(no subject)

[aedifica]

http://grist.org/biking/2011-06-20-bicyclings-gender-gap-its-the-economy-stupid/

Pretty neat article. I didn't know there was such a gender gap (I live in a place that doesn't have as much of one) and I definitely hadn't thought about most of these reasons for it.

Comments

[giglet]

Thanks for linking!

I have a fairly mellow commute on my bike here in Boston, but now that I think about it, yes, there are at least 2 men bikers to each woman biker I see.

[sara]

Oh, it's the kid-hauling thing that's entirely why I don't bike-commute. If it were just me, it'd be different, but when I'm taking two small children four miles each way...that's...yeah.

[pinesandmaples]

There is a massive gender gap in my city, which is why we work hard to be extra visible on our bikes. (I live with two other vaguely woman-ish people.)

[cpolk]

At my income level, falling into the car trap would been almost exactly as smart as finding out I really like the way cocaine smells, but I know that a lot of women at my income level have a *lot* more challenges.

I bought a brand new bicycle, and I have the luxury of riding to run errands and make appointments or use the decent public transit available to me if I decide it's too windy to ride. I'm also single, childless, and I live alone, though there is a pending cat in the next few months. I'm planning on buying a second bicycle, and to me living carless with a bicycle is an inexpensive lifestyle - for me.

A single mother might not be able to afford the *multiple* bicycles she might need--what if she's buying groceries for her and her three kids? how does she get those three kids to school or daycare while she goes to work? sure there's such a thing as a cargobike, and maybe one of her kids is old enough to ride a bike too, but going from flinging money at an old car in terrible shape to going carless and using bikes and public transportation is a huge scary change. I'm not surprised that more women aren't riding.

It's easier for someone like me, and it's easier for a two-car family to ditch one car in favor of bicycles.

[darkemeralds]

One of the commenters on the article adds an important piece that the article itself overlooks, and that's the difficulties many women face in the public space.

I'm 56 years old and thankfully no longer subject to the male gaze or general harassment (can't imagine what kind of shit I'd have had to put up with on a bike in my 20s and 30s--I put up with plenty on foot) and even so, I've lost count of the number of times men--mostly fellow bike-riders--have felt it was okay to comment on my form or my not wearing a helmet (which I sometimes choose). Also, I'm a tourist attraction, apparently, and people feel free to smile and point me out to each other because I'm a woman their mother's age on a bike. I seriously doubt whether men my age get that.

(Yes, I realize that these little issues are not the same order of magnitude as having kids and not being able to buy a bike in the first place, but I believe they're part of the equation.)

(Also? Though I agree that vanity and timidity shouldn't be the main reason cited for why more women don't cycle, my experience is that they are very significant reasons a lot of the time.)