I have never really considered that being a girl has anything to do with writing. I think that growing up without running water and electricity, being chased by whales, and that one time I hit my head really, really hard, has had more of an impact on what I have to say, than the fact that I sometimes get free drinks in bars.
In the past year there has been a shift, and a bigger focus is being placed on women in mountain biking. Awesome, right? The problem was that a bunch of people, really-great-not-sexist-at-all people, had a vague notion that women needed to be represented better or more or just. . . something in our media. They identified a void, but the solution wasn’t quite there yet. Being that I have the prerequisite ‘soft tissue’ the request was put to me a few times to provide ‘women specific content’.
I will admit that I saw an opportunity in this niche, and we all have rent to pay, but at the same time it just didn’t feel right to me. The few times that I have attempted to write a ‘rah rah rah up with women in mountain biking’ type article they have felt soulless to me. The type of read where the words are arranged well and the punctuation is stellar, but you walk away and immediately forget about it. Like a technically great photograph that leaves you nothing more than… ‘meh’.
For example I once wrote, ‘We are not solving global warming or preventing teen pregnancy; we are just riding bikes. However, it would still seem that the lack of women competing in this style of mountain biking is something we feel passionately about.” This non-committal, third party assessment of the concerns buzzing in our industry about the lack of women in downhill racing was my way of trying to fly the flag.
The problem is this; yes, I have a vagina but that makes me as similar to other women as my secluded childhood and imaginary friends make me similar to the guy who yells at me while going through my recycling. I really don’t feel like I know the first thing about what other girls are interested in. I grew up as a tomboy, my first fisher-price toy was a chainsaw, and I aspired to be a 60-year-old fisherman when I grew up – which to this day accounts for my fashion choices. My sister on the other hand was a beauty pageant queen. A girl who knew how to walk in high heels and who could completely transform the way she looked in under an hour. These are skills that I am still equal parts envious of and intimidated by in most women. So, from a very young age, I knew that I didn’t know everything about being a woman – and I’m still not clear on exactly what issues relating to mountain biking are specific to women.
The other thing that made my palms sweat and my Spidey sense tingle around the idea of writing women’s specific ‘from my vagina to yours’ articles is that I never wanted to be pigeonholed – and I’m using the Webster’s, not the Urban Dictionary definition here. I have never wanted to be seen as just a ‘female writer’. And I don’t mean that as ‘just a woman’. I mean it that same way that saying ‘sorry, I only write about Enduro now’ would severely hinder my career – minus having to wear a fanny pack.
I didn’t see equality as me being hired because I appeal to women, I see it as me being hired because I have a pretty solid sense of where a period should go. Tina Fey landed a role on SNL because she is funny, not because she is funny just to women.
When it comes to mountain biking, we don’t need to be women first. We are riders first. A riding trip is just that, a riding trip. No gender identification required. There needn’t be a specified women’s riding trip with the requisite cowboy hat, bikini, and side boob photos. Boys and girls can ride together! No segregation. And most importantly, women in the industry can be profiled without being asked what it is like to be a woman working in the bike industry, or how they feel about women receiving equal payouts on the podium. Those gendered questions can be replaced with the more interesting and personality revealing ‘who inspired you to ride bikes’ and ‘what are your goals for this year’.
Marching bands, neon signs, and gratuitous cleavage actually make mountain biking less accessible to women. They single us out, point out our differences, and become polarizing. But realizing that mountain biking is more about the experience and love for the sport, than about whether you sit or stand, will further unite us as an equal and more accessible community.
Subtly shifting the way we view ourselves as part of this community and industry is the first step in changing the way everyone else views us. I have never considered any of my articles ‘women specific’. When I write about my grandma being the inspiration for my outdoor adventures, or about the incredible person that Tara Llanes is, or about
my friend Marilee who embodies the love of biking that we all feel, I choose to write these articles in a way that everyone, not just women, can relate to them, and in doing so a larger audience is inspired by women.
Who is going to finance writing those articles, that hardly anyone reads?
Looks to me people are trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist.
Mountainbiking will always be dominated by men.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
(Though I would like to ride more with women.)
I'm not trying to be rude or arrogrent here, just pointing out that for most things there is no need for gender specific item but for other such as the frame and saddle there it.
We all know the sport is male dominated and it probably always will be. However is doesn't help that out on the trails a lot of the men look at my wife and automatically think she is going to be slow. She is not! And quite often these men will quickly jump on the trail in front of her because they don't want to be held up. Only to find that she is pushing them along being held up herself! Not sure what there is anyone can do about this but it is certainly of putting for my wife as she always feels a little put down and wonders if she is actually any good on her bike and becomes embarrassed to ride in front of people. I don't know if this happens everywhere but it certainly does in the Surrey Hills.....maybe it's the "too cocky too much money and not enough talent people" we see everywhere??
