Living Car Free - Carfree Gender Gap

Is there one?

Why or why not?

There is a thread in the "Advocacy and Safety" forum on this. The fraction of cyclists in my area (Western MA) that are female seems very low to me. I have no idea why this would be the case and would be curious to hear hypotheses.

Carfree, or carfree cyclist?

Carfree, or carfree cyclist?
Your call.

What are your thoughts on why this makes a difference?

I don't think there is a gender gap as far as car free goes. There is a gap as far as carfree cycling goes though. I can think of a couple reasons for fewer women using bicycles as transportation. One reason is probably concerns over safety. How rational these concerns are is debatable.

Another is transporting children. Like it or not, women get the bulk of childcare duties, including schlepping them around. You can't just toss an infant in a trailer and go. And it's a pain trying to find adequate space to park a bike with a trailer everyplace you go. Hopping on a bus or walking with children of all ages is a snap though.

Your call.

What are your thoughts on why this makes a difference?

When I think carfree, my mind immediately goes to the millions of people living in NYC. Or the low-income housing-project residents across the country. In these situations, I doubt gender makes much difference.

As far as car-free cyclists... I have the feeling that they are mostly men.

If we were to expand this to car-lite cyclists, then I believe there is a huge gender gap. How many stories have we heard around here of the husbands forgoing the car while the wife maintains the SUV to carry the kids around? Then again, most internet forums that I frequent have a high percentage of male posters, which could skew my perceptions.

I certainly can't draw meaningful conclusions from my town, where seeing a utility cyclist anywhere but around a college campus is a rare sight. That limited exposure still favors the men.

I have seen this in my town. While there are female utility cyclists, there are certainly more males. The safety issue is probably valid, especially at night. Another thing might be that women with long hair may feel like they can't be presentable if they wear a helmet. There are men that feel this way, but I'd say far fewer.

Lastly, good-looking women get unwelcome comments and looks from guys even when they are in their cars. It may be even worse if they're on a bike. As a guy, I've yet to pull up to a light and have a woman lean out of her car and say, "hey, sweetheart!" -but maybe that's just me...

There are a heavy amount of female cyclists out in Denver. I wouldn't say it is even but there are many. Especially recently.

I think there's a gender gap, and I think part of it is due to our society's ideas about discomfort and about strength. We sometimes expect men to try to be strong and do things that train or prove their strength. We sometimes expect women to want to be comfortable and men to be able to endure discomfort if they need to.

In my opinion, more than 50% of the year, riding a bike means some mild discomfort from heat, cold, or getting wet. Even if you're good at dressing for the weather.

I don't think there is a gender gap as far as car free goes. There is a gap as far as carfree cycling goes though. I can think of a couple reasons for fewer women using bicycles as transportation. One reason is probably concerns over safety. How rational these concerns are is debatable.

Another is transporting children. Like it or not, women get the bulk of childcare duties, including schlepping them around. You can't just toss an infant in a trailer and go. And it's a pain trying to find adequate space to park a bike with a trailer everyplace you go. Hopping on a bus or walking with children of all ages is a snap though.

I think you nailed it rockmom. I know when my kids were little if we went anywhere on bikes it was all dad. Mom didn't ride...period! And in most single parent families it is the mother that is the one with the kids most of the time.

Aaron:)

I think there's a gender gap, and I think part of it is due to our society's ideas about discomfort and about strength. We sometimes expect men to try to be strong and do things that train or prove their strength. We sometimes expect women to want to be comfortable and men to be able to endure discomfort if they need to.

In my opinion, more than 50% of the year, riding a bike means some mild discomfort from heat, cold, or getting wet. Even if you're good at dressing for the weather.
I guess you weren't thinking about labor and childbirth. :D

Or even the discomfort I feel in my old joints after a long car trip.

most internet forums that I frequent have a high percentage of male posters, which could skew my perceptions.

That's probably a key point; however, I do know of a couple of frugal living forums that are predominantly female. I will go to those and ask about cycling and report back :)

The safety issue is probably valid, especially at night.

