Alex brought bagels, as usual, as well as some delicious pomegranate jelly, the perfect color spread for Valentine's Day! We also serve coffee in class every Friday morning.
We began class, as usual, with a gratitude circle and a check-in. This week's question was "How will you show love and compassion to people in your life today in celebration of Valentine’s Day?" So many people shared that they were seeing family that weekend for the three-day weekend and that they would do something for them to show their love and appreciation. The purpose of asking this question was to remind people that Valentine's Day is about love in all forms, not just between significant others. Often people criticize Valentine's Day for being consumeristic and directed toward couples, but why not expand the definition of it to include showing love to everyone in our lives? It was nice to begin class with this acknowledgement of loving relationships each of us have in our lives--from family, to dogs, to siblings, to partners.
Then we had announcements. One of our optional readings for class that day was a chapter from Rebecca Solnit's Wanderlust about the historic treatment of women while walking in public spaces, and this topic coincided nicely with the date--Valentine's Day--because it is also the day that One Billion Rising raises awareness about sexual assault against women. If you don't know about the cause, the most important thing point is that 1 in 3 women will be beaten, sexually assaulted, or rape in their lifetime. That's one billion women worldwide, and the movement seeks to raise awareness about this and end violence against women. Our presentation slides from class feature this event and also delve into the issues brought up in our readings for the day. Click here to view it, and feel free to ask questions in the comments section for more information.
In addition to the presentation, we spoke in small groups about feminism and social justice as it relates to the other themes in our class. Some students brought up the possible set-backs that exist when women get together for "ladies night" bike events that are only designed for women (such as this one). Does this segregation serve to empower women by creating a safe and welcoming space, and/or does it also reinforce stereotypes or separations of women? Students shared various perspectives, including the suggestion that creating separate spaces for women or other groups to participate with bicycling justifies not working to make all bicycling spaces safe for these parts of the population.
For example, Maryam and Camille gave the example of Women/Trans-friendly hours at the Bike Church Tool Cooperative downtown. By designing particular hours when women and trans-identifying people are invited to come, is there an inherent suggestion that they are not welcome at other times?
Others, including myself, suggested instead that these particular safe-space hours are designed for those who are intimidated by the idea of going to regular hours hosted by the Bike Church. Certainly, I would hope / I'm fairly certain that the Bike Church works to be inclusive and welcoming to all people who visit all the time. However, even if they are the friendliest place in the world, some--actually many--people's perceptions of bike shops or bike culture in general is that it's dominated by men or dominated by knowledgeable, know-it-all bike mechanics. By creating guaranteed, advertised safe spaces where everyone is a woman or a trans person, more people may be willing to step inside the Bike Church's doors to learn how to fix their bikes. From there, they may realize that all hours of the Bike Church are safe, but it's that initial entrance to the world of the Bike Church that may require some additional, specific marketing.
But what do you all think? I can see both sides and believe there isn't a final answer--it's about making sure all spaces are inclusive and identifying strategies to do so in genuine ways that brings everyone into the bike world so that eventually, the whole world and community is the bike world.
Some other topics students brought up included that the history of women feeling/being targeted on public streets as similar to the experiences of black men and other people of color. Chima brought up Trayvon Martin and the way that our society and law unjustly addresses hate crimes and other attacks on people based on appearance and race. He said he could identify with the sentiment that I and other women in the class expressed about feeling vulnerable walking in public places at night.
Maryam brought up the issue of gay people being targeted in public places, as well, and the conversation then moved toward how we never hear about hate crimes or murders of trans people, something I learned about as a residential adviser in Stevenson College. Since it's a topic many people don't know about, here is the website for International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which lists those trans people who were murdered worldwide simply for being transgender. It's horrible and overwhelming, and unfortunately, it's not in the public mind. Please share that link with friends to raise awareness, and then inform yourself on what it means to be transgender and how we can end discrimination against people simply because of who they are. If you're looking for more resources on this, feel free to email me or visit the UCSC Cantu Queer Center website.
Certainly the topic of this day's class was not light, and it was incredibly powerful to hear everyone's thoughts. It was clear from what students shared that they were seeing these topics in a new light and having realizations about the way others experience public spaces differently or similarly to how they do.
After this discussion, we returned to the topic of encouraging women to bike more by taking a class photo with the CycloFemme pledge, which reads "I, _____, swear to invest my energy, strength, and passion to inspire one more woman to ride a bike. I believe in the power of the pedal for positive social change, for building a healthier, happier, smarter world. I pledge to be an ambassador of the bicycle, to honor the past, celebrate the present, empower the future of women in cycling. I promise to start the revolution, to live the change I want to see, to rally another to ride with me." One of our assigned readings for the day was about this organization, whose website reads,
"CycloFemme is a socially-driven grass-roots celebration of women on bikes.... Our annual Mother’s Day ride unites riders, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or bicycle preference to share in the joy of cycling. Year round, our global community inspires and empowers other women, by making their passion public and the joy in cycling contagious. In our first year, 163 rides were registered in 14 countries with many others joining in to celebrate in their own special way. In our second, we grew to 229 rides in 31 countries. Ride with us as we Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present, Empower the Future of Women in Cycling."
Pedrum had to leave class right before we took the photo, so Alex snapped a photo of him with his pledge before he left.
Following our pledges, we did a transportation-themed adaptation of the "Privilege Line" activity (click here to read the full activity). We had everyone stand along the line of an extension cord in the middle of the room. I read a number of statements regarding transportation privilege and students stepped forward or backward depending upon if it applied to them or not. For example, "Step forward if you have had access to a car your entire life, even if you chose not to use it." Another example was "Step backward if you feel vulnerable walking down the street at night alone."
The activity was extremely interesting and allowed for some really great dialogue at the end. Alex, who was at the farthest forward place alongside Corin, asked how it was for others in the group. "I was facing forward the whole time and I couldn't really see what was happening behind me," he said, which reflects exactly what happens when people have privilege but are not paying attention to others around them who do not have those same privileges. In this way, the activity is very experiential and allows for connections to be made based on how it feels to participate and compare where you end up versus others.
When we finished the privilege line activity, here was everyone's positions. What do you notice?
I want to say thank you again to everyone who participated in class on Valentine's Day and for being engaged and thinking about these issues in personal, real ways. I am curious what your thoughts are reading this post, for those who were or were not in class. How do these issues affect your life? What experiences have you had that provide insight into these challenges many people face regarding transportation every day?
Most importantly, what are the strategies for overcoming these barriers for women, people of color, the LGBTQQIAA community, and others who cannot freely travel or access all modes of transportation equally?
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