Although, it's not just the men that do this! Often the ladies who "role with the boys" get a little cocky and won't even say hello to the less talented....
People just need to get off there high horse and accept that all different kinds of people want to ride, we want to enjoy ourselves whether we have 1months experience or 10 years experience. No matter the gender or the level of skill!!!
I don't care if you aren't interested in feminism, but you shouldn't try to advise people to not actively engage themselves in it. We don't need all of humanity to be an activist for feminism, just like we don't need all of humanity to be studying disease or racial inequality or any inequality. The movement isn't going to stop though, and a lot of you clearly have no interest/concern for it, which is perfectly fine. Your life is yours. So let people be passionate about what they are passionate about. I love being a feminist and it is one of the most meaningful aspects of my life.
There is an imbalance in participation. That much is very clear. But I don't really believe there is a lot of straight up "gender discrimination" happening in mountain biking. It's more to do with skill discrimination, and the assumptions we make of each other's skill when at the trail head with someone you don't know. What I have learned about that though, is that those assumptions are often always wrong, and all that needs to happen in order to dispel of those notions is to ride with the person for five minutes. I'm not saying the person in question needs to be the Best rider, they just need to be on a similar level with those around them, and willing to ride the terrain of choice.
Mountain biking is a fringe sport, and shares a lot in common with other fringe sports. Like skiing, climbing, skateboarding, or even ultimate frisbee and volleyball. The girls go right along with the guys, and nobody pays it any mind as long as the skills to participate match up accordingly.
All that's really needed to completely dispel of the notion of gender discrimination is increased female participation. The rest will follow.
Please @Metacomet, just ride your bike and leave feminism to feminists. You're entitled to think they are wrong but leave it as a thought and live your own damn life. If you actually cared to do research you wouldn't express the ignorance you are expressing unless you genuinely had bad intentions toward the female gender. Even if you have good intentions, you are objectively uninformed. There is no argument. Tell me of the feminist literature you have read. Tell me how much you care about feminism. Please. Or just don't say anything at all. I can guarantee you haven't researched shit and are completely uninvolved in feminism.
You think you know how it is, but really, you have no idea because you don't care to research something you don't believe in.
I'm not sure if you are intelligent enough to acknowledge that as discrimination, but it is.
Also not claiming to "know" how it is. Only putting some thoughts into words in a rather non aggressive and non offensive way. I am at a loss for how I have offended you or made you feel as though I am attacking a feminist movement? Bad intentions toward the female gender?? lol. Tell that to my wife and daughter and nieces with whom I bike, climb, ski, skateboard, and generally encourage to do whatever they are passionate about or interested in. They just might laugh in your face.
If you want to talk about gender discrimination in the rest of the world. I think its messed up and a very real problem that deserves a legitimate movement, especially in the music industry, the work force, and in organized sports. But this has simply not been my observation in mountain biking and other similar fringe sports.
I am not involved with feminism. I am involved with my loved ones and a passion for being active in the outdoors.
You came across pretty damn aggressive in your retort, and I am not sure what I did to provoke it.
It looked to me like @Metacomet approached the subject without any agenda, so I'm not sure what provoked that response.
I am a girl who has been riding with guys most of the time, they were most of the time faster than me, but i was hitting the same trails, getting the same mud and hurting myself as much. On the trail, it did not matter who was better, we were just happy to ride. I never cared about the fact that people judge me because I am a girl, it did not matter. It should be the same for everyone, try caring that much about discrimination because it take you off your main focus, having fun. Discrimination is real only because we make it happen by talking so much about it.
I think the rest of us are referring strictly to everyday mountain biking, and you are referring to everyday life. Two very different things in this case. Making them one in the same would be to take peoples words out of context.
"Juliana Bicycles is proud to announce the launch of the new Juliana-SRAM Professional Mountain Bike Team!!!!!"
womens only, womens only, all womens mtb team, queen of mtb, Coming to an Enduro World Series near you - meet the all new, all female Juliana-SRAM Pro team.
seems the marketing depts at sram and juliana didn't get the memo............
'When it comes to mountain biking, we don’t need to be women first. We are riders first. A riding trip is just that, a riding trip. No gender identification required. There needn’t be a specified women’s riding trip with the requisite cowboy hat, bikini, and side boob photos. Boys and girls can ride together! No segregation. And most importantly, women in the industry can be profiled without being asked what it is like to be a woman working in the bike industry, or how they feel about women receiving equal payouts on the podium. Those gendered questions can be replaced with the more interesting and personality revealing ‘who inspired you to ride bikes’ and ‘what are your goals for this year’.
when it comes to this topic, danielle baker is 100% on the mark.
no segregation.
glad someone finally wrote about this.
