‘Wheels of Change’ explores bicycle’s impact on women
By Linda Braden Albert (lindaba@thedailytimes.com)
The ubiquitous bicycle. Who could have guessed that something so commonplace in the 21st century would play such a large part in changing the role of women in society since its arrival in the 1880s and 1890s?
“Wheels Of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (with a few flat tires along the way)” by Sue Macy takes a lively look at women’s history from aboard a bicycle, which granted females the freedom of mobility and helped empower women’s liberation. Through vintage photographs, advertisements, cartoons and songs, the book transports readers to the past to see how women used the bicycle to improve their lives. According to women’s suffrage pioneer Susan B. Anthony, the bicycle “has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.”
Wheels of change
In November 1876, Col. Albert Augustus Pope, of Boston, visited Philadelphia to attend the Centennial Exhibition, a celebration commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence 100 years before. He looked at numerous exhibits but what drew his attention were the “high wheelers” from England, bicycles with huge wheels in the front and tiny ones in the back. Pope wondered about how well the contraption would work as both a business venture and for transportation, but dismissed the idea since he didn’t think it was possible to ride the bicycle.
Pope reconsidered his position when he was riding his horse the following spring and a high wheeler sped by. Pope could not catch the cyclist even at a gallop, and he saw the potential for a new business. He put his idea to work, and the bicycle craze soon swept the nation.
Women loved the new freedoms afforded to them by the bicycle. In 1896, Maria E. “Violet” Ward published her how-to-book, “Bicycling for Ladies,” which included 34 photographs showing women how to mount, ride and repair their wheels. Her photographer was Alice Austen, one of the earliest and most prolific female photographers.
Not everyone was happy about the situation. One woman, Charlotte Smith, wrote that “The bicycle is the devil’s advance agent morally and physically in thousands of instances.” Her campaign to unseat women was unsuccessful as many men and women refuted her claims of societal downfall.
Throw out the corset
The bicycle played a part in changing women’s fashions, as well. Women cyclists suffered many injuries while riding in long, full skirts, giving rise to the need for more rational clothing. By the end of the 1890s, the manner of dress had changed dramatically " with the disappearance of the restrictive corsets, long skirts and heavy, bulky undergarments, the stage was set for a healthier and more active lifestyle in the 20th century.
“Wheels Of Change” is a very well-written, informative and entertaining book, and the photographs and illustrations are the quality one would expect to find in a National Geographic publication. It is most definitely a fitting book to read during this month’s celebration of women’s history.
