Girls don't cycle?? What's up with that?

Just an observation from cycling in the UK, if you are obviously female and cycle, you are much more vulnerable to comments shouted from passing cars. Your legs are on display and apparently this is an invitation to be letched at and shouted at

See, this is why I like the sports specialism at DS's school. They have several different 'pathways' for sport, and those who don't want to run in circles can choose a mix of indoor rowing, cycling, swimming, badminton, gym, table tennis and climbing wall. Far less opportunity to jiggle!
and it tends to be lots of girls per boy which DS rather likes

Teenaged girls don't like sport, as a whole. It's like marmite - some love, most hate, very few are indifferent.

This is because of many reasons. They never feel as good at it as the boys. In mixed lessons they are very frequently the victim of sexual comments from the boys. Breasts, especially growing breasts, can be painful when jiggled, even in a good bra. They don't want to get sweaty because they don't want to smell, and neither do they want to use the communal showers. They've often applied their make up quite carefully that morning in order to cover any blemishes or perceived blemishes, and they don't want to risk sweating it off.

Amongst the brighter girls, there is a feeling that sports at GCSE level is a complete waste of time unless one intends to be a PE teacher. At my comprehensive, PE was the ONLY class I deliberately skipped. Not because I had anything better to be doing but because I viewed exercise as a recreational activity and recreation should not be forced. This forcing of activity onto people only makes them reluctant to seek it for themselves.

FInally, PE teachers. Pe teachers have got to be some of the most under qualified and unprofessional teachers in existence. Verbal insults, abuse of power, very little idea of how the teenaged mind works, a complete lack of protection for the emotionally or physically vulnerable in their classes (ignoring sexual abuse from teenaged boys to teenaged girls - and yes, shouting "Wobbletitty wobbletitty" as a girl runs track is abusive)

Now this may very well be my experience of one mental PE teacher - but when you take into account that that pe teacher taught every single female who went to school between 1986 and 2005, in a town with a population of 50,000 - you are looking at a LOT of young women who will now have absolutely nothing to do with sport and that teacher cannot be the only one who was a bad teacher. This cannot be the only town where one bad teacher can ruin the attitude of 70% of the females aged 40 to 20? In what other teaching post is the job criteria "Make them run around in circles and shout at them"??

Girls not taking part in sport is a huge health issue, it makes me so sad that they generally don't do enough.

Osteoporosis is one risk of adolescent girls not being physically active results, even adult women can improve bone density through activity.

(sorry, this is my favourite soap box as I worked in community sports development for a while)

You know, I can see that the footwear would be an issue (hordes of girls round here in slithery ballet pumps and blue legs even in the snow). I'm hoping DD will cycle to secondary , but they aren't allowed to wear trainer-style shoes, and I can just see a nice lace-up going down a treat when I suggest it.

Should I start a new thread in S&B for advice on cycle-friendly school footwear? Or just assume she'll need two pairs?

They have been campaigns to encourage women (not just girls) to cycle. Basically the helmet is one factor, being sweaty etc another, footwear yet another and vulnerability yet another. I very much hope that when dd goes to university she will embrace her bike as a useful tool. At the moment she doesn't like arriving at school with a red face - her skin type pinkens up when exercising. Also walking with her friends is more sociable I guess.

The senior schools around here arel single sex and a glance at the cycle shesd would tend to confirm the OPs observation that cycling is not nearly so common amongst girls as boys.

I think Daisy has it though - it's not just cycling, it's sport in general. Whether that is because girls are pushed away from sport or because boys are pushed too much into sport I'm in two minds about.

Cycling as a method of transport though is generally quite empowering and a pretty good foundation for a healthy lifestyle, so the gender difference does seem like something worth considering for our daughters' sakes.

Cross posts with, ooh, everyone there!

What is a 'definitely boy's' bike, though? Does it say 'boys only' on the frame? All of our family bikes are blue, black or red, with chunky tyres and cross-bars (though I do have a more wimpy silver one with a mixte frame for skirt-days).

Ps - If anyone is interested generally in issues around women and sport look at the women's sport and fitness foundation website.

wsf

I had lunch in the canteen at my DSSs' school recently (language lunch, the non-Francophone parents volunteer to speak their own language to pupils). The teenaged girls were all charming and all revolted by the fact that they had to do sports with boys, including boxing.

That is much more of a feminist issue than cycling, IMVHO.

i have always cycled everywhere, i did as a teen and then at uni as well and do still cycle wiht my kids, bike seats, trailer etc/ BUT i have always had a 'boys' bike i dont like the frames of the girls ones, i get on just fine with a male frame, tho i do change the seat, but to look at it it would like a 'boys' bike, so maybe some of them do belong to girls?

Teenage girls are more likely to be body/ image conscious so may worry about their hair, getting red-faced, sweaty etc. Schools don't often have nice showers / changing rooms etc that girls want to use.

They also may not be willing to wear clothes / shoes appropriate for cycling.

Girls drop out from all sport at a high rate from the age of 14 onwards, not just cycling.

My DD obviously bucks the trend of non cycling girls. I'm hoping that she'll be able to cycle to the senior school she's planning on applying to as it's only a 4½ mile journey on the canal towpath.

Of course you wouldn't pick her bike out as 'girl's bike' as it's blue.

She is however a lot more cautious on it than her brother. So maybe the reason that more girls don't cycle is because they have more sense of fear. I certainly don't think it's the cycling helmets that put them off.

Himalaya - I think you are rooting around here for subjects of feminist outrage