'When it comes to mountain biking, we don’t need to be 'disabled' first. We are riders first. A riding trip is just that, a riding trip. No 'disability' identification required. There needn’t be a specified 'disabled' riding trip with the requisite hospital bed shot, re hab work out, and inspirational pushin the wheelchair photos. Abled bodied and 'disabled' can ride together! No segregation. And most importantly, 'disabled' athletes in the industry can be profiled without being asked what it is like to be a 'disabled' working in the bike industry, or how they feel about 'disabled' receiving equal presence on the podium and in the media. Those 'disabled' questions can be replaced with the more interesting and personality revealing ‘who inspired you to ride bikes’ and ‘what are your goals for this year’.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Then you went on to say: "Basically, if you shout don't panic, everyone assumes something is wrong so gets agitated. If we (the collective we) write and read articles that deal specifically with gender inequality, would this not make the situation worse by simply enforcing the idea that there is gender inequality?" And this comment here is what really pissed me off. See, you claim to be supportive of the female gender in MTB, that's how you are trying to make yourself sound. But holy f*ck dude. "Enforcing the idea that there is gender inequality"??????????????
Are you like.... Trying to imply that there isn't gender inequality in mtb? If pretending it wasn't an issue was going to get us anywhere, then why were women's rights absolute shit until the feminist movement started less than a century ago? You can't just wait for change to happen. Life doesn't work that way and never will.
@banjberra You can't just exclude anyone who doesn't share your feminist agenda from the discussion. That's not how you affect change. They are precisely the people you should be having a discussion with. Get down off your high horse before you hurt yourself.
Is it bad that is found this sentence highly amusing? In a giggling schoolboy kinda way.
On a more serious note however, this is probably the best gender equality article I have ever read, on pinkbike or anywhere else. The whole "I'm sick of being discriminated against so you must now give me special treatment" argument really grinds my gears.
perhaps the opening part of this article makes a more valid point than what it was perhaps intended to do.
Maybe the lack of women in mountain biking isnt to do with the the "lads lads lads" nature of the sport, especially gravity stuff but a more general lack of encouragement for women to take part in outdoor activities in general.
Of the women i know who ride it seems most got into it through a partner, at school while us lads had to do PE in winter out in the rain playing football or rugby or the dreaded cross country run in the mud the girls got to do indoor sports and got away far lighter if they "forgot" their kit. we had no excuses. Maybe this leads to less women discovering outdoor pursuits at an early age and then enjoying them into their adult lives.
I somehow think this whole unequality in our sport is far deeper than people are making out.
Maybe i'm wrong but i'd love to hear a womans view on my views. The fact that boys are given footballs, skateboards, stuff like that and the fact we were encouraged to run around playing army whilst the girls had toy tea sets and the like that almost bred them into domestic people before they had the chance to decided other wise surely can't have helped.
The biking community can obviously do their little part to make things better, but this goes back to much more pervasive issues that start when kids are still very young. Just look at "girls" and "boys" toys. Pink vs blue. Plastic ironing boards vs plastic power tools. Not saying that many of us aren't predisposed to one toy or another, but the giant marketing machines that sit behind modern culture are very quick to stereotype roles from a young age. When one is bombarded with those messages for years and years, it isn't really any surprise when most women think that mountain biking wouldn't be their thing.
(thoughts from a concerned father of a 4-year old girl)
That sounds about right, maybe we need to ask a certain big bike website to write that article, or, perhaps write it yourself then you can ask the questions you want. Emmeline is on facebook so if you contact her she may be willing to help
I was in Girl Scouts as a little kid (in the U.S.) and HATED it. It was all baking and sewing and arts-n-crafts. I actually do like all of those things, but I wanted to be a Boy Scout. My Boy Scout friends were getting dumped in the woods with 40 lb packs and told to find their way out, 20 miles away. That sounded like WAY more fun, but that's because I did those things with my family and friends.
It's nice to know i've made a good point for once so cheers
It sounds like you had a great balance in your upbringing. I hope more people let their kids grow up the same way.
Maybe without the forced baking though
Equality isn't about pretending we're all the same. Equality is about valuing everyone's different qualities (strengths and weaknesses) on the same playing field. We're all human, and it isn't about trying to be better than someone else at everything -- it's about being the best us and doing what we're best at. For Cam Zink, that's him being his best. For Rachel Atherton, that's her being her best. They both have different, amazing skills that aren't gender-specific, and they do what they're best at, which makes them great. We're all human and #weallride .
