Cycling Magazines/what do you subscribe to?

[Grog]

Ok this is my "I PROTEST" week. You may do your own experiments and write your own letters, but I hope this will motivate some of you...


sent to: bicycling@rodale.com

Subject: Where are the women??

This letter is NOT for publication, but to be taken to the attention of all editors, and to Sales & Marketing people. Please do something, QUICK.

I paid attention to the photos and drawings of women in your May 2006 issue. There aren't many so it didn't take me long. There is:

ADS:
- the Electra lady lady and her daughters (family values),
- The Michelob Ultra dancing queen (sexual object) and a small drawing of a women on a bike (cyclist);
- The Castelli woman kissing a man (sexual object);
- There seems to be a women in the background of the Sip & Spin ad but she's really small so it's art to tell (and of course she has a big basket whereas the men are racy);
- The Townie kiddo (future cyclist, great!);
- Yogalife Ad p. 99 (Yoga women);
- PacHealth ad p. 125 (runner);
- PacHealth ad p. 127 (runner or ?);
- Adventure guide: three women in Backroads ad (cyclists!); one women from behind in Velowear.com ad (cyclist!), and one women basking in the sun in Dahon ad (just happens to be there or cyclist?);
- Inspire ad: women on strange mattress (sexual object in lingerie);
- Spoil Her ad: women in pajamas (sexual object - this woman is not the reader's mom);
- Challenge ad p. 137 (runner).

CONTENTS:
- Janet Jarman (photographer), Natascha Grief (also see on Mania page, cyclist), and Deb Cosgrove (mountain biker, great!);
- Regina Schleicher and Judith Arndt, in the Fuji add (cyclists, great!);
- NYC transit strike p. 32 (2 commuters, good job!);
- Candy Kugel drawing p. 50 (commuter);
- Girl watching Lizama work, no head, p. 57 (spectator);
- Family picnic, p. 64 (wife and daughter that don't ride);
- Mt. Washington, pp. 66-67, special efforts! (6 cyclists!);
- Housemother Els Dejonckheere in Belgium (housewife);
- Selene Yeager p. 118 ("fitchick");
- Mania p. 136 (cyclist, from behind).

Pretty thin.

It could be interesting to measure the size of the images of women, too, but let's just say that only the Castelli kissing woman, the Michelob dancer and the runners actually use up much space on the page. The women in the Fuji ad are somewhat visible.

I was not even at half of your magazine and I had counted 100 men, most of them in racing positions.

There are STRICTLY NO women drawn as illustrations for the magazine features (outside of ads) and the only female cyclists (besides commuters) we see featured in the magazine are the six women from the Mt. Washington climb and the women on the Mania page.

Also: how many times have you featured a women on your cover page? And in what context?

This is really depressing. When I ride the roads of Vancouver I see about one out of two roadies being a woman, if not more. Isn't it known that women love to shop, too? And that they are into shoes? There is a market out there for advertisers to tap into, there are cycling clothes for women (see http://www.teamestrogen.com/ if you doubt it, and its amazing forums for inspiration). And there is a niche for more female-oriented, or at least female-respectful, contents in cycling.

I find Bicycling really macho, in a sadly unconscious manner perhaps. Please stop featuring only men, drawing only men, writing only about men, and featuring women as either sex objects (awful advertisements in the last pages especially) or, in the best cases strictly commuters/touring cyclists.

Sincerely,

Brigitte Gemme
Vancouver, BC (Canada)

[KnottedYet]

Yeah!!!!! Oh, now I gotta write one, too. Mine will just be short. Your letter is great, especially that you give concrete examples and numbers! Yes!

[KnottedYet]

P.S.

Look how quickly TE moved up the ranks at BikeJournal when we all got involved.... Imagine if we all wrote a specific letter about the content of each issue of Bicycling as it came out?

I didn't even think about the fact that every time the mag uses a pic to illustrate some new technique or something, the biker in the pic is always a man. (unless it's women specific, the default is always male.)

Now I gotta go get an issue to write about so I can be specific with my comments to the Bicycling staff. Is June out yet?

[Trek420]

KnottedYet

"every time the mag uses a pic to illustrate some new technique or something, the biker in the pic is always a man."

....and white. I mean it's a pretty specific audience.

What Brandi said, there really is nothing like TE. Is there a publisher in the audience?

I subscribe to Bicycling and think of canceling from time to time. I mainly now keep it for educational reasons. Really!

I've become the building bike SPOC (single point of contact). When they toddle over to my pod "how do I....what's it mean when....why does....." since my work doesn't give me time for a long explanation it's "here, read this".

[Grog]

I didn't even think about the fact that every time the mag uses a pic to illustrate some new technique or something, the biker in the pic is always a man. (unless it's women specific, the default is always male.)

... unless they draw a "wife" having "picnic" with her riding husband (of course she drove the car...).

And I agree with Trek about the whiteness thing. They had a black guy on the cover recently though... but drawings, never.

Please, ladies, DO write. If not about the illustration or anything specific, just a comment. I'll start paying more attention and finding the addresses for advertising companies too.

I also wrote to Assos (see the Bibs thread), I wonder if I will hear back.

I wrote to Air Canada to complain about something this week and I got a really helpful message back, so I think it's worth it.

So do something. It has some effect, more than we think...

[stella]

I no longer read Bicycling magazine. I enjoy RoadBike Premium site and occasionaly VeloNews. (they, at least, usually have a small blurb of the women's pro road and mtn biking races).

I agree with what has been voice already about the male-centric "performance--not about the bike" (Lance's new book?? sorry...my sick sense of humor) theme going on.

It would be nice to not always see us portrayed as eye candy or mom's in cycling mags. just my 0.02. o.k., rant over. Thanks for listening!

with all that said: I really like this forum, very helpful and supportive.

[Tuckervill]

Please, ladies, DO write. If not about the illustration or anything specific, just a comment. I'll start paying more attention and finding the addresses for advertising companies too.

From long experience with legislative battles on certain issues, don't write unless you have something unique and legitimate to say. Don't write because everyone else is. If Bicycling magazine read this thread, they would discount a large influx of letters about the latest issue as just an anomoly spurred by this thread.

What would be better is if subscribers wrote promptly about their opinion of the latest issue and they did it every month--not a coordinated effort but honest feedback.

That's not to say a large influx of letters couldn't make a difference. They just need to be genuine complaints.

Karen

[Grog]

From long experience with legislative battles on certain issues, don't write unless you have something unique and legitimate to say. Don't write because everyone else is. If Bicycling magazine read this thread, they would discount a large influx of letters about the latest issue as just an anomoly spurred by this thread.

What would be better is if subscribers wrote promptly about their opinion of the latest issue and they did it every month--not a coordinated effort but honest feedback.

That's not to say a large influx of letters couldn't make a difference. They just need to be genuine complaints.

I am quite certain there IS a genuine complaint here.

Besides, Bicycling is NOT a legislating body. It's a magazine trying to sell copies (and advertising space).

If all letters are the exact same (petition-like) of course it can be discarded. At the same time, I know, as someone who has worked in retail and politics, that when I receive a letter from someone who has taken the time to actually write a note and send it, it does have some impact on me, as I keep thinking about it for a while, and may change my actions in consequence. For example, I can imagine a woman (or a man) on the sales team at Bicycling having new ideas about how to pitch her stuff to potential ad buyers. Or the illustrator of Bicycling realizing: gosh, have I really been drawing only men? I doubt that this is a totally conscious strategy on their part. Or maybe it is, but certainly not for all. And if the illustrator starts drawing women instead of men say one out of four times, I don't think the editor will stop him from doing so. And if there already is a woman (or man) on staff trying to change things, a few letters will give her (or him) further weight on the editorial board.

So it's worth trying.

[Shimpie]

[QUOTE=Grog] Isn't it known that women love to shop, too? And that they are into shoes? QUOTE]

The new Bicycling magazine has a 4 page layout focusing on shoes. I don't have the magazine in front of me, but I don't recall seeing any women's shoes. It kinda annoyed me.