Marin Museum of Bicycling Event Women on Wheels: How Gilded Age Women Found Freedom Through Bicycling
The next Marin Museum of Bicycling speaker event takes place Tuesday, June 13 in Fairfax, with author Ellen Garvey, sharing a history of emancipation and reaction: “How Gilded Age Women Found Freedom Through Bicycling, Fought Against People Who Tried to Stop Them, and Why It Matters Today.”
When women and girls first rode bicycles in large numbers in the 1890s, they celebrated their new freedom to move around in the world. Susan B. Anthony said she stood and rejoiced “every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel… the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.” Is it surprising that conservatives panicked at visions of women riding alone, with other women, or with “unsuitable” men — and campaigned to stop them?
Bicycling women wanted to keep their new mobility, and there were plenty of arguments back and forth. Some claimed that women would damage themselves by acquiring a “bicycle face,” or would get sexual pleasure from bicycling and thus ruin their reproductive capacities. Although this seems like something that happened long ago, women, especially, are often still discouraged from physical activity and mobility in the US and in other countries. How did that happen? Could bicycling again offer freedom to all?
Ellen Garvey is the author of two prize-winning books, Writing with Scissors: American Scrapbooks from the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance and The Adman in the Parlor: Magazines and the Gendering of Consumer Culture. She is a professor of English at New Jersey City University. She often commutes to work by bicycle.
Tickets are $10 per adult ($5 for students and Marin Museum of Bicycling members). Tickets can be purchased in advance at the museum, online, or at the door the evening of the event. Advance purchase is recommended. All proceeds benefit the Marin Museum of Bicycling.
When: Tuesday, June 13 – 7:00 to 8:30 PM (Doors open at 6:15 PM)
Where: Marin Museum of Bicycling, Fairfax
Tickets: Advance tickets available through Eventbrite.
Tickets are $10 per adult ($5 for students and Marin Museum of Bicycling members). Tickets can be purchased in advance at the museum, online, or at the door the evening of the event. Online ticket sales end at 5:00 PM the day of the show. Tickets will remain available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.
All proceeds benefit the Marin Museum of Bicycling.
Advance ticket purchase is recommended. Refreshments available. All proceeds benefit the Marin Museum of Bicycling.
The Marin Museum of Bicycling is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization. The museum is a comprehensive bicycle museum and cultural center. Open since 2015, the museum is also home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. For regular hours, admission fees and membership information, please see the museum’s web site: http://mmbhof.org .
