Bicycling's current issue

[smurfalicious]

Okay, I'm not the kind of person to snivel about boo-hoo woman are so objectified but right now I want to vomit. I made my most recent pilgramage to B&N (which is no substitute for Powell's) and gleefully grabbed the most recent bike mags to see if they were worth my $4 and the answer was a resounding no!

All I can say is ick! I started riding to have fun, to take care of my physical self and my spirit better than I had. Good to know that no matter what women do, we will always be objectified. I always enjoyed that biking seemed to sneak under the radar of mainstream sports and thus biker chicks could be taken seriously, and not be seen as well toned lust objects. There went that.

I know Bicycling is owned by the same geniuses that publish Men's Health, why not put that schwill there? It reminds me of my ex saying that "Women ride bikes because they like how it makes their bodies look." Yeah, jerk, you're right, I like that very much the two scars on my elbows from wash outs in sand. I love the calcified tissue on my calf from a top tube tango. Heck, I even like how they compliment the indent in my thigh from a horse kicking me, and the scar on the other elbow from a skateboard wreck. Oh, is that not what you meant?

I know I wouldn't be as bothered by this, if maybe the what, one man, they put in the issue was posed in a dimunitive and submissive posture. But no, he's there, meeting our gaze, with all his goodies covered up.

What I loved is the article about how women can just pick a mate from the droves of hottie biker guys, and the guys have a harder time. Yep, that easy, which is why I'm boggled that Carl Decker and I haven't hooked up. Oh well, there's always bike shop boy, oh wait, he's engaged.

Yes, Bicycling, only 9% of your charming "sex survey" respondents were female, because we are out there turning the cranks, not bragging about sex we probably don't even have. *sigh* Over 50% of adult cyclists are female, you'd never know it though....

I hope they get innundated with mail, this is so messed up. Hmm, maybe next year they'll compare a GUY's arse to a bike's chainstays....

love and cookies
-smurf
all riled up

[MightyMitre]

Hi smufalicious. Can't write a long reply - I've got to get back to the cycle track and try and pick up a guy.

While this kind of thing is sadly so typical I'd like to tell you about one of the monthly magazines we have in the UK called Cyclesport. Given that 50% of the popultion are female and the number of women cyclist are growing all the time, Cyclesport is well and truely a girl-free zone. Any insecure, non-cycling girlfriends ect can relax with total peace of mind that dh won't be stubbling across lycra-clad ladies in this mag.

It has articles and features about all the male pro scene but in the 2-3 years our house has been buying it I can only think of 2 occasions where women were featured or even mentioned.

Oh dear - this has got me really mad now..... They once briefly did a small item about the Great Britain girls team, something along the lines of ' Unlike the men the women are not well known and have less fans.' I nearly fell off my chair when I actually saw a photo of WOMEN included with the item. But, having just gone on about how little know they were and what a shame this was, they then didn't even bother to put a photo caption with the girls names!!!!

While Cyclsport has never been directly derrogatory about women I find the fact that they are totally and utterly ignored just mind blowing. Added to the fact that there's only 3 monthly cycle mags in the UK, which means Cyclesport makes up a 3rd of the coverage, I find I have to question the quality of it's reporting if it can ignore 50% of the population.

...get's down from soap box...

[jobob]

Maybe I'm old and jaded, but I don't get riled up about this kind of thing anymore (by that I mean the latest issue of Bicycling).

IMHO Bicycling is a worthless rag, and all that raising a stink accomplishes is to create more interest in the magazine, which is PRECISELY what the publishers want. It basically gives them free advertising.

This latest issue is probably a desperate move on their part to try to widen the appeal of the magazine to the "he-man Joe SixPack" set. Or to allay any nascent insecurities their (male) readers may feel when they don lycra

If it makes you feel any better, another bike list that I mostly lurk, which as far as I can tell has about 90% men 10% women, had it's own group tirade a few days over that issue of the mag. I'm not sure if any of the women chimed in on it - I basically just skimmed over the posts - but the general consensus was that it was a load of juvenile bunk. Some of the listmembers did write letters to the mag expressing their distaste ( and a couple of wizeguys chimed in to the list to say 'gee, didn't know about it, thanks for the tip' ).

Just my 2 cents.

- Jo

[SadieKate]

You know, I flip through every page of every bike mag we get each and every month . . . except this issue. I think my husband made a few comments about some of the pictures and then kind of threw it down in boredom. Just give me a magazine full of how to and need to know stuff with one advertisement, the naked guy doing the one-armed handstand and it'll be just fine. They need to limit the porn to photos of bikes we can drool over.

BTW, Smurf, Carl Decker used to do his wrenching at Hutch's Westside. I've run into him there. Go get friendly with those guys (not that that's hard) and maybe you can just "bump" into him! Hutch's West is my shop away from home.

