Originally Posted by
BarracksSi
Apart from the STFU,
this sounds like it was lifted from a hundred years ago. It's even been said that women riding bikes, and the personal freedoms they enjoyed because of it, fed the suffrage movement.
http://www.annielondonderry.com/womenWheels.html
As for the rest of what you said -- women are expected to be pretty, to not smell or sweat, etc -- I wonder how much of that can be attributed to/blamed on men, and how much can be attributed to/blamed on other women. Maybe it's just the guys I know, but they don't mind it when women don't smell like flowers or can pick up their own luggage.
+1. Agreed. As a male, who has encouraged and supported so many female cyclists in my life, I resent the implication that because I'm male I'm pushing women to be weak, wear clothes that inhibits physical activity etc... There are just as many women who've bought into that notion as men so I appreciate Jolly Green's suggestion that it's societal because it's not as gender specific as it appears on the surface.