Happy International Women's Day

[uhhuhlex]

Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day. To mark it I've found some interesting cycling-links about women's cycling.

The first one is a quote on bicycling's contribution to feminist progress:

"The bicycle has been responsible for more movement in manners and morals than anything since Charles II. Under its influence, wholly or in part, have wilted chaperones, long and narrow skirts, tight corsets, hair that would come down, black stockings, thick ankles, large hats, prudery and fear of the dark; under its influence, wholly or in part, have blossomed weekends, strong nerves, strong legs, strong language, knickers, knowledge of make and shape, knowledge of woods and pastures, equality of sex, good digestion and professional occupation--in four words, the emancipation of women." --John Galsworthy (1867-1933), winner of Nobel Prize for literature in 1932.

Up next is a BBC article from 2009 which asks 'Are women in more danger than men?': 'This year, seven of the eight people killed by lorries in London have been women. Considering that women make only 28% of the UK's cycling journeys, this seems extremely high.'

And, finally, something I hadn't really ever considered before - safety considerations for women cyclists on a website that offers some excellent tips for bike commuting.

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

There's a nice quote by Susan B. Anthony about women and bicycles:

"I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can't get into harm unless she gets off her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood." 1896

(I'd heard it before, but found a copy here)

[sara]

Oh, this is great. And "...weekends, strong nerves, strong legs, strong language, knickers, knowledge of make and shape, knowledge of woods and pastures, equality of sex, good digestion and professional occupation," sums up most of what's really pleasant in life, doesn't it?

[copracat]

I was reading an online news article about bicycle accidents in my city, in Australia, and I could have sworn that the first time I read it, it said 80% of cyclists in accidents were men. It might have been unsubstantiated because it's disappeared from the story, which is still online. So I went looking.

I found the Monash University study this info comes from and it can be downloaded: Link that downloads pdf of Monash University study on Bicycle and Motorbike Crash Characteristics. It does indeed say that 80% of bicycle crashes involve men. The data is from 2000-2004. The number of cyclists has increased here in that time and some roads and paths have been modified to account for cyclists, though not as much as cyclists would like!

While searching for it I found this great study which says, essentially, You're less likely to be in a crash if you're highly visible. Which, yes. :)

[alien8]

http://ibikelondon.blogspot.com/2010/03/whats-stopping-women-from-cycling.html

a nice blog post that covers the IWD ride in London and has some interesting comments.