M.I.A.: the womens

[Climb01742]

has anyone else noticed how few women seem to be forum members? out on the road, women seem to make up about half, maybe 40%, of riders. yet here they seem to be way under-represented. in a few recent threads -- about cycling and marriage, for example -- the posts, and therefore the perspectives, were overwhelmingly male. when a woman did post, and share her perspective, i thought...that's what we're missing...broader, deeper, more diverse viewpoints. any ideas why so few forum members seem to be women? it seems we're poorer for their absence. :confused:

[zap]

Maybe the fairer sex are busy ----- working

[Andreu]

....or training? Or maybe they are put off by some of the sexism that generally pervades men dominated sports forums?
A

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . I have seen women start posting to the forum, only to be met with some replies that I think most guys might consider “cute” but which the women might well consider to go over the line into sexism.

Men tend to often give each other a hard time in a joking manner, and often that joking, yet caustic or or sarcastic tone carries through here. I’ve certainly been guilty of it myself. Go search out a few of the threads where forum “regulars” like Sandy, Kevan, Kevin, and others (but NEVER myself! ;) ) are having at each other, and a rank outsider or newbie might conclude we are on the edge of “forum rage.”

But as I have observed before here, the lack of personal face-to-face contact, and the underuse of smilies to convey emotion, leaves out the body language, with the winks, cocked eyebrows, and smirks that usually get the idea across that people don’t really mean exactly what they are saying.

I think another point here might be something I read in a book by Deborah Tannen on conversation styles. She observed that her research had revealed that men are almost always in competition with other men, whether on the race course or just in conversation. That shows up a lot here, I think. But most women are consensus builders, striving in conversations with other women to find a common ground. I don’t see a lot of consensus building here on the forum. It’s more like a 24-7 conversation at your favorite table down at the neighborhood bar, and if I am remembering my meager experience at neighbrohood bars correctly, you don’t see a lot of women participating in those, either.

It makes sense to me that women online would probably seek out other women to talk with, even online. If you go do a few Google searches, you will find there are women’s cycling newsgroups, though not many of them.

BBDave

[Louis]

out on the road, women seem to make up about half, maybe 40%, of riders

40-50% ? Wow, I need to move to Concord. Around here I'd say it's more like 10% max, and with "serious" riders there are even fewer. I attribute the dearth of women posting here to the ratio of women to men in cycling in general. On the other hand, if you go to yoga or pilates classes...

Louis

[Climb01742]

i'd also be curious about the gender breakdown in serotta ownership. on the road, folks i see on serottas seem to be almost all men.

[JohnS]

I've seen 4-5 women around here who ride Serottas including two of our semi-regular posters.

[Bill Bove]

Maybe if they brought pizza and beer with them they'ed be more welcome. Or MAYBE if when they divorcce us they didn't take all our cool stuff in the settlement just to piss us off.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Ah, yes. Sometimes when we grind our axes about things like that (and very deservedly so, in some cases) it probably doesn’t do much to add to the appeal of the forum to the distaff cycling demographic.

BBDave

[M_A_Martin]

There ya go Dave.
Some of the content is very good and I still learn new things every day here.
However, when the men talk about another guy cyclist who is fast on the club rides, they talk about his sprints and whatnot. When they talk about a fast woman rider, they talk about being "in love" and the reproductive options. It really isn't attractive.
Between the hoochie posts and the roller girl posts and the drooling over women in group rides in your general area...yeah, there's quite a few reasons to not bother reading or replying to some of the content on the forum. Much like the discussions in the local bar.

(Just so you know Bill, men take cool stuff in the settlements too. But it is traditional to take your approach to slamming women for it. Thanks. ) (and I know you're kidding about the pizza and beer...and about us being more welcome.)

[Bill Bove]

Nope Ginger, now that I own my own business women bearing food are always welcome. :D

[Kevin]

. . .
Men tend to often give each other a hard time in a joking manner, and often that joking, yet caustic or or sarcastic tone carries through here. I’ve certainly been guilty of it myself. Go search out a few of the threads where forum “regulars” like Sandy, Kevan, Kevin, and others (but NEVER myself! ;) ) are having at each other, and a rank outsider or newbie might conclude we are on the edge of “forum rage.”

BBDave

Now listen you yellow bellied buzz boy who likes to ride queens, ...

Oh, ..... maybe you have a point. ;) :beer: :bike:

Kevin

[BumbleBeeDave]

MaryAnn is here to lend some perspective--unlike Kevin! ;)

BBDave

[RABikes2]

Ahhh yes...Mary Ann AND Ritaann (RA) are here to lend some perspective, Dave. I'm just reading and taking notes before I decide how to handle you big, bad, ol' boys. :D

[Bill Bove]

[QUOTE=RABikes2 I'm just reading and taking notes before I decide how to handle you big, bad, ol' boys. :D[/QUOTE]

Bring pizza and beer and I'm putty in your hands. A good neck massege will work too. :D

[Serotta PETE]

Spokes, is sponsoring an "all ladies" ride on Saturdays. He is offering a novice and an intermediate ride. Repair clinics will follow. :banana: :banana:

[Smiley]

I know of several very nice women who ride Serotta's , Rapid Tourist for one , my wife another as we'll as Kristin and The Doc just to name a few . I know my wife reads these forum posts and enjoys the banter especially between San's and Kevan , the odd couple if there was ever one. I am serious thinking of a Serotta cruise . Stay tuned for more details to follow . This maybe an excellent means to bring the members and the wives together in a non cycling enviroment.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Are you outta your MIND?

You should know us all better than that! We would all end up riding our Serottas around (and around and around and around) the poop deck and our wives/SO’s would just be left to shop!

Uh, oh . . . I just made the kind of remark I was just complaining about, didn’t I? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

BBDave

[Dekonick]

How about a tour in Europe?

[Sandy]

My wonderful wife Gloria recently asked me if I wanted to go a long cruise that would travel at speeds that Supersonic Sandy has never even approached.

She says that the ship has a special name- Cruise Missile. Should I go? She seems very eager to watch me depart. Says that I will leave from a nuclear attack submarine.

Eating a sub on a sub,

Submarine Sandy

[Bill Bove]

Didn't Serotta offer a trip to Tuscany last year. That must have been a wonderful trip. Last summer at the open house I suggested an early spring "spring training camp" here in Florida. The Mt. Dora area offers some of the best riding in central Florida and close proximity to the Orlando theme parks and a couple of Grapefruit League sites.

[jerk]

there aren't many women here because some jerk insists on posting pin-up photos of women on this site. if we posted demeaning beef-cake pictures of men you could bet that all the men would leave too!

[Kevin]

Jerk,

I think that Sandy would stay if you posted a photo of Kevan. :bike:

Kevin

[BumbleBeeDave]

Who would post such photos? Absolutely disgusting!

Could someone please let me know the particular thread where they are posted so that I may see how absolutely filthy and offensive they are? . . . ;) :rolleyes:

BBDave

[Rapid Tourist]

and I would post more but I'm busy riding, performing all the maintenance work on our bikes, and bringing home the bacon so that my husband and dog can be maintained in the high style to which they have grown accustomed.

I enjoy this forum and learn a lot and am grateful that it is here as a resource. I am always amazed by the fact that on my morning commutes it seems that easily 40% of the cyclists out there on the trail are women and I feel right at home. I too wish that other women would post more so that we could bring this board more in line with the cycling community as I see it.

When is Sandy leading another ride in MD?

[zap]

My wife has started reading some of these posts. She laughs a lot.

I don't think it will be long before she starts posting.

HEY, SOMEONE HAS GOT TO KEEP SMILEY STRAIGHT!

[William]

40%?? Where do you guys live????

I think that on my rides this season I may have seen, maybe, three women out riding. I have seen them more than once, either when I'm driving around or out riding. But then again, I don't see that many men out this way either. I'm sure that a lot of that has to do with the times that I ride, but even then I'm always amazed at how few riders I see out there on the road. Coming across another cyclist when I'm out riding seems to be a rare occurrence. I did get together and ride with one forum member this past summer, she follows the threads but doesn't post too often. Maybe there are more women out there reading than you realize?

I think it's a combo of what BBDave is saying plus the fact that there are a fewer number of women interested in the sport then men (or at least they have better things to do than pound their chests and post all day on a forum like the rest of us).

BTW, I CAN OUT SPRINT YOU ALL WEARING AN EYE PATCH, ONE ARM TIED BEHIND MY BACK WHILE I DRINK A PINT OF GUINNES AND SEARCH FOR THESE MYSTERIOUS PIN-UP THREADS!!! Hey let's start a poll!!

;) :) ;) :) ;) :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


William ;)