Absolutely. I am not bothered by much, but even so, it's a concern. Not enough to keep me from cycling, but it would bother virtually all the women I know.


Lastly, good-looking women get unwelcome comments and looks from guys even when they are in their cars. It may be even worse if they're on a bike. As a guy, I've yet to pull up to a light and have a woman lean out of her car and say, "hey, sweetheart!" -but maybe that's just me...

I know that not one of YOU would indulge in sophomoric behaviour like this, but as a pedestrian I was lucky to walk a block without some moron trying to pick me up. It's not quite so prevalent on a bicycle, but it does happen.

And I'm not that good looking. Just being female draws unwanted attention...Is it enough to stop women from being car free, or car lite? Yes, in many cases.

East Hill

As far as cycling goes several women have told me that they never would commute to work because of the pressure to always look "put together".

As far as cycling goes several women have told me that they never would commute to work because of the pressure to always look "put together".


That always makes me mad! My wife and I are car free and I have told her this time and time again.

One time we arrived somewhere and she had a black brooks saddle stain on her pants. She was very upset and said she looked "ridiculous." I told her that she looked great, is fit and lean and that all these women running around with huge butts, clogged arteries who couldnt run a mile if you paid them but have all their make up on and spend 1 hour on their hair looked ridiculous to me.

Nothing seems dumber to me then to see some fat person who cant spend 30 minutes a day exercising but obviously spends hours a day fixing themselves up. I like a woman who arrives somewhere sweaty and lean and mean! :eek:

As far as cycling goes several women have told me that they never would commute to work because of the pressure to always look "put together".

Ten minutes after I arrive at work I defy anyone to be able to tell whether I cycled or not. It's perfectly possible to look decent at work as a female bike commuter. (I do have long hair, which helps, and I seldom wear any makeup, which also helps - but even if I did the makeup thing, it would add perhaps five minutes to the overall process. Then again, I am not a member of the "spackle and repaint" school of makeup application).

Just being female draws unwanted attention...Is it enough to stop women from being car free, or car lite? Yes, in many cases.


Either the culture here is VERY different, or I look even more like a boy than I thought :D

I don't think there is a gender gap as far as car free goes. There is a gap as far as carfree cycling goes though. Another is transporting children. Like it or not, women get the bulk of childcare duties, including schlepping them around.

That was what forced me to go from carfree cycling to a car-lite bus rider. I didn't even have my driver's license until my kids were all over 5, and too big to easily cart around in the trailer for local errands. When they all started school, so did I, and I couldn't possibly get from school to work, or work to home, quickly enough by bike or bus. Like it or not, I needed a car or a whole lot more child care.

I'd argue about the trailer part though, tossing the little ones in a trailer was easy. It became a stroller, so parking wasn't an issue. It was when they outgrew the trailer that was the problem, as it's hard to get a 5 and 6 year old to keep up on a five mile ride. The bus was just so much easier when we were in a hurry.

The older they get, the less I use my car.

That was what forced me to go from carfree cycling to a car-lite bus rider. I didn't even have my driver's license until my kids were all over 5, and too big to easily cart around in the trailer for local errands. When they all started school, so did I, and I couldn't possibly get from school to work, or work to home, quickly enough by bike or bus. Like it or not, I needed a car or a whole lot more child care.

I'd argue about the trailer part though, tossing the little ones in a trailer was easy. It became a stroller, so parking wasn't an issue. It was when they outgrew the trailer that was the problem, as it's hard to get a 5 and 6 year old to keep up on a five mile ride. The bus was just so much easier when we were in a hurry.

The older they get, the less I use my car.
Very interesting. :)

When will your children be old enough that you can go back to being a carfree cyclist? I mean what ages will they be?

Either the culture here is VERY different, or I look even more like a boy than I thought :D

I think it's the culture here. As I said, it didn't stop me from walking, but it got to be quite creepy, especially when men would drive by, then turn around to slowly drive by again.