However, we cannot ignore how women and female athletes are portrayed in direct contrast to men, not only by the media, but by sponsors, companies and even the athletes themselves in an attempt to supposedly 'get ahead'. THAT is sexist, and personally, I'd much rather be ignored than held to a different standard because I happen to have been born with a vagina. I grew up as a tomboy as well and didn't realize that my gender set me apart until around junior high, when they told me I could no longer play football with the boys during lunch break because I 'might get hurt'. THAT bothered me, and to this day, it still annoys me when unsuspecting people take one look at me and assume that I'm less than capable because of an altered genetic code.
It comes down to seeing each other as humans, not genders, not object, but individual people with skills and abilities that vary from person to person. Generalizations aren't appropriate, and just like we all bleed red, we all ride bikes. That's all that matters.
well said.
just for fun.................
"However, we cannot ignore how 'disabled' and wheelchair athletes are portrayed in direct contrast to ablebodied, not only by the media, but by sponsors, companies and even the wheelchair athletes themselves in an attempt to supposedly 'get ahead'. THAT is discrimination, and personally, I'd much rather be ignored than held to a different standard because I happen to roll around in a wheelchair. I grew up as an ablebodied and didn't realize that my 'disability' set me apart until........."
never bow down to the lowest common denominator.
let your riding do the majority of the talking.
stick to your guns.
Thanks to both of you for sharing your unique and interesting perspectives.
@stacykohut , you are incredible. Don't ever stop.
but let us remind ourselves, this is not kids stuff, this is an industry, we must put the soulless corporate sponsors needs first.
do not concern yourself with trivial gooning around on bikes.
I enjoy riding coed the most. I'm not intimidated by an all guy group and don't mind being the only girl (this happens a lot at the dirt jumps). Most of the guys I've rode with have been super nice. I often get nervous riding in an all girl group (especially if it's a group I don't know well). This is probably because I feel that I fail at some of the women stereotypes or expectations; clothing being one of them, like Danielle Baker.
I used to race DH pretty competitively, but I don't anymore. It's expensive to get to all the races (especially if racing Nationally). And I find I have more fun spending the money on road trips where I get to ride a variety of trails, not just one. I still race the occasional race, and sometimes I'm tempted to return to DH on a provincial level.
I wish there would be a shift in media of how women are portrayed or noticed for; and this does not include solely mountain bike media. I want young women to feel empowered for their accomplishments, and what they do.
Mostly though, at this point... I want my knee to heal so that I can be riding my bike every day while I'm on spring break right now.
The portrayal of women in the media...now that is a large, real, and deep rooted issue.
Either young women aren't getting themselves to the right level of technical ability to be able to enter the World Champs or they are and the rest of the industry isn't supporting them to get there.
There's a problem. Something is broken. I personally, would be a lot happier if it were able to be fixed. All I know is, it sure wont fix itself.
Personally, I don't think there is a problem unless (as someone else mentioned earlier) there are these huge groups of women who desperately want to get in to mountain biking, but some discriminating, gender-related issue is preventing them. I also don't think there is a case for female specific products...even frames; there are as many anatomical differences between men of the same height as there are between a man and a woman of the same height. Do we have female specific motorcycles? Cars? Chairs?? Ridiculous.
Force-fitting a 50:50 representation in anything is sexist and more importantly unnecessary. If people are discriminated against, that is wrong. If most netball players are women, I don't mind at all. But let's not declare it as unequal, round up a load of blokes and try and persuade them to play netball!
An article describing the difficulties women face in being able to buy a bike and ride it outside; I'd read that. But let's not pretend that race events are all there is to mountain biking and that blokes drinking beer is ruining the sport for women.
The sport is now trying to project the equality line but I personally feel that they are making too much of a song and dance about it. Like you said, it's all about the fact that you are female riders before asking the questions that are the generic default questions with regards to plans and expectations. The sooner they sway away from creating the segregation, the sooner it will become the norm and function fully.
Again, Nice write up @Danielle Baker.
back to bikes please
what are you hinting at here?
1) A 'bunch of people' had a 'vague notion' that women needed to be better represented in our media...or something.
2) Danielle was asked to...like write something about women....or whatever.
3) Danielle admits that she doesn't know herself what women want or like because she grew up a Tom Boy
4) Danielle likes to mention her vagina in her article
5) Danielle is "still not clear on exactly what issues relating to mountain biking are specific to women."
---- this is not surprising, because the vague bunch of people who asked her to write about the topic didn't either!
6) Danielle personally believes that "Marching bands, neon signs, and gratuitous cleavage actually make mountain biking less accessible to women."
---- I never see marching bands, neon signs or any amount of cleavage when I go riding...and I thought she didn't know what the problem was...??
7) The article finishes by telling women who are already in to biking, to change the way they view themselves in the context of biking