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This letter is NOT for publication, but to be taken to the attention of all editors, and to Sales & Marketing people.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