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Design och marknadsfeminism i Volvo YCC

Abstract

The gender norms of the car industry show a preference for masculinity in attitude and the choice of design. In this article the possibility of upsetting this predictable gender order is studied through the recent example of the Volvo Car YCC, Your Concept Car. Designed by a team of nine women, this concept was launched as a car by women for everybody. To the management it represented a way to further females in the organisation, while the team itself tried to shield themselves from politics, instead pointing to the new marketing ideas of Marty Barletta. Building the car meant keeping track of gender at all times, especially femininity represented a problematic value. The car came to be appreciated for its strong masculine looks, confirming the interests of female designers. Through a number of significant design decisions discussed in the text controversies around gender were argued, both within the group and in relation to critics within the organisation. Our conclusion points to the project as successful up to a certain point, gender is in fact given new meanings, but there is also a tendency to hark back to the dominant norms of the car industry and to repeat femininity as problematic.