Chaya Milchtein didn’t know a thing about cars – and didn’t even have her driver’s license – before she found a job at a mechanic shop in 2013. Working in different shops over the years, it was clear to her that a lot of people are excluded from the automotive industry, and she wanted to do something about it.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
So Milchtein started a blog called Mechanic Shop Femme. The Milwaukee-based educator, journalist and influencer uses her platform to empower women and queer people through education about their cars. And she shows up fully while doing it, incorporating plus-size fashion and travel into her work. “I wanted to be queer and femme and fabulous,” she says. “I wanted to speak to people who wanted to learn from someone like me.”
She has taught classes, gained a social media following (hello, 600,000 TikTok followers!) and wrote Mechanic Shop Femme’s Guide to Car Ownership, out April 9. “I want to help people better understand … car ownership so they can be empowered consumers,” Milchtein says. “And so going into the mechanic shop isn’t a terrifying experience.”
