Bicycle Craze of the 1890s and Its Effect on Women's Lives
“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of freedom, self-reliance and independence. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can’t get into harm while she is on her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood...” - Susan B. Anthony, 1896 (Willard 90)
Although bicycles were quite popular by the end of the 19th century, it was not common for women to ride them, mostly because it was hard to do physically, and therefore riding a bicycle was considered “men's sport”. Before the bicycle chain was invented, designers had to increase the size of the front wheel to which the pedals were attached in order to increase bicycles' speed. The front wheel of so-called “ordinary bicycle” (which was often called “penny-farting” because of the relative size of its wheels) could be as large as five feet in diameter (Zheutlin). It required special training and skills just to mount an ordinary bicycle, and even a small obstacle, such as stone on the road, could cause an accident.
However, everything changed in late 1880s, when the first “safety bicycle” was designed by an English engineer, Harry John Lawson. It had wheels of equal size and the chain system, that transferred pedal energy to rear wheel. And it was then when women started to ride bicycles.
The 1890s are often called “golden age” or “bicycle craze”. It was the time when the bicycle became a respectable and recognizable means of transportation. As cycling was becoming more and more popular, a new type of woman appeared. “The New Woman” was politically and socially active; she was going to work, becoming more involved in public life, and participating in women's movements. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leader of women’s right movement, wrote in an 1895 article for the American Wheelman, in which she praised the bicycle, saying that “the bicycle will inspire women with more courage, self-respect and self-reliance,and make the next generation more vigorous of mind and body...” And she was right: more and more young women were leaving their houses not only to go cycling, but also to make their way to the male-dominated public sphere. The freedom of movement, the freedom of not relying on men when they needed to go anywhere emancipated women and led to several changes in their lives.
One of the most important changes brought by cycling was clothing. Victorian era clothing (such as corsets, heavy multi-layered skirts, and long sleeved shirts with high collars) was not appropriate for cycling. New, more practical and comfortable style was needed. “Bloomers” - baggy trousers, clinched at the knee – became the solution, but it also created a lot of debate. Conservatives were strongly against bloomers, because they reminded “men's cloth” and were considered unfeminine. Bloomers became the centerpiece of “rational dress movement” that emerged in the end of the 19th century in England and consisted mostly of women who were fighting for their right to dress appropriately for cycling. In the eyes of society, the New Woman, who rode bicycles and wore bloomers, was trying to challenge common beliefs about femininity (Lapinskiene 2) and gender definition (Garvey 69). Because she refused to accept the fixed divide between two genders, she was often called “shameless” and even “promiscuous” (Lapinskiene 2). Many women, who were wearing bloomers, complained about being ridiculed, fined, and even treated “like a prostitute” by local authorities (Willard 94). But although it made a lot of enemies, the bloomer was recognized by progressive women as a tool for gaining more freedom. For leaders of the woman’s movement, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the battle over women’s dress was a critical part of the battle for sexual equality and even the right to vote. “Why, pray tell me, hasn’t a woman as much right to dress to suit herself as a man? The stand she is taking in the matter of dress is no small indication that she has realized that she has an equal right with a man to control her own movements.”, said Susan B. Anthony to a reporter in 1895. (Zheutlin)
Bicycles were criticized not only for giving women mobility (which, as was thought, posed a danger for traditional social roles since women could move without family or husband surveillance), but also for “health problems” they might cause. Nearly every bicycling book from the period includes a discussion, citing medical authorities, of bicycling's effects on women's health. (Garvey 74) All kinds of arguments were used to discourage women from riding bicycles, which was considered a masculinizing sport. While it would be safe and healthy for men to do, it was though that for women it would require too much of physical strength. Women were supposed to “preserve” their vital energy for childbearing and developing traits needed to be a good mother and wife. (Lapinskiene 9) In “The Hidden Dangers of Cycling”, A. Shadwell advises women against “attempting a novel and peculiar experiment with their precious persons”, which simply means “riding bicycles”, and warns that “it may cause internal inflammation, exhaustion, appendicitis, dysentery, nervous attacks,” and even so-called “bicycle face”, which was thought to be a legitimate illness that led to ugly deformations of women's faces. It was described by anti-bicyclists as “the product of excessive worry over maintaining balance while riding.". Constant warnings about cycling's effects on women's health led to several rebukes, such as an article “Woman and Her Bicycle” in Chicago Daily News: “When woman wants to learn anything or do anything useful or even have any fun there is always someone to solemnly warn her that it is her duty to keep well. Meanwhile in many states she can work in factories ten hours a day, she can stand behind counters in badly ventilated stores from 8 o’clock to 6, she can bend over the sewing machine for about 5 cents an hour and no one cares enough to protest. But when these same women, condemned to sedentary lives indoors, find a cheap and delightful way of getting the fresh air and exercise they need so sorely there is a great hue and cry about their physical welfare.” However, no valid proof of “dangers” could be found. Eventually the number of pro-cyclists overweighted the number of anti-cyclists, and bicycling was recognized as a recreation. Historians argue that all arguments against woman cycling were based on poor understanding of the mechanics of the bicycle.
But there still was another issue - “sexual depravity”. It was though that women were forced to straddle the seats of a cycle in a sexually provocative manner which would lead to arousal. In numerous articles, published in medical journals, physicians discussed in detail how bicycling might produce sexual stimulation: “The saddle can be tilted in every bicycle as desired, and the springs of the saddle can be so adjusted as to stiffen or relax the leather triangle. In this way a girl […] could, by carrying the front peak or pommel high, or by relaxing the stretched leather in order to let it form a deep, hammock-like concavity which would fit itself snugly over the entire vulva and reach up in front, bring about constant friction over the clitoris and labia. This pressure would be much increased by stooping forward, and the warmth generated from vigorous exercise might further increase the feeling.” (Transactions 86) The result was “anatomical”, or “hygienic”, saddle; saddle with no padding in places where a saddle would originally touch a woman's crotch. Thus, men (and some women) were so afraid of the independence bicycles provided for women and changes they could have brought, that they tried to take control over even the smallest aspects of their lives and tended to exaggerate or imagine problems.
By allowing women to gain freedom of mobility, the bicycle helped transform gender relationship. It has not only played an important role in freeing women from restraints of narrow-minded Victorian fashion and empowered them, but also challenged the ideas of femininity (especially those that told women should be weak, fragile and dependent), and became a symbol of future changes for many feminists.
However, everything changed in late 1880s, when the first “safety bicycle” was designed by an English engineer, Harry John Lawson. It had wheels of equal size and the chain system, that transferred pedal energy to rear wheel. And it was then when women started to ride bicycles.
The 1890s are often called “golden age” or “bicycle craze”. It was the time when the bicycle became a respectable and recognizable means of transportation. As cycling was becoming more and more popular, a new type of woman appeared. “The New Woman” was politically and socially active; she was going to work, becoming more involved in public life, and participating in women's movements. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leader of women’s right movement, wrote in an 1895 article for the American Wheelman, in which she praised the bicycle, saying that “the bicycle will inspire women with more courage, self-respect and self-reliance,and make the next generation more vigorous of mind and body...” And she was right: more and more young women were leaving their houses not only to go cycling, but also to make their way to the male-dominated public sphere. The freedom of movement, the freedom of not relying on men when they needed to go anywhere emancipated women and led to several changes in their lives.
One of the most important changes brought by cycling was clothing. Victorian era clothing (such as corsets, heavy multi-layered skirts, and long sleeved shirts with high collars) was not appropriate for cycling. New, more practical and comfortable style was needed. “Bloomers” - baggy trousers, clinched at the knee – became the solution, but it also created a lot of debate. Conservatives were strongly against bloomers, because they reminded “men's cloth” and were considered unfeminine. Bloomers became the centerpiece of “rational dress movement” that emerged in the end of the 19th century in England and consisted mostly of women who were fighting for their right to dress appropriately for cycling. In the eyes of society, the New Woman, who rode bicycles and wore bloomers, was trying to challenge common beliefs about femininity (Lapinskiene 2) and gender definition (Garvey 69). Because she refused to accept the fixed divide between two genders, she was often called “shameless” and even “promiscuous” (Lapinskiene 2). Many women, who were wearing bloomers, complained about being ridiculed, fined, and even treated “like a prostitute” by local authorities (Willard 94). But although it made a lot of enemies, the bloomer was recognized by progressive women as a tool for gaining more freedom. For leaders of the woman’s movement, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the battle over women’s dress was a critical part of the battle for sexual equality and even the right to vote. “Why, pray tell me, hasn’t a woman as much right to dress to suit herself as a man? The stand she is taking in the matter of dress is no small indication that she has realized that she has an equal right with a man to control her own movements.”, said Susan B. Anthony to a reporter in 1895. (Zheutlin)
Bicycles were criticized not only for giving women mobility (which, as was thought, posed a danger for traditional social roles since women could move without family or husband surveillance), but also for “health problems” they might cause. Nearly every bicycling book from the period includes a discussion, citing medical authorities, of bicycling's effects on women's health. (Garvey 74) All kinds of arguments were used to discourage women from riding bicycles, which was considered a masculinizing sport. While it would be safe and healthy for men to do, it was though that for women it would require too much of physical strength. Women were supposed to “preserve” their vital energy for childbearing and developing traits needed to be a good mother and wife. (Lapinskiene 9) In “The Hidden Dangers of Cycling”, A. Shadwell advises women against “attempting a novel and peculiar experiment with their precious persons”, which simply means “riding bicycles”, and warns that “it may cause internal inflammation, exhaustion, appendicitis, dysentery, nervous attacks,” and even so-called “bicycle face”, which was thought to be a legitimate illness that led to ugly deformations of women's faces. It was described by anti-bicyclists as “the product of excessive worry over maintaining balance while riding.". Constant warnings about cycling's effects on women's health led to several rebukes, such as an article “Woman and Her Bicycle” in Chicago Daily News: “When woman wants to learn anything or do anything useful or even have any fun there is always someone to solemnly warn her that it is her duty to keep well. Meanwhile in many states she can work in factories ten hours a day, she can stand behind counters in badly ventilated stores from 8 o’clock to 6, she can bend over the sewing machine for about 5 cents an hour and no one cares enough to protest. But when these same women, condemned to sedentary lives indoors, find a cheap and delightful way of getting the fresh air and exercise they need so sorely there is a great hue and cry about their physical welfare.” However, no valid proof of “dangers” could be found. Eventually the number of pro-cyclists overweighted the number of anti-cyclists, and bicycling was recognized as a recreation. Historians argue that all arguments against woman cycling were based on poor understanding of the mechanics of the bicycle.
But there still was another issue - “sexual depravity”. It was though that women were forced to straddle the seats of a cycle in a sexually provocative manner which would lead to arousal. In numerous articles, published in medical journals, physicians discussed in detail how bicycling might produce sexual stimulation: “The saddle can be tilted in every bicycle as desired, and the springs of the saddle can be so adjusted as to stiffen or relax the leather triangle. In this way a girl […] could, by carrying the front peak or pommel high, or by relaxing the stretched leather in order to let it form a deep, hammock-like concavity which would fit itself snugly over the entire vulva and reach up in front, bring about constant friction over the clitoris and labia. This pressure would be much increased by stooping forward, and the warmth generated from vigorous exercise might further increase the feeling.” (Transactions 86) The result was “anatomical”, or “hygienic”, saddle; saddle with no padding in places where a saddle would originally touch a woman's crotch. Thus, men (and some women) were so afraid of the independence bicycles provided for women and changes they could have brought, that they tried to take control over even the smallest aspects of their lives and tended to exaggerate or imagine problems.
By allowing women to gain freedom of mobility, the bicycle helped transform gender relationship. It has not only played an important role in freeing women from restraints of narrow-minded Victorian fashion and empowered them, but also challenged the ideas of femininity (especially those that told women should be weak, fragile and dependent), and became a symbol of future changes for many feminists.
Bibliography
Garvey, Ellen G. “Reframing the Bicycle: Advertising-Supported Magazines and Scorching Women”. American Quarterly, Vol. 47, No 1. (Mar.1995), 66-101. Print.
Lapinskiene, Laura. “From 'Hygienic Saddles' to the 'Vehicle of Beauty': Discourses on the Cycling Woman from the Turn of the Century to the 1930s in Lithuania”. VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller e.K., 2008. Print.
Shadwell, A. “The Hidden Dangers of Cycling”. National Review, 1897. Print.
Willard, Frances E. “How I Learned to Ride a Bicycle”. Sunnyvale: Fair Oaks Publishing, 1991. Print.
Zheutlin, Peter. “Women on Wheels: The Bicycle and the Women’s Movement of the 1890s”. 15 December 2011. Web. http://www.annielondonderry.com/
“Transactions of the New York Obstetrical Society”. University of Michigan Library, 2009. Print.
“Woman and Her Bicycle”. Chicago Daily News. 17 October 1894. Print.
Lapinskiene, Laura. “From 'Hygienic Saddles' to the 'Vehicle of Beauty': Discourses on the Cycling Woman from the Turn of the Century to the 1930s in Lithuania”. VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller e.K., 2008. Print.
Shadwell, A. “The Hidden Dangers of Cycling”. National Review, 1897. Print.
Willard, Frances E. “How I Learned to Ride a Bicycle”. Sunnyvale: Fair Oaks Publishing, 1991. Print.
Zheutlin, Peter. “Women on Wheels: The Bicycle and the Women’s Movement of the 1890s”. 15 December 2011. Web. http://www.annielondonderry.com/
“Transactions of the New York Obstetrical Society”. University of Michigan Library, 2009. Print.
“Woman and Her Bicycle”. Chicago Daily News. 17 October 1894. Print.
Primary Source Document: "The Christy Anatomical Saddle"
This is an article from "Physician" journal published in 1897. It is an important source because it demonstrates how concerned doctors were with the fact that women could use bicycle saddles to gain sexual pleasure and what a relief the invention of a "safe saddle" was.
Multimedia Gallery
"Daisy Bell", a popular cycling song written in 1892 by Harry Dacre.
"When Dacre, an English popular composer, first came to the United States, he brought with him a bicycle, for which he was charged import duty. His friend William Jerome, another songwriter, remarked lightly: "It's lucky you didn't bring a bicycle built for two, otherwise you'd have to pay double duty." Dacre was so taken with the phrase "bicycle built for two" that he soon used it in a song." (Ewen, David. American Popular Songs. )