East Hill

That's VERY creepy!! The only thing I've had to deal with in a year+ of commuting was one random guy yelling out the side window of a car on the road twenty feet away fromt he bike path. (Pretty sure he was drunk)

Now, on the bus, THAT is where I get the creepy guys hitting on me.

Very interesting. :)

When will your children be old enough that you can go back to being a carfree cyclist? I mean what ages will they be?

We're getting pretty close, my youngest daughter (age 11) is our weak link. She prefers a BMX single speed bike, and that slows her down and wears her out pretty fast. I'm seriously considering a tandem now that she's big enough.

Currently I put nearly as many miles on my bike per week as my car, some of that is an unavoidable round trip taking my mother-in-law to the doctor. Try as I might I can't get my MIL to try riding in my trailer. :p

I'd argue about the trailer part though, tossing the little ones in a trailer was easy. It became a stroller, so parking wasn't an issue. It was when they outgrew the trailer that was the problem, as it's hard to get a 5 and 6 year old to keep up on a five mile ride. The bus was just so much easier when we were in a hurry.


I'm fine with putting 1 year olds and older in trailers. But I am unconvinced of their safety for babies. I just don't think enough research and development have gone into trailers for infants to meet my comfort level.

We're getting pretty close, my youngest daughter (age 11) is our weak link. She prefers a BMX single speed bike, and that slows her down and wears her out pretty fast. I'm seriously considering a tandem now that she's big enough.

Currently I put nearly as many miles on my bike per week as my car, some of that is an unavoidable round trip taking my mother-in-law to the doctor. Try as I might I can't get my MIL to try riding in my trailer. :p
When my daughter was a bit younger than yours (8 or 9) I bought her a BMX sized bike that was a 5 speed to get her used to gears and she could bomb along at a solid 12-15mph on that one. She was only good for 30 minutes or so at that pace but that was still very good time. IIRC the bike was a GT Dyno?

Aaron:)

I can't speak much for car free, but I can say that in the 5 years I've lived in Gray, I have never seen one female cyclist here. o:

Lastly, good-looking women get unwelcome comments and looks from guys even when they are in their cars. It may be even worse if they're on a bike. As a guy, I've yet to pull up to a light and have a woman lean out of her car and say, "hey, sweetheart!" -but maybe that's just me... This is yet to happen to me too, and I'm a woman. I guess I'm not good-looking... *boo-hoo* :D

In general, I think women are just more conservative and less adventurous on average, and being a carfree cyclist is a thing that's considered weird and dangerous. It's not as though all men are daring adventurers: in fact the great overwhelming majority males in North America think of bicycling for transportation as too dangerous, unconventional and impractical. It's just that even more females are that way.

As a male cyclist, I often have both men and women smiling and winking at me at red lights. Maybe women feel more vulnerable, but I always try not to get uptight about it. I just try to look at is as flattering....until they actually bust out laughing!


:o

:D

I'm fine with putting 1 year olds and older in trailers. But I am unconvinced of their safety for babies. I just don't think enough research and development have gone into trailers for infants to meet my comfort level.

Well the studies are in on going highway speeds with babies in cars.

Car crashes are the number 1 cause of death in children. I would rather stick my kid (admittedly I dont have one) in a bike trailer any day of the week then in a car and go 50,60,70 mph.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpas.htm

People think you are crazy for sticking a baby in a bike trailer and going 10 or 15 mph but then they stick their kid in a huge metal cage full of gasoline and go 80. Go figure.

I can't speak much for car free, but I can say that in the 5 years I've lived in Gray, I have never seen one female cyclist here. o:

This is odd. I regularly see a number of women biking early in the morning and they appear to be commuting. I would guess the ratio of men to women might be about 3 to 1.

When travelling on weekends, I regularly see many women. Many of them are cycling solo. Many of them appear to be seasoned cyclists (actually, I determine this by the speed with which they blow by me... :()
I can't give you anything accurate, but my guess would again be about 3 to 1 for the men.

