{"id":165293,"date":"2018-06-13T07:50:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T07:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=165293"},"modified":"2018-06-13T08:20:12","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T08:20:12","slug":"why-it-matters-how-we-talk-about-womens-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/06\/13\/why-it-matters-how-we-talk-about-womens-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Why It Matters How We Talk About (Women\u2019s) Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Changing the discourse one \u201cbike face\u201d at a time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the pictures of her racing – she does not have a poker face at all. She wears everything on her face.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This is Laura Winter of Voxwomen Insider commenting on Kasia Niewiadoma\u2019s incredible performance at Trofeo Alfredo Binda this spring. Winter went on to celebrate Niewiadoma\u2019s refreshingly honest approach to racing and her refusal to acknowledge the gender divide as it relates to the tactics she uses to win.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
WM3 Pro Cycling’s Kasia Niewiadoma leads. The Ovo Energy Women’s Tour of Britain Stage 1 – Daventry to Kettering – 07 Jun 2017 \u00a9 Profimedia, TEMP Rex Features<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking of the attack that brought her to victory at Binda, Niewiadoma, who races for Canyon-SRAM, said she was inspired by Vincenzo Nibali\u2019s performance at Milan-San Remo. Noted for their exceptional descents, both riders attacked early and pushed through the gruelling final stretch on their own. As Nibali said of his win, \u201cthe final kilometres were endless. It was pure suffering.\u201d We can imagine Niewiadoma would agree.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, they both attacked and didn\u2019t look back – demonstrating that the gritty, passionate determination needed to win has nothing to do with gender.<\/p>\n

Praised for her fearlessness, the fact that Niewiadoma is being celebrated by others in the community for \u201cwearing everything on her face\u201d speaks to the changing dynamics in a lineage of sexist discourse that has haunted women\u2019s cycling since the start.<\/p>\n

\n
\"found-in-archives-scary-bike-face\"\/<\/a><\/div>
\n Outdoor\/Mountain<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n

Found in Archives: Scary Bike Face<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBike face\u201d can now be a source of pride and a way of complimenting the prowess of other riders, but this was not always the case. As we\u2019ve previously discussed<\/a>, in an 1895 article in The Literary Digest, \u201cbike face\u201d was described by experts as a condition that could afflict women who rode bicycles.<\/p>\n

The article reads, \u201cover-exertion, the upright position on the wheel, and the unconscious effort to maintain one’s balance tend to produce a wearied and exhausted ‘bicycle face’.\u201d Used alongside other tactics to scare women away from cycling, which offered them a completely new level of independence, \u201cbike face\u201d was just one of the supposed negative physical effects listed.<\/p>\n

Most \u201cwarnings\u201d were based around the physical transformation that a women\u2019s body would undergo, for example, that she would become bowlegged from too much pedalling. Unfortunately, although some of these myths have been reclaimed to empower, there are still a lot of problems about how women\u2019s bodies are talked about in the world of cycling.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kasia Niewiadoma in the lead. \u00a9 Profimedia, TEMP Rex Features<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well-publicized occurrences, including the questionable handling by British Cycling of the allegations against then coaching-director Shane Sutton, accused by Jess Varnish of using degrading language to intimidate her, show that there is still a lot of work to be done. Reports of fat and body shaming are all too common, and many women end up walking away from the sport because the environment is toxic.<\/p>\n

Change is happening though. With discussions of diversity and inclusion becoming an increasingly central part of the cycling discourse, it\u2019s worth acknowledging signs of progress. Over a century after \u201cbicycle face\u201d was put forth as a sexist warning, it is now something to be proud of. Riders like Niewiadoma are setting a new standard for how we talk about the gender divide in racing and aligning themselves in their rightful place, alongside their male counterparts. There is still a long way to go in terms of diversity and equality, but for now, we are happy to see these riders being celebrated for showing their strength and determination on their faces while they ride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Changing the discourse one \u201cbike face\u201d at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":165296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[2043,2044,538],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-165293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-kasia-niewiadoma","tag-laura-winter","tag-women-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy It Matters How We Talk About (Women\u2019s) Cycling - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Changing the discourse one \u201cbike face\u201d at a time. \u201cWhen you look at the pictures of her racing - she does not have a poker face at all. 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