@sallyhinch
But what of masculinity? Does our bicycle culture shine a light into maleness? That's what I was pondering, with some difficulty.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Macho biking
(46 posts)-
Posted 6 years ago #
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Are you complaining about thread drift?
I think cycling can definitely help men gain an insight into what some women face https://accidentobizarro.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/harassment-its-a-bit-like-being-a-cyclist/
As to the original question, I haven't thought too much about it, but it seems to me that some men bring some of the macho qualities they bring to the rest of their lives out on the bike with them, and possibly some men compensate for their otherwise not-very-macho looking lives when cycling, which is far better than them doing it behind the wheel of an overpowered car. And some women overturn the assumption that they're sugar and spice and all things nice by going out and being competitive and generally awesome on the bike (as in the Adventure Syndicate) whereas others overturn the assumption that cycling is all about being suffering by going out on social rides and emphasising the cake side of things (and some do both).
One thing I've noticed about myself (I can't speak for other women) is that I very much resent being put in any box that seems to be labelled feminine. Sometimes this is because the box doesn't fit, but sometimes it's because the box feels (or I assume is) undervalued. So I feel that I ought to be able to ride audaxes and put a Marathon Plus on with my teeth because the (possibly in my head) assumption is that as a woman I can't do either of those things, but I don't value as much the fact that I can turn a heel on a sock or use my facility with language to defuse a confrontation, because those are perceived to be feminine skills. I don't know whether men feel the same - or whether because a society we value the masculine more than the feminine, so it doesn't feel belittling when people assume you can fix a bike and run up a mountain but that you'd rather wrestle a mountain lion and run through electrified mud than talk about your feelings or ask for directions.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Nicely put sallyhinch
Posted 6 years ago # -
I suppose so
Posted 6 years ago # -
@sallyhinch
Thank you for that wonderful post.
I don't know whether men feel the same
I am increasingly convinced by the argument that men are trained to disregard what they feel.
Are you complaining about thread drift?
Just a light touch on the tiller that the spinnaker might catch the wind.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I am increasingly convinced by the argument that men are trained to disregard what they feel.
Robert Webb makes that point throughout his memoir "How Not to Be a Boy". Well worth a read.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I don't think there's anything particular about cycling, is there? Some people are more agressive/competitive and some are less so. We see agressive/competitive behaviour as male/masculine but in fact both sexes/genders (I can never remember which is which) display such behaviours; however they may well be displayed in more men than women. (Edited to add: whether this is nature or nurture I don't know.)
As a woman, I don't want to "womansplain" to men how they should be male - after all, we women object if men try and tell us how we should go about being female!
Posted 6 years ago # -
Cordelia Fine is very good on the differences, if any, between the genders. Delusions of Gender and the more recent Testosterone Rex are both worth a read.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I've been pondering for a while on how cycling has been framed by some as a means of demonstrating resistance to self-inflicted pain
for me its about demonstrating resistance to servile and destructive domesticity via pampered climate controlled environments
far less a gender issue, more one of determined stoic substance
Posted 6 years ago # -
As a society we CLEARLY value the masculine more than the feminine, so it doesn't feel belittling when people assume you can fix a bike and run up a mountain but that you'd rather wrestle a mountain lion and run through electrified mud than talk about your feelings or ask for directions. - I am pretty sure this is the crux. As others have written a thousand times better - girls/women getting extra respect when they're "like" boys/men is no solution at all for this stuff. But it's a very real thing, that I struggle with every time I try to figure out what my own motivations are for doing a thing (n.b. may not necessarily be a bike or physical activity related thing).
Posted 6 years ago # -
Also, a lot of yes to Cordelia Fine. And I have heard very good things about How Not To Be A Boy.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Delusions of Gender and the more recent Testosterone Rex are both worth a read.
For the titles if nothing else. Very clever.
Posted 6 years ago # -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-43740203
A Twitter user commented: "I am not a religious cleric but a woman can be seductive and getting on a bicycle reveals all her attractive parts to men. If she wants to ride a bike she must do that by herself and not in public nor in front of people."Posted 6 years ago # -
i'm sure there are a lot of people in the so-called liberal west who agree with that comment, but then it comes from a country where a cleric was able to say that driving cars could cause reproductive problems for women, and he wasn't immediately drowned out in laughter.
Posted 6 years ago # -
also, could i just set up a little cult of sally hinch, for putting some of my thoughts into clearer words than i have at the moment?
Posted 6 years ago # -
A fresh twist on this discussion, from one of the Adventure Syndicate themselves
"It turns out that many men find The Adventure Syndicate’s model of collaboration and encouragement far more appealing. By giving young boys strong female role models to look up to, who don’t necessarily espouse the more ‘traditional’ adventurous values, we can help to promote a better way of adventuring, and of being."
http://theadventuresyndicate.com/blog/2018/6/28/who-needs-role-models-laura-moss
Posted 5 years ago #
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