Audio
And Nothing Less Extras: Bicycles
Transcript
RD: “It has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.” Susan B. Anthony said that. What do you think she was talking about?
R: Voting, of course
RD: Nope
R: Ok, probably something about property rights. Or the right to control their own earnings.
RD: Retta, she was talking about bicycles.
R: Ok. I mean I like my bike (or if you hate your bike!). But I never thought about it emancipating me.
RD: Well here’s what else Anthony said. “It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel.” She went on saying that it’s quote “the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”
R: Wow
RD: Right? So different incarnations of bicycles had existed throughout the 1800s. But they weren’t really conducive to everyday riding. They were more like impressive gags. Then in 1885 John Kemp Starley released his invention -- the Rover Safety Bicycle. And that looked pretty much like our bikes today. And people went nuts.
Economists actually called this period in the 1890s the “bike boom”. According to the League of American Wheelmen at the time, in 1896 for example, there were probably two and a half million bike riders in the U.S. People even threw bike parties.
And all of this came at the perfect time for women who were seeking independence. The bicycle allowed them to move freely, in a much bigger way, without their husbands or fathers.
R: I would imagine the bike also affected what they wore, too? I mean a corset and big skirt is not conducive to riding a bike.
RD: Absolutely. The more popular cycling became, the more women began to shed their corset and instead wear bloomers. Those, incidentally, were named for a suffragist - Amelia Bloomer.
R: I bet some men were not too happy about this...
RD: There were people who were threatened, especially when women were changing their behaviors and dress. And you would even have doctors who tried to make the case that a bicycle could lead to nerves, insomnia or get this -- something called “Bicycle Face.”
R: Not Bicycle Face!
RD: Yes, that’s described as a woman who cycled too much, and got both flushed AND pale. Which would seem hard to be at the same time
R: Yeah I imagine women were not too afraid of bicycle face.
RD: No, the bike was there to stay. It gave women mobility and autonomy...something they would need while on the road to suffrage.
Description
What do bicycles have to do with women's suffrage? Find out...
Duration
2 minutes, 41 seconds
Credit
PRX, WSCC, NPS
Date Created
08/26/2020
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