I spent yesterday evening with my brother ‘talking shop’ over my new bike. And by talking shop, I mean he helped me fix a few things, gave me a brief verbal tutorial, bike anatomy lesson, and then we leaned against the cars in the garage talking while I idly spun the front wheel.
I mentioned how I was going to try and take the bicycle maintenance class at school, which he agreed was a great idea for finding an open, accepting place to learn. This struck me as being a sort of strange thing to say, since I know there are huge numbers of bike co-ops everywhere. He explained that strangely, most bike co-ops are almost exclusively male and that there have long been issues for women and trans people when trying to be involved. When I asked why, he said that for some reason or another, women and people who are trans don’t usually end up in the bike-mechanic community. This is then perpetuated by them feeling too unwelcome, too shy, or too embarrassed to ask for help. I had never considered this, though I realized I’ve been really shy about going into our bike shop since I have been known to be a little too proud to ask for help sometimes. (Hence why I asked my brother for help. He doesn’t count. He’s obligated by blood to love me.) He also added that it’s a sad fact that many bike co-ops end up being home to a lot of misogynistic conversations…much like car mechanics, I suppose.
Most bike co-ops apparently have “ladies’ nights” specifically tailored to women and trans individuals. Not that men will be turned away, necessarily, just that the space is set aside specifically for women and others. This got me thinking about a lot of things.
- Where are my feminist bikers? We’ve got the Sprockettes, mentioned in a previous post, whose feminist views focus mainly on body-image. That’s completely spectacular, but I guess I’m curious about a community of female bicycle enthusiasts who are aware of the issues my brother described to me. Or I suppose I guess I’m mostly curious about a bicycle co-op that isn’t necessarily ‘feminist’ and certainly not misogynistic, but is welcoming to everyone: young, old, male bodied and/or identifying, female bodied and/or identifying and everywhere in between. Surely it’s out there…right?
- What is it about mechanics that seems to be male-dominated? Sure, I’ll confess. I get a little wary around power tools. (Except nail-guns. Bring on the nail-guns.) But I’d be more than happy to learn. I just haven’t really had the opportunity. Maybe that’s the very reason? Maybe the world is filled with other chicks like me who’d be super keen to have someone show them how to play around inside a car, but they’ve just never had the opportunity. Why is this? Freudian trauma? Societal expectations? Apathy? I have no idea. (Author’s note: I would probably roundhouse kick Freud in the transference if I had a chance. Consequently, I think that’s the least probable explanation.)
- How silly is it that when it comes to things we know the least about, we’re the most embarrassed to ask for help?
- Next time I need help with my bike, I’m not going to be shy or proud. I’m just gonna go ask because hey, it’s probably going to be someone just as helpful and willing to help as my brother.
Hi V!!
that’s sooo true! even at YBP in Austin, which I LOVE, there is a lot of male-ness going on in the shop. When there are ladies that show up (and they are very bad-ass) they’re hit on more than they’re helped out in any meaningful way (“let me help you” means “let me take those tools off your hands while i prove that i am a mechanically superior male, who will now fix the bike you were working on.”)
BUT
the maintenance class at hamp was very lady friendly when i took it. highly recommended.
Sweet! Definitely gonna try and figure out a schedule that works, then.
Hm. Well, we’re just gonna have to make a push to change all that and make things a little less meat-market, a little more useful.
Victoria ~
Can a self proclaimed male chauvinist pig weigh in on this discussion. The self proclamation is sarcasm by the way, though some may say it is real. Why not start the change? You would not be the first chick to become proficient at mechanical repairs. How? Take a class? Sure you meet some others like yourself but will you “learn”? Go to freecycle.com, or the metal pile at a local transfer station or check out any other place you can think of and get a “basket case”. That is a bike where most of the parts fit in a milk crate. Start with the simplest bike you can. Then you fix it. With as little help as possible. Sounds like your brother would be willing to offer some advice with attachments and I’ll bet you have other friends or family that aren’t looking for something. When you are done give it to a local shelter or children’s home and voila you have learned something new, become less dependant, given the true chauvinst less opportunity and you have recycled. What could be better? Employing the final direction on a bottle of shampoo. Than with time you will have the “mechanically superior” males saying, ‘Hey, V, what do I have to do to keep the chain from jumping the sprocket?”
To keep anyone from taking the tool from your hand bring your own tools. You will need them on your west coast trip anyway so you might as well get them. I say all this because I have always gone to the mechanic friends I have because I am not mechanically inclined. My brain might learn the process but my hands would laughing all the way to the tool box. I don’t even feel less a man when I get joked. I know there are things that I can do that other men and women can not do as well as I can. There are many great women doing male oriented tasks just ignore those that are stuck on themselves and move forward. I hope this summer you will be able to be the mechanic or at least one of the mechanics everyone turns to.
V~ I have just proven my point. I did not know that I did not have to leave a last name and I did not ask anyone so I guess my missive was not anonymous. Oh well …