Here at Fit Is a Feminist Issue many (but not all) of us are big fans of bikes, and we’ve blogged lots about our love of bicycles and about the connections between bicycles and feminism.
“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”—Susan B. Anthony, 1896
In that spirit, here are some of our favourite bicycle posts from the archives:
- Bicycles: Making good women go bad since the 1800s — the anti-bike backlash of the late 1800s and the fear of “free, untrammeled womanhood.”
- Riding this summer? Beware of bicycle face! — the Victorian “medical” panic over women on wheels.
- Is your bicycle making you gay? — more vintage moral panic, and what it reveals about fear of women’s sexuality.
- Bikes, feminism, and moral panic — a roundup tied to my “Bad Girls, Bikes, and the Women’s Liberation Movement” talk.
- The power of bicycles in changing the world for girls and women — bikes, girls’ education, and empowerment around the globe.
- Black women and the history of cycling — recovering the stories left out of white cycling history.
- Women Cycling — safe infrastructure, bike face, and why getting women on bikes is a feminist issue.
- Indoor cycling: lower-tech options? — Catherine’s case for a no-frills trainer setup.
- Low-tech cycling in my basement (guest post) — cycling as everyday utility, dresses and all.
