Are lady bikers the key to Schwinny success?
Posted at 2:05 PM Nov 17, 2009
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An emerging body of research suggests that a superior strategy to increase pedal pushing could be had by asking the perennial question: What do women want? In the U.S., men's cycling trips surpass women's by at least 2:1. This ratio stands in marked contrast to cycling in European countries, where urban biking is a way of life and draws about as many women as men--sometimes more. In the Netherlands, where 27 percent of all trips are made by bike, 55 percent of all riders are women. In Germany 12 percent of all trips are on bikes, 49 percent of which are made by women.The main lady problem? We are fraidycats and we like shopping:
Women are considered an "indicator species" for bike-friendly cities for several reasons. First, studies across disciplines as disparate as criminology and child rearing have shown that women are more averse to risk than men. In the cycling arena, that risk aversion translates into increased demand for safe bike infrastructure as a prerequisite for riding. Women also do most of the child care and household shopping, which means these bike routes need to be organized around practical urban destinations to make a difference.The solution, then: better organized and practical routes along well-lit streets with easily navigable bike lanes (obviously, these are things only women could appreciate--boys like adventure and danger wooohoo, and girls are lame). But there's a safety issue that isn't addressed in the article: the threat of violence and rape. Women are already expected to look out where we walk and take "safe" routes from here to there--lest we be accused of asking for it when we're gang-raped by 15 dudes--so it's natural that we're also suspicious about where we ride our bikes. Heck, there are neighborhoods I drive through late at night that many people (mainly people who are my father) love to hand-wring about.
Women are often already cat-called, leered at and heckled in broad daylight in most major cities--being on a bike might be a quicker getaway than being on foot, but I'm not surprised that, without a lack of familiar, safe routes that can be bike-ridden easily after dark and early in the morning, women are more hesitant than men to hop on two wheels.
Am I being alarmist? Is there any connection between rape culture and fewer female bikers?
Comments
Can't we turn this around on men? I mean, it makes sense that men, especially insecure (hipster asshole) men, would want to be bikers because it puts an intricate metal thing between their legs. I'm not saying it's phallic necessarily, but I am saying it's not NOT phallic.
Posted 11/17/2009 at 02:25:50 PMI'm an avid (female) cycle-commuter here in Austin - I commute to & from work, stores, running errands, the shrink, you name it...
I've never really feared being gang raped on 2 wheels. Or even raped. I fear being hit by a car. I fear being robbed when I'm biking to or from work with my laptop in tow. I dont think those fears are necessarily gender issues.
I have to say crime & safety concerns, as well as bountiful bike routes are the primary reason I opted for West Campus over the East Side when I moved a few years ago.
Not sure if you've noticed or not, but sometime in the past 3 or 4 months a gazillion new bike lanes have popped up all over the city. That along with the gentrification that's been happening on the East Side the past couple years has given me the perception that it is getting safer, and as a result, is making me consider it an option for living / commuting.
The concern about being ahit by a car is far greater than being sexually assaulted, and isn't dependent on my gender or location. If you are alarmed about anything (with regard to cycling), be alarmed about cyclists needing the protection and enforcement of local & statewide efforts like the 3-foot passing ordinance.
Posted 11/17/2009 at 02:52:37 PMJust as a point of anecdata, I was once hit on (read: harrassed) while on my bike, by another person on a bike. I was on a hill and could not get away because the guy kept just matching my speed. Then I almost got hit at a five way stop because the guy chose that exact moment to ask if I had a boyfriend (after he asked how old I was to make sure it was legal). Men- nothing gets between them and getting their rocks off.
Posted 11/17/2009 at 03:27:49 PMOMG you MUST read the chapter "On the problem of women and bicycles" in the book "Gender on Planet Earth", written by Ann Oakley (but I'm sure you already did, Miss Grimes ;)
Using a 2-wheel vehicle is just an extreme sport in big, crowdy cities nowadays. It's simply dangerous with all these cars and rushed people. Well, where I live (Montreal, Canada), it is pretty sick, although we have some cycling roads and lines...
The city road in general is just a jungle that shows the male-in-his-flashy-noisy car being more "powerful" than defenseless women so easy to kill on their fragile bicycles.
And poor men cyclists: having this "intricate metal thing" between their legs are making them sterile with time.
How hipster is that.
Though, it is good for women's bodies and health :)
Well, if you actually survive the ride...
This mean of transportation is ecological, convenient, cycling is a sport that all occidental women have learned, and actually like, no? It has proven its good effects on women's health. We would be less stinky-sweaty if we used it more, if the roads and people's attitude were more bike-friendly. But cars are bigger and more numerous as drivers are crazier. So we are just not oriented on cycling. We don't use it.
And we can't walk to late in some parts. And we can't be wearing a skirt. When the heck is it okay for a woman to walk around safe? And to bike around safe, ANYtime?
Bonus story:
Posted 11/17/2009 at 03:36:23 PMMy dad, who rides a Smart Fortwo, is always telling me about how men make a projection of their penis on their car... I've seen a bunch assholes riding deluxe 4X4 and giving some challenge attitude to the curious bug-looking vehicle driver (and me! Eww! Were they trying to impress me?). Then they would furiously press the gaz up the speed limit and pass in front. Ooh how virile.
Isn't this just exactly what the study says? "Women are more risk-averse" - we are thus because we suffer greater risk in general life, to be sure, but I don't think there's inherently anything wrong with the study here.
Posted 11/18/2009 at 01:07:03 AMI'd honesty bike to more places if I didn't think that people would feck with my bike. (I've seen pushing, spitting, seat slashing, ect.) It's terrible here.
Posted 11/18/2009 at 12:19:53 PM