outdoors activities (camping, kayaking, etc) during my time in tech. I've always assumed it was just a means of getting as far away from the work environment as physically possible. While they will of course have more technical hobbies, they also seem to like to fill their time with just about anything that's outside or at least doesn't involve them in front of a screen. When I was in WA, home brewing beer was also extremely popular.
    - kirrent 10y ago
      The proportion of technical degrees in members of every university mountaineering club I've ever been in/met has always been ridiculously high. The same seems to be also true for climbers/cavers/ski-mo people I've met outside of uni. I think you're right that there must be something in the mind set that encourages those sorts of pursuit. I've always put it down to a combination of preferring individual pursuits over team sports and a love of discovery. Heaps of these people love their Subarus so it might be less of the case that hackers love the car and more that hackers love getting outdoors and therefore love the car. I know I love mine.
      - bobsil1 10y ago
        Also pilots: highly technical people are confident they can handle it without dying.
      - sndean 10y ago
        > preferring individual pursuits over team sports I've noticed that too with running/cycling. Even as far back as high school, it always seemed like the kids stronger in science/math did cross country and track in higher proportions compared to other sports.
    - poloniculmov 10y ago
      >Come to think of it I do have first aid in the Jeep... Isn't it mandatory to have a first aid kit in your car?
      - kalleboo 10y ago
        A quick google only reveals this to be mandatory in Germany and Belgium
- hallman76 10y ago
  Now you know that it fits their active, low-key lifestyle.
c3534l 10y ago
My brother bought one and it made me realize that he could probably pass as a lesbian.
- mlvljr 10y ago
  Into women, too, huh? :-)
jmspring 10y ago
It's a complete stereotype, but for years I've gone to various folk music festivals (dating back to the mid/late 90s). Those festivals that had obvious lesbian audiences, lots of subarus around. That said, they have had a reputation for decent vehicles.
fezz 10y ago
Around the late 90s we started to notice the steady growth of subarus at the REI in berkeley. At some point we called them lesbarus because it was obvious but I never realized that the campaign was running all the way back then.
soylentcola 10y ago
I'm sort of curious about the motivation behind their current slogan which I only started hearing over the past year or so: "Love, it's what makes a Subaru a Subaru" I'd hear that slogan as a sponsorship message on public radio and more recently I think I heard it on a commercial TV ad and I'd reply "no, standard all wheel drive is what makes it a Subaru." Still, snark aside, it's struck me as a sort of hippie-dippy slogan for an international auto company and it's made me wonder what they are going for.
diydsp 10y ago
> no idea about its gay friendly-ness Me neither. Maybe it's the power of suggestion, but I see subtle and unsubtle references all over that ad now that it's been pointed out to me. It's all artfully vague, but added up make a strong hint: One guy's shirt is half-open. The two men look at each other with their lips slightly tensed. Their small car runs opposite to the large train (reference to against mainstream). There's a slack toy that pops up when the passenger manipulates it with his hand.

That's really interesting. I never knew about the Subaru-lesbian connection. I remember the "da-da-da" VW ad and has no idea about its gay friendly-ness. Great article. Thanks for posting.

homero 10y ago

My lesbian neighbor has a Subaru and I didn't understand why

biot 10y ago
Is she a teacher, doctor, outdoor enthusiast, or IT professional?
- jsmthrowaway 10y ago
  I had no idea hackers were so into all wheel drive, at least at the time. The article's exploration of the main topic was of course fascinating (and full of perspective), but that little nugget of information was equally thought-provoking to me. Understanding and appreciating the engineering, maybe? I'm genuinely intrigued by that. Also, I'm a hacker four wheel drive owner outdoor enthusiast, so I'll be discovering a penchant for medicine and a couple other interesting things about myself soon enough, I suppose. Come to think of it I do have first aid in the Jeep...
  - csydas 10y ago
    This is merely anecdotal and definitely tangential, but I've noticed a strong trend between programmers and common outdoors activities (camping, kayaking, etc) during my time in tech. I've always assumed it was just a means of getting as far away from the work environment as physically possible. While they will of course have more technical hobbies, they also seem to like to fill their time with just about anything that's outside or at least doesn't involve them in front of a screen. When I was in WA, home brewing beer was also extremely popular.
  - kirrent 10y ago
    The proportion of technical degrees in members of every university mountaineering club I've ever been in/met has always been ridiculously high. The same seems to be also true for climbers/cavers/ski-mo people I've met outside of uni. I think you're right that there must be something in the mind set that encourages those sorts of pursuit. I've always put it down to a combination of preferring individual pursuits over team sports and a love of discovery. Heaps of these people love their Subarus so it might be less of the case that hackers love the car and more that hackers love getting outdoors and therefore love the car. I know I love mine.
    - bobsil1 10y ago
      Also pilots: highly technical people are confident they can handle it without dying.
    - sndean 10y ago
      > preferring individual pursuits over team sports I've noticed that too with running/cycling. Even as far back as high school, it always seemed like the kids stronger in science/math did cross country and track in higher proportions compared to other sports.
  - poloniculmov 10y ago
    >Come to think of it I do have first aid in the Jeep... Isn't it mandatory to have a first aid kit in your car?
    - kalleboo 10y ago
      A quick google only reveals this to be mandatory in Germany and Belgium
hallman76 10y ago
Now you know that it fits their active, low-key lifestyle.

c3534l 10y ago

My brother bought one and it made me realize that he could probably pass as a lesbian.

mlvljr 10y ago
Into women, too, huh? :-)

jmspring 10y ago

It's a complete stereotype, but for years I've gone to various folk music festivals (dating back to the mid/late 90s). Those festivals that had obvious lesbian audiences, lots of subarus around. That said, they have had a reputation for decent vehicles.

fezz 10y ago

Around the late 90s we started to notice the steady growth of subarus at the REI in berkeley. At some point we called them lesbarus because it was obvious but I never realized that the campaign was running all the way back then.

soylentcola 10y ago

I'm sort of curious about the motivation behind their current slogan which I only started hearing over the past year or so: "Love, it's what makes a Subaru a Subaru" I'd hear that slogan as a sponsorship message on public radio and more recently I think I heard it on a commercial TV ad and I'd reply "no, standard all wheel drive is what makes it a Subaru." Still, snark aside, it's struck me as a sort of hippie-dippy slogan for an international auto company and it's made me wonder what they are going for.

diydsp 10y ago

> no idea about its gay friendly-ness Me neither. Maybe it's the power of suggestion, but I see subtle and unsubtle references all over that ad now that it's been pointed out to me. It's all artfully vague, but added up make a strong hint: One guy's shirt is half-open. The two men look at each other with their lips slightly tensed. Their small car runs opposite to the large train (reference to against mainstream). There's a slack toy that pops up when the passenger manipulates it with his hand.