An Image(s) Problem

You may also like...

12 Responses

  1. Mara Acoma says:

    I couldn’t agree with you more. As a female getting more and more into a cycling lifestyle I can honestly say I feel no real connection with British Cycling. Why? because I’m not a white male looking to race.

  2. Male cyclist says:

    British Cycling has a awful long way to go regarding many issues around equality. When I worked there ‘Breeze’ was openly referred to by some as ‘bitches on bikes’, Others aren’t interested if pinning a number on your back is not involved. And look at the sections of the sport that are not supported as they do not attract Olympic funding. My only reason for remaining a member is that it is a good source of insurance and legal protection. Finally creating a library of female images would cost money, so better to keep recycling what they already have.

  3. Neil says:

    sad isn’t it… and its reflected in all forms of cycling, not just racing. It saddens me how few girls I see cycling to school compared to boys… we need to understand the causes and fix them, and then things like the (unacceptable) bias you point out above will start coming into focus…

  4. Peter Clinch says:

    I hope you’ve copied this to BC. My guess is it’s probably cock-up rather than conspiracy, but they need to be pointed out. Historically it is a male dominated sport and so the people in stock images and available to make videos will be more likely to be men, so unless someone really thinks proactively while they work on it it’ll probably reflect what is rather than what should be.
    Cock-up may not be as bad as conspiracy, but it’s still a bit rubbish. On the plus side, I think things are better than the pitiful attitudes on display in Cooke’s “Breakaway” so a nudge from you will probably do some good rather than the BC reactionaries battening down the hatches.

    • Diana says:

      I have tagged British cycling on twitter. I totally agree with you, I don’t think it is in any way a conspiracy. I think it just comes from a failure to fully think things through and a failure to fully understand the impact that such things can have.

  5. lavinka says:

    There is no reason to force women to sport. Most women prefer to ride a bike recreationally, is it bad? In my opinion, no training is needed for anyone. If men like to train, they will. If women prefer to ride a bike with a basket and flowers, there is nothing wrong with it. We are different and it is beautiful.

    • Diana says:

      I totally agree that there are many forms of cycling and all are valid. I am all for people riding bikes in whatever way they choose. However, there are a significant number of women, myself included, who want to race and want to train to race.

    • Pete Clinch says:

      I don’t think that’s the issue here. I think it’s if you *are* a woman wanting to take up cycle sport then BC are scoring a “must do better”.
      People in general are different, rather than women to men. I don’t like to train, and don’t. I like leisurely trundles. That’s nothing to do with me being a bloke.

  1. June 3, 2018

    […] with women’s cycling. Anyone who has read Nicole Cooke’s autobiography or even some of my own blog posts may well have criticisms to make of British Cycling. However, times are changing and British […]

  2. August 2, 2020

    […] could be forgiven for thinking there are no female cyclists. In cycling magazines and on cycling websites it is not uncommon to find few or no pictures of women. ‘Women’s cycling’ is […]

  3. February 7, 2021

    […] problems of appearance and cycling stem from the image we portray of cycling. The images which are all around us of people dressing in lycra, high-vis and bike helmets. This is […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: