Social Justice & Feminism on Valentine's Day (Week 6)

On February 14, our class focused on issues of social justice and feminism. Our readings focused mostly on issues of women's access and inclination toward biking and walking since we have talked a lot about social justice and accessibility for minorities throughout the quarter. The conversations and activities we did in class were inspiring and informative, and everyone brought something unique to the conversation. In my opinion, this was one of the best days of our class so far. Thank you everyone for participating!

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?

Corin's Relationship with the bicycle

   Cycling is a pretty big part of who I am for multiple reasons. I like the mechanical aspect of them with working on them and building them, but I also obviously enjoy riding. I ride a bicycle for transportation, but I also ride for recreation in multiple forms. Recreational cycling is a way to get exercise, enjoy nature and spend time with friends with similar interests. Being able to build and maintain your own bike is a great feeling because it puts you really in tune with it while riding and makes the experience that much more enjoyable for me.

   I work on them as a (small) source of income, as well as work my volunteer position at the Bike Co-op. This is another part of my relationship with cycling. I ride for recreation, but also for transportation and I try and convince others to do so. I show my support for the movement of riding by helping make it easier for people on campus. Some people may not be interested in the mechanical aspect of bikes, or might just not have experience with it, but that doesn't mean that they should be at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a way to ride on a daily basis. That is what the Bike Co-op is all about and I was super stoked when I learned about it.

   I have only been riding to get around for a few years, but the bicycle is pretty much my only way of getting around independently. I do not have a car back home, so I ride my bike. Now that I have done so for a while, I hope that some day when I get a car, I won't use it unnecessarily. I plan on riding whenever it is feasible. So, as a portion of my transportation history, it is both a small part and a very large part.

Engaged Discussions on Santa Cruz Transportation 1/17/14

Last Friday, our class met in the Common Ground Center, Kresge Room 166. Our normal classroom, the Kresge Seminar Room, was full of California Student Sustainability Coalition students who were at UC Santa Cruz for their winter convergence. Having class in the smaller space allowed for a more intimate discussion on Santa Cruz-specific transportation issues, and although we'll return to the Kresge Seminar Room for most other weeks, we may venture back into that space if we feel that our discussions on particular days require that closer intimacy.

We spoke about Santa Cruz transportation statistics, things to celebrate, issues to find solutions to, and also discussed our first blog post experience of writing our transportation histories, which can all be found on this blog. Students expressed having trouble getting started writing about transportation history because it's such an integral and typically changing history of our lives. Most people discussed the multiple modes they've used in their lives--cars, bikes, buses being the most common methods. We discussed how our experiences, comfortability, and perceptions of each mode affects how we view other modes and other people using other modes.

After spending some time reviewing local Santa Cruz information and hearing a brief presentation by Brenden Fant, a UCSC alum, former Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) bike transit intern, and former Student Environmental Center Transportation Campaign Coordinator. Brenden went through his report from his IDEASS project that surveyed people who bike to and from the UCSC campus to identify where people are riding and what the barriers are to people riding bikes more. Brenden had us brainstorm the benefits of cycling since we had touched upon the reasons why bicycling is an effective and healthy mode of transportation, but we hadn't articulated in one place what those reasons were. Here's what we came up with (click the image for a larger view):

Then we brainstormed as a class what kinds of visions we have for the future of transportation at UC Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz in general. This ranged from more people perceiving walking as a good way to get around to double decker bridges for bikes on campus to zip lines to less crowded buses. I took some photos of the board before class ended so we could review them later:

Thank you everyone for participating in great conversation and bringing your perspectives and experiences to class to share! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, when we select project topics and hear from Amelia Conlen and Tawn Kennedy of People Power of Santa Cruz County about the work that they do and how you can get involved!

Documents from January 17 class:

• View the presentation slides from 1/17
• 2012-13 IDEASS Bicycle Transit Study (Brenden's project)
• Read the Community Assessment Project, which contains statistics about Santa Cruz issues

Corin's Transportation History

Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world? 

Where I am from in Southern California, riding a bicycle around as a regular form of transportation was very rare. Now it is getting much more prominent and even stubborn cities are beginning to put in bike lanes. I live in the mountains and went to school in the valley below where a lot of my friends got cars and started driving during, or right after high school. I was always driven everywhere throughout my whole life (except a few instances with walking), because I always seemed to