Like a fish needs a bicycle

[j4]

Further to the ongoing conversation about whether the battle for gender equality is all done and dusted, you might want to read this depressing article about being a female cyclist.

For what it's worth, my own experience is that most of the verbal abuse I get on a bike these days seems (insofar as I can decode the grunting and hooting of overexcited primates) to be aimed more at cyclists than women. Though I guess I might not get so much of that if I was/looked male -- but that's impossible for me to tell, I have no plausible way of pretending to be male while cycling.

(To be fair, I should also confess that I do my own fair share of shouting, but only at idiots who are actively endangering my life by flagrantly disregarding the rules of the road -- and idiots come in all shapes/sizes/genders/vehicles.)

On the positive side, there is some evidence to suggest that drivers give female cyclists more room when overtaking them. Though now I wonder whether (as the researcher hints) that's because they think female cyclists are more likely to behave unpredictably, or just because it's so much harder to look up someone's skirt when they're disappearing under the wheels of your white van. :-/

Comments

[gnimmel.livejournal.com]

My impression (from an admittedly small sample size) is that there is a lot more sexism-towards-cyclists in London. It's not been a problem in the specific case of me cycling in Cambridge. Probably Oxford and Cambridge are unusual, rather than London being unusual. :(

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

They're given more room because female cyclists' hips are wider.

[ultraruby.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that kind of attention and abuse and stuff (sexist or otherwise, though in my experience it was often sexist) is why I'll never cycle in London again, or indeed probably anywhere. It just feels far to vulnerable a physical and psychological position to be in really, exposed on a bike like that. Although I know not ~all~ other road users are likely to be mean, and not ~all~ blokes are likely to leer and shout stuff out about my body and stuff, I hold out absolutely no hope that the level of hassle and aggression will ever drop to a point where I'd feel ok about putting myself in the line of it. Some people are just horrible, and some men will never stop being leery - I hate to have to accept it but I reckon it is true.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Good heavens. Apparently Reading is a haven of enlightenment. Who knew?

I've been cycling 20 minutes each way across Reading for 6 months now, and to the best of my knowledge haven't had a single remark addressed at me. Admittedly pedestrians glare at me in the area of pedestrianised road which everyone seems to think is no cycling (it isn't), but I think no one could justify that as sexist.

I'd no idea this wasn't the norm. Or maybe I look like a bloke.

[lnr]

I have been known to get (ironic) wolf whistles, though not very often and not of late. Mostly I get "fat cow" comments instead though. Or more often just told to use the pavement.

[jinty]

I haven't had any troublesome comments on a bike when on my 15 mins cycle ride to or from work here in leafy Oxford. Normally / often there's a massive flotilla of bikes all setting off at the same time from the lights, which probably helps. I love that aspect of it!

Haven't even had any negative comments when cycling being visibly pregnant, which is quite good. I did have a comment at the lights today when I was yawning massively, but I don't really care - it wasn't obviously sexist, though for all I know the male driver might have been looking my way because I was pregnant or because I was female.

[damiancugley.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear women cyclists not getting a fair go. I really hope this is something that fades as people get more used to seeing people on bikes.

I think the same researcher that discovered people give female cyclists (actually male researches in long blond wigs) more overtaking room also found that cycle lanes and helmets both reduced overtaking distance. But this is misleading because that’s not where cycle accidents generally happen; it is intersections and other places where the paths of cycles and cars cross that really matter. In Oxford I have the luxury of being able to choose a route that reduces my conflicts with traffic. It must be harder to manage that in a crowded city like central London.

[monkeyhands.livejournal.com]

I used to get quite a lot of wolf-whistling and "HEY PRETTY LADY!" crap on my bike, but this seemed to reduce when I started wearing a fluorescent tabard-y thing, maybe because it put me into the mental category of "cyclist" rather than "woman in public". And that kind of hassle stopped almost completely for me some time ago. I don't know if it's because I put on weight suddenly or because I became a more visibly confident cyclist.

I still get people shouting at me for being a cyclist, but not very often in Oxford. The shouting is more likely to be coming from me these days, for the same reasons as you: "idiots who are actively endangering my life".

[flashofalchemy.livejournal.com]

Hi! I was clubhopper15 and we were LJ friends before I changed LJs a while ago. I stupidly only just realized how many LJers I'd lost along the way and have been coming across old journals I used to love (like yours). Hope you don't mind me adding you again on this LJ!