Monday, July 03, 2006
Bicycling Bigotry
Well, this is my second post and I am already straying from the topic of tandem bicycling in the Washington, DC area. But, sometimes I see some little innocuous item in print that winds me up. Hopefully writing and posting about it will help me calm down a bit.
Here it is. There is a very short item in the August 2006 issue of Bicycling Magazine headlined “A Shop of One’s Own”. Here is the text in its entirety:
“A new bike shop in Tokai, South Africa, may be the first in the world to cater solely to women cyclists.
“The response has been great so far,” says Femme Sportif (femmesportif.co.za) owner Ellen Feibig. “Almost every lady who comes in comments on how necessary or overdue a shop like this is.” In addition to women’s bikes, clothing and accessories – and a bright pink couch – the shop offers ladies-only road and mountain bike rides and clinics, and is putting together a racing team.”
Let’s take a step back and look at this. What I clearly see is Bicycling Magazine promoting the concept of sexual discrimination in bicycle marketing. The magazine doesn’t actually say that this is a good thing, but they do quote others that say it is and they don’t offer an alternate opinion. No, I think it is clear that Bicycling Magazine thinks that this is a great thing.
But, does anyone think women-only bike shops would be a good thing in the U.S. or in the DC area? Why is this needed? If a male bicyclist has a breakdown and is unfortunate enough to walk his bike to “Femme Sportif” will the shop sell him the parts he needs or will they turn him away because he is the wrong sex?
Also, if women-only bike shops are OK, are African-American-only bike shops OK? How about white-only or male-only bike shops? No, I didn’t think so.
So why is Bicycling Magazine being so openly bigoted and why are they getting away with it? Is anyone else bothered by this? Probably not, but at least now I feel better.
And Bicycling Magazine isn’t the only publication that turns a blind eye to this unthinking political correctness. I recently wrote for a local bicycling newspaper called “Spokes”. It is a nice local specialty newspaper not wanting to do any harm. But something that has always bothered me is that it has a column devoted solely to women’s bicycling called “Spokeswomen”.
Yes, the same unthinking bigotry evidenced by Bicycling Magazine also exists right here at home. Please note that I am specifically referring to this as “unthinking” bigotry because I do not believe Neil Sandler, publisher of “Spokes”, is a bigot. But, he is being unthinking and very PC.
Look at it this way: Bicycling is a sport that is similar to running. You put on your shoes or hop on your bike and go. It is pure in its simplicity. Sure, women’s shoes may be made to fit slightly different than a man’s and a woman’s bicycle may be sized differently than a man’s. But, is there really so much difference between a woman riding a bike and a man riding a bike that it deserves a separate bike shop or a separate column in a local magazine, or a separate anything?
That is my point (I always like to spell it out so there is less chance of being misunderstood). All of this women-only tripe tends to separate us instead of bringing us together. As Rodney King famously said, “Can’t we all just get along?” Can’t men and women and whites and blacks just shop for bikes and related accessories and enjoy riding together without someone attempting to force us into little sub-tribes.
I believe this country is on the verge of erasing discrimination. I know we are not there yet and I am sure I will receive E-mails giving me countless stories of how I am wrong (assuming someone actually reads this). But, that is making my point for me. How are we going to take the final steps toward universal equality in this country if we continue to market our differences to each other?
Sure, a woman-only bike shop and woman-only columns in a local newspaper seem innocuous enough at first look. But, below the surface these things exhibit all of the old-school musty thinking of the worst part of our history. The part I would like to see us leave behind.
The captain
Here it is. There is a very short item in the August 2006 issue of Bicycling Magazine headlined “A Shop of One’s Own”. Here is the text in its entirety:
“A new bike shop in Tokai, South Africa, may be the first in the world to cater solely to women cyclists.
“The response has been great so far,” says Femme Sportif (femmesportif.co.za) owner Ellen Feibig. “Almost every lady who comes in comments on how necessary or overdue a shop like this is.” In addition to women’s bikes, clothing and accessories – and a bright pink couch – the shop offers ladies-only road and mountain bike rides and clinics, and is putting together a racing team.”
Let’s take a step back and look at this. What I clearly see is Bicycling Magazine promoting the concept of sexual discrimination in bicycle marketing. The magazine doesn’t actually say that this is a good thing, but they do quote others that say it is and they don’t offer an alternate opinion. No, I think it is clear that Bicycling Magazine thinks that this is a great thing.
But, does anyone think women-only bike shops would be a good thing in the U.S. or in the DC area? Why is this needed? If a male bicyclist has a breakdown and is unfortunate enough to walk his bike to “Femme Sportif” will the shop sell him the parts he needs or will they turn him away because he is the wrong sex?
Also, if women-only bike shops are OK, are African-American-only bike shops OK? How about white-only or male-only bike shops? No, I didn’t think so.
So why is Bicycling Magazine being so openly bigoted and why are they getting away with it? Is anyone else bothered by this? Probably not, but at least now I feel better.
And Bicycling Magazine isn’t the only publication that turns a blind eye to this unthinking political correctness. I recently wrote for a local bicycling newspaper called “Spokes”. It is a nice local specialty newspaper not wanting to do any harm. But something that has always bothered me is that it has a column devoted solely to women’s bicycling called “Spokeswomen”.
Yes, the same unthinking bigotry evidenced by Bicycling Magazine also exists right here at home. Please note that I am specifically referring to this as “unthinking” bigotry because I do not believe Neil Sandler, publisher of “Spokes”, is a bigot. But, he is being unthinking and very PC.
Look at it this way: Bicycling is a sport that is similar to running. You put on your shoes or hop on your bike and go. It is pure in its simplicity. Sure, women’s shoes may be made to fit slightly different than a man’s and a woman’s bicycle may be sized differently than a man’s. But, is there really so much difference between a woman riding a bike and a man riding a bike that it deserves a separate bike shop or a separate column in a local magazine, or a separate anything?
That is my point (I always like to spell it out so there is less chance of being misunderstood). All of this women-only tripe tends to separate us instead of bringing us together. As Rodney King famously said, “Can’t we all just get along?” Can’t men and women and whites and blacks just shop for bikes and related accessories and enjoy riding together without someone attempting to force us into little sub-tribes.
I believe this country is on the verge of erasing discrimination. I know we are not there yet and I am sure I will receive E-mails giving me countless stories of how I am wrong (assuming someone actually reads this). But, that is making my point for me. How are we going to take the final steps toward universal equality in this country if we continue to market our differences to each other?
Sure, a woman-only bike shop and woman-only columns in a local newspaper seem innocuous enough at first look. But, below the surface these things exhibit all of the old-school musty thinking of the worst part of our history. The part I would like to see us leave behind.
The captain
# posted by Captain Jim @ 6:29 PM 
