Halfords and every day sexism

[Baxer]

A poster started a thread about this on another section but I think it warrants a mention on here.

This might be a small issue when it comes to the huge battles women face at the moment, but for me these small instances of everyday sexism are a huge problem when you add them all together.

Halfords have decide to call two of their women’s bikes ‘Entice’ and ‘Virtue’. [name edited by MNHQ at OP's request] As the poster pointed out on her thread, it feeds into the misogynistic attitude that women are either enticing or pure.

On the other thread a large number of people couldn’t understand why it was a big deal, but for me these small acts of every day sexism are a big problem when you add them all up and whilst I can see through them, I worry about my daughters and other young women being exposed to these attitudes.

I have tweeted Halfords, but I suspect they will just ignore me like other companies do when I point these issues out.

Hmm what feminine names would be good? Vagina? Fallopian, Vulva, Uterus, Tampon. They all quite good as a bike name. Or there could be Housewife, Servant, Maid, Chattel....maybe not so appealing.

It’s not like they named the bike cuntrocker and bitchbike..

Both of which I'd be happy to ride.

😂

Boys had the Chopper of course!!

@Thelnebriati

Whos saying womens things must have masculine names?

Yes, exactly - I'm not!

@TorringtonDean

Boys had the Chopper of course!!

Wasn't that bike marketed to boys and girls? Without the need for any pinkification..

Have we now established that the screenshots (of helmets etc) were doctored rather than, say, just from a few years back?

Take a look at the Boardman and the Pendleton equally inspired by Olympic Medalists.. no every day sexism there!!!

In case you can't be bothered to click (I couldn't work out how to do images), the Boardman is £3,300 of 50/34t compact chainset combined with a 11-28t cassette offers a broad range of gears to cover off steep climbing, flat land sprinting and fast descending, while the Pendleton is £1,300 7 speed electric hybrid with built in mudguards and chainguard to protect your clothes should you hit any puddles. You even have somewhere for your shopping, thanks to the stylish basket and rear pannier rack. And the Pendleton hybrid womens bike is 50% heavier than a similar Boardman bike.

(Yes, Boardman do womens bikes too.. in the lower price ranges and they account for 20% of the range)

I often wonder what it took for Pendleton to put her name to that range. I would rather be inspired by a racing bike designed for the back to leg ratio of the average woman, would account for the pelvic shape and shoulder width as well as the lighter average weight to size ratio.

It reminds me of the hire bikes we had on holiday, the womens only had 5 gears but were pink while the mens had 15 so all over the island were groups of people where the women were struggling up hills while the men coasted easily to the top admiring the views.

It is every brick in the wall that adds to the picture we are presented with from the moment we leave the womb that makes us feel second best at every turn.

Feminine names that I think would be good would be
Grace
Beauty
Nurture
Charm
Liberty
Queen
Worthy
Amazon
Delight
Adventuress
Artiste
Intuition
Lifegiver
Endurance

@OldFolksTalkinBoutBackinMyDay2

It’s not like they named the bike cuntrocker and bitchbike..

Both of which I'd be happy to ride.

😂

Moi aussi 🤣

I would agree that marketing teams that come up with names for sports products like bikes do lack representation of women.

I posted the other names of bikes at Halfords and some of them didn’t even try.

the hire bikes we had on holiday, the womens only had 5 gears but were pink while the mens had 15 so all over the island were groups of people where the women were struggling up hills while the men coasted easily to the top admiring the views.

It was like that years ago in the 1990s when I started to seriously mountain bike off road. There were no women’s bikes for mountain biking at all. And I was too short for the men’s bikes. But luckily Canondale made a great carbon composite mountain bike with all the components of a man’s bike aimed at the teenage boy market. Which is what I bought. It was an awesome bike! Loved it.

It name btw was “Killer V”

The Prime Minister, President, Chancellor?

I think I’d buy a bike which told me what it might do. Elevate? Glide? Rather than what I should be.

@TorringtonDean

Nothing offensive? I agree they play to the Madonna/whore stereotypes. Maybe not as platantly as calling them Chastity and Harlot but it’s the subtext. Although I also suspect the names were picked by someone whose first language isn’t English and maybe they didn’t appreciate the subtleties.

Yes, the helmet ad surely looks a fake but I suspect that other bike ad is real.

But they only play on the Madonna/whore stereotype if those are the only two byke names for women, but that is not the case as you can see from the list posted.

I will admit, I was right there with the OP at first, thinking 'this is rubbish casual sexism'. This feeling was enhanced momentarily by the kids bike ad and reached outrage when I saw the helmets screeshot.

But surely once you see the whole list of bike names you need to reasses the situation? Casual sexism exists, everywhere, I totally agree, but I do not think this is example of it.

The helmet ad was real!! It was a while ago, back in 2015. But when I posted it I actually said they had form for this shit.
Which they do 🤷‍♀️
The complaints about it at the time are still on the official Halfords Twitter timeline which is where I found it again to post here!

I wish it was a made up advert

@OldFolksTalkinBoutBackinMyDay2

Have we now established that the screenshots (of helmets etc) were doctored rather than, say, just from a few years back?

My guess, now, is that the bike one is real and the helmet one is fake.

If it is fake - who does stuff like this?! Am I the only one who finds this very important? (genuine question)

@FunnyInjury

The helmet ad was real!! It was a while ago, back in 2015. But when I posted it I actually said they had form for this shit. Which they do 🤷‍♀️ The complaints about it at the time are still on the official Halfords Twitter timeline which is where I found it again to post here!

I wish it was a made up advert

cross posts -

Is that real?!

Funnyinjury I like your posts and can't imagine you'd deliberately try and wind us up with fake adverts. If you say it's real I believe you. Could you hazard a guess as to roughly when this ad was current?

Ah! You said 2015!

Blimey - not that long ago!

bitchbike I would definitely buy! cuntrocker sounds like it needs its suspension fixed...owww

I can't take offence at these bike names in the context of the other ones, but I do get thoroughly fucked off with idiots in bike shops (one in particular locally, known for it) who overcharge and recommend "repairs" that don't need done. Or the ones who speak to DH who doesn't even ride, ignoring me.

Also women's ranges are more limited than men's and I do not want the ubiquitous pink clothes - apart from setting off my beetroot face too well, I do not need to advertise the fact that I'm female to make it easier for some knob-end in a van to yell obscenities at me as they pass.

@FunnyInjury - thanks for clarifying that. That's absolutely appalling.

I do not need to advertise the fact that I'm female to make it easier for some knob-end in a van to yell obscenities at me as they pass.

A very good point.

Bloody hell ... those descriptions on the boys vs girls helmets and bikes. Not just the names but the speed/shopping thing? Unbelievable.

I know the thread you mean OP, it pissed me right off. Why don't so many women make the connection between all the small acts of sexism we see/hear everyday and how this snowballs and mounts up? its the slow boiling frog effect.

FWR is quiet (if you believe that) because unfortunately so many people don't give a shit. Luckily for them there are enough who still do and will continue to fight (often quietly) so everyones daughters can benefit.

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz. The speed and shopping thing is EXACTLY replicated in the Boardman / Pendleton comparison.

Why don't so many women make the connection between all the small acts of sexism we see/hear everyday and how this snowballs and mounts up?
Maybe because they're not actually there in the first place.