Nowadays, cycling is one of the most famous sports in the world. Both
women and men enjoy riding bicycles; sport competitions are held and
thousands of people join bicycle clubs. Bicycle racing is very popular;
men and women, children and grownups master the art of bicycle riding.
However, bicycle riding wasn’t always accessible to women. On the
contrary: in 19th century it was consider inappropriate for women to
ride bikes. The pose, which the bicycle riders had to take, seemed too
vulgar. Some critics condemned women who decided to ride bicycles,
claiming that their vulgar look is provocative and that they should be
arrested, since women on bikes disturb social order.
Today, women riding bicycles everywhere, not realizing the
importance of the mark the bicycle left upon gender relations. In the
19th century, cycling was considered male dominated sphere of activity,
much like other sport activities, and women couldn’t play a part in
these spheres. However, as the years went by, women started to protest
against such discrimination, and after many disputes were also allowed
to ride bicycles. The shift in attitude towards women on bikes also
brought other changes – women’s emancipation changed the style of their
clothes from the impractical long dresses and long skirts to sport
dresses.
Bicycle riding played an important role in women’s struggle for
independence. It served a tool for increased freedom and opportunity to
engage in sports together with men. Many feminist writers of today
consider the bicycle one of the most important tools towards women’s
self control.