[nuthatch]

Hi, I'm new but I've been reading the forums for a while. May I suggest Dandelion Magazine? It's not exclusively biking but it is exclusively women - no "thinner thighs in thirty days," just women enjoying all sorts of outdoor pursuits and sharing their stories. I love it!

[admiral finch]

Nice! I will check that out. I was just about to ask about women's mags for cycling. I don't know of any if there are any. If there aren't, we should start one.

I also was appaled at the latest Bicycle Mag, though the last issue of Bicycle Retailer was dedicated to women in cycling and it rocked. I almost wonder if Bicycle Mag was trying to make some sort of lame, juvenille comment to Bicycle Retailer or if they just happened to come out in sequence. This is not the first time that Bicycle Mag. has come out with an issue that objectifies women. I remember an issue that was out last year where the cover looked like pornography!

Trust me, my shop knows that 50% of cyclists are women and that the number is growing. I'm pleased to announce that we now have three female employees. This is huge considering a year and half ago, there were none.

A.F.

[nuthatch]

I wonder what percentage of the total dollars spent on cycling products and services are spent by women? That's how you're going to get your displeasure with the magazine across - let their advertisers know you don't like the direction of the magazine and encourage them to pull their ads. Then start your new women's cycling mag! HA!

[CorsairMac]

I don't know - I've been riding pretty much daily since Aug and I'm still riding alone and living alone. If its easy to find all those hot biker boys - either I am A) too ugly or old to attract their attention, B) riding in all the wrong places, or C) the author is a raving lunatic. My Vote - I'm going for C! I don't buy or read cycling mags - (wipes nose before making next statement!) coz I get all I need Right Here at the Team Estrogen Womens Cycling Discussion Forum!

[Dogmama]

I was wondering if anybody else was a tad ticked off by that issue. I found it interesting that she's supposedly holding up a bike but not one of her arm muscles is flexed. A bit of photoshop there, I suspect.

I put up with that garbage on weight lifting forums because hard core body builders tend to be morons. This is a blatant attempt to sell their stupid, boring little rag to pimply-faced boys. I actually get it (free) because I'm a member of the League of American Bicyclists. If I had a bird, I could put it to good use.

[Trek420]

smurfalicious critiques the mag "What I loved is the article about how women can just pick a mate from the droves of hottie biker guys"

"droves of hottie biker guys"??? ;-) you're flattering yourselves fellas. uh, note to the editors of bicycling, hate to break it to ya or complicate your lives but it's not as simple as that, some of the women out there riding are um, well we're not interested in hottie biker guys although we do share your love of bike porn and think George H. is blazing hot for a guy ;-)

hasn't been a problem for me, maybe i'm old and/or homely (grins) but i have not had to wear my jersey that says "sorry guys I'm gay" (there's another one for 'I want a jersey that says' thread) I think it's because i ride to...well...ride. Most people I see out there of either gender do too. I don't think combineing it with dating works well, at least has not for me, d*** it.

My bike club, Velo girls has a "meet your mate" coed ride but even that is no pressure, the title is very tongue in cheek it's just so the guys to see if they can keep up with the Velogirls ;-) I don't know what the stats are of actual club members picking a mate from the "droves of hottie guys" that appear there. .

And guys, if you're reading this..call out when you pass, signal your turns and stops, chicks dig it ;-)

[jobob]

Trek, as always, you're a stitch!

(pre-empting AG, sorry luv!)

[Trek420]

jobob & AG i presume,

glad i keep you amused

Trek

[mtbstarr]

I guess I have grow immune to the objectivity of women over the years, not that I am that old. All I ever ride with is men. There are a few other women that ride in the same area I do, but it is hard for us to get together at the same time. As far as picking up a potential lover, I have yet to come across one that can resist the torrent of testosterone around him long enough to think about making a pass at some one, either that or I am concentrating on keeping up so hard that I just haven't noticed.

I must acknowledge the fact that Bicycling magazine is very discriminating. Has anyone checked out the magizine HerSports. I love them and I suscribe. Women only, and guy bashing around every corner. I highly recommend it.

[IronHorse213]

I've been grumbling about this problem with Bicycling for two years, and just recently went through back issues to collect examples to use in a letter to the editor. Found several "good" ads - girls in bikini's (what has that got to do with cycling?) and ads for men's sexual enhancement aides. I think I'm just dropping my subscription for a while. Just too annoying.

[Miyata912]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I thought the issue was a hoot. I EXPECTED the feminist in me to get all riled up, and certainly some more MALE eye candy would have been nice. But in the end I thought it was mostly harmless. The Marla Streb heart rate bit was hysterical. Did you notice that her ride was like an hour and a half, but the sex was just 7 minutes? Cracked me up.

Anyway, I've mostly given up on getting anything useful out of Bicycling magazine. I second someone else's recommendation of Her Sports. I have a copy of my desk and I think its quite well done.