I'm in a procrastinating mood today trying to avoid the writing/charting/chores I should be doing. So what better time to show everyone my nerdy collection of vintage women cyclist images?
I'm basically obsessed with the point in history when bikes became a tool of liberation for women.
In the late 1800's, there was lots of experimentation with bike styles, but it wasn't until the 1890's when the safety bicycle was developed that women took to cycling in droves.
Cycling fell neatly into the late Victorian fitness craze, when exercise became seen as a healthy and virtuous pursuit.
Bikes were also affordable, easier to maintain than a horse and allowed the kind of mobility and independence that women had rarely experienced before.
Susan B. Anthony is famously quoted as saying that the bike "has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world."
Suffragettes quickly adopted bikes and used them in marches and protests.
There had been a few movements earlier in the 1800's to liberate women from restrictive clothing (Victorian dress reform, Amelia Bloomer, etc), but they had remained fringe.
Cycling became the catalyst that brought more moveable clothing into the mainstream. Finally pants!
Cycling was such a massive craze that it propelled some of the first female athletes into stardom.
This is Annie Londonberry, she was the first woman to cycle around the world in 1894-5.
You can be sure there were men who were alarmed at this new found independence and athleticism. Mockery and satire of women cyclists, their clothes and their attitudes were everywhere.
Take a break from these photos and read this awesome comic by @beatonna inspired by those satirical comics about women cyclists.
harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=3…
The medical establishment worried that cycling would cause:
- bicycle face (a look of concentration when riding that would permanently distort women's faces)
- sexual overstimulation (from leaning forward on the saddle while riding)
- lesbianism (somehow caused by the above???)
Specialized saddles and handlebars were developed to prevent overstimulation of those delicate parts that apparently would turn a woman gay if she biked wrong.
Other fun facts: in the early 1900's there was a fad for doing bike tricks. This combined with improving photography technology to give us some of my favorite images.
More bike stunts. I just love these so much.
You guys, I have an embarrassing number of these images. Here are some random ones from ads and magazines.
Here is one from a newspaper story about a women who got off her bike after being catcalled by a man and beat the shit out of him. This was part of the moral panic around bikes making women "mannish" and unnatural but I cannot possibly love this image more.
There was a fad for photos of Geishas on bikes in this era. As well as the turn of century French "Orientalism" aesthetic. I wish I knew more of the history behind these images. Does anyone have any insights?
An Annie Oakley photo, because why not?
This is Clementine Delait, a famous "bearded woman". This is one of many photos of her with her bike.
Yeah... still not through my whole collection...
Still with me? Here are some more...
Not at all sure what's happening here.
Ok, I'll spare you the rest, it's a large folder.
Why start this collection? Well, these images are boss and the history is amazing. But tbh, the collection really began when I started planning a cyclist tattoo. So, I'll leave you with that image.
If you got this far, thanks!
*Annie Londonderry
Want to learn more? Read this super interesting story of Kittie Knox, a biracial cyclist in an era when racism and sexism were deeply embedded in American cycling culture. Via @SapioSpiritual.
medium.com/@joebiel/how-k…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.