KIN 249: Lecture 7.3

Lecture Notes

Advertisements dealt with fears about masturbation, by figuring women next to their bikes (rather than riding them); when women did ride, they were pictured sitting upright. These images reinforced the bicycle as part and parcel of larger social ideologies that posture implied morality. Likewise, advertisements tapped into ideas of women as natural by figuring them in natural rather than urban spaces. So, while the bicycle could be read as transgressive, progressive or simply glamorous, advertisers found a way to avoid major debates so that they could sell more bicycles.