Now, as winter approaches, that ratio does tend to disappear, as do almost all the men and women.

As a guy, I've yet to pull up to a light and have a woman lean out of her car and say, "hey, sweetheart!" -but maybe that's just me...

I get variations of that from time to time. Seems that everyone on the east side of the seattle metro area hates cyclists, everyone but teenage girls. I'm fine with that.

Now, on the bus, THAT is where I get the creepy guys hitting on me.

Buses are very odd places...Seattle has a 'free zone' for downtown buses--it really brings out the crazies.

East Hill

Well the studies are in on going highway speeds with babies in cars.

Car crashes are the number 1 cause of death in children. I would rather stick my kid (admittedly I dont have one) in a bike trailer any day of the week then in a car and go 50,60,70 mph.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpas.htm

People think you are crazy for sticking a baby in a bike trailer and going 10 or 15 mph but then they stick their kid in a huge metal cage full of gasoline and go 80. Go figure.

No kidding. My kids have rarely been in cars. I took the bus or walked when they were babies though.

My concerns about <1 year olds in bike trailers are in regard to muscle and vertebra strength and the potential for spinal cord or brain injuries. Carseats for children under one year old are designed differently and positioned differently within the car to protect infants' spinal cords in case of accident.

Unfortunately bike trailer seats have not been tested or designed with infants in mind. If more people considered bikes a form of transportation rather than only recreation, perhaps we'd get carriers designed for infants.

There was a brown bag lunch lecture put on by the city here about why people don't bike more. Their answers were based on data collected in Portland and surveys of Portland residents - so I'm not saying it's completely accurate for other cities. The data definitely showed a gender gap in transportational cycling. I wish you all could have been there, especially for the Q&A session, but here are the Powerpoint slides (http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=159994).

Well, out of the 4 regular commuters at my building 2 are female. I guess that makes it 50/50. but out of a few hundered employees in that building that makes it pretty pathetic.

I think there is a gap, but in my workplace all of the 3 regular cycle commuters are women! I'm the only car-free cyclist but not the only car-free person.

I don't think it's totally a safety issue, but the women in my office that do cycle seem to be more comfortable with knowing how (or wanting to learn) to deal with mechanical issues and be willing to get their hands dirty. That's just my theory though.

I feel safer biking home late at night than I would walking or waiting at a bus stop. If I didn't know how to repair a flat tire or know the roads well I might feel differently.

Where I am there is a huge gap; many more women are car free.

I don't think it's totally a safety issue, but the women in my office that do cycle seem to be more comfortable with knowing how (or wanting to learn) to deal with mechanical issues and be willing to get their hands dirty. That's just my theory though.


It does follow logically. If I'm not afraid to mess around with bottom brackets, a tyre change is not very difficult. But if I don't know how to change a tyre, I'm pretty much stuck waiting for someone to rescue me. That 'rescuer' may not be the nice person you think...

East Hill

I don't think it's totally a safety issue, but the women in my office that do cycle seem to be more comfortable with knowing how (or wanting to learn) to deal with mechanical issues and be willing to get their hands dirty. That's just my theory though.

All you MUST know mechanically to commute is how to change a tire, rethread a chain, and adjust the brakes. Everything else can wait until you get home, or is so serious (like a cracked rim) that you couldn't fix it on the roadside no matter how skilled you are.

I carry rubber gloves with my repair kit. When I do have to change a tire or mess with the chain, my hands stay clean.

All you MUST know mechanically to commute is how to change a tire, rethread a chain, and adjust the brakes.

Those are highly useful skills but even they are not necessary. Some bikes come with tires that very rarely flat and chains that almost never break or fall off. And I've never adjusted my brakes during a commute, as best I can remember.

As a guy, I've yet to pull up to a light and have a woman lean out of her car and say, "hey, sweetheart!" -but maybe that's just me...

I've gotten it, albeit rarely. The incident i remember best was where there were 3 girls in a car (convertible i think) and one said "nice a**". Nothing about the situation said "threatening" though.