Month: February 2014

girlswithclothesonbikes:

mississippiabigail:

alicjacksonjihad:

mississippiabigail:

TW: Language in links, Sexism, Homophobia (possibly)

Can we talk about this for a second?

I’m all about bikes, cycling, and all that jazz. I am. So is a lot of tumblr. So much so that I’ve seen this photoset come up on my dash about 20 different times today. (For the record I also get that tumblr loves Alysha Nett and tattoos and girls in pretty underwear. I do.)

But I’m getting really tired of only seeing girls on bikes when they’re an accessory to the bike. They aren’t riding them, or if they are, they’re doing so in a way that explicitly exhibits their body or sexuality.

Okay, so you know me, you know I’m one of those silly tumblr feminists who believes that women’s bodies should not be sexualized outside of sexual situations, that their bodies are natural and beautiful, etc, etc.

But the problem I keep having with this pattern that I see not only on tumbr, but in the ways that companies themselves advertise their frames and equipment, is that it presents cycling (fixed gear/track/single speed especially) as a culture and hobby belonging exclusively to men and ultra-sexy-fit-tattooed women. And of the women it includes, very little are actually seen riding, racing, or working on their bikes. Rather than being a part of a community and sport, they are a set of breasts attached to a bike frame.

For every one woman who commutes by bicycle, there are four more men. There are also extensive problems within track communities when it comes to granting opportunities and including women (This same blogger has another about The Wolfpack Hustle, if you’re so inclined).  Then you get into articles like these, which are literally a dime a dozen, despite not being about hip cycling subcultures or young women from the ads, but actual women riding bikes for realistic reasons. For goodness’ sakes, there’s even a Bechdel Test for women’s representation in bicycling.

There’s also sexism in the gear. Companies like Levi’s make commuter jeans for cyclists, but only for men. And the most convincing women’s cycling gear in the culture/community tend to come from small startups rather than larger distributors or accessible companies.

Basically, I’m mad because I keep seeing girls on bikes, but they aren’t girls riding their bikes. They’re asses on drops, legs against a seat tube, and boobs for the sake of boobs. And I keep seeing it on tumblr. On liberal, feminist, too easily offended tumblr. But I never see anyone getting mad about it, even the fem-id’d blogs I follow who ride bikes. And for the dudes I follow who reblog it, you get major side eyes from me. Because you aren’t making cycling any more accessible to women or supporting women already in the community. You’re reminding them that unless they’re pretty enough, they don’t deserve their bikes. You’re reminding them that they can only be included if it’s for your own entertainment and fantasy. And I really wish you’d stop.

And if any companies see this (cough, State and Retrospec, cough), my challenge to you is to extend a hand to your feminine consumer. Make clothing for them. Design bikes with women in mind. And most of all, show off real women on real bikes wearing real clothes made to help them do what they do. Show your female consumers that you care about them, and help pave the way for more women in fixed/track/singlespeed. You can do it. Also, please stop making racist Cranksgiving posters. Thanks. 

This needed to be said. It’s a huge issue in the fixed gear/track community. Companies are commodifying women on bikes to sell their shitty low-quality neon colored completes to the trendier side of the cycling community, and people are eating it right up.

Here’s a thing I wrote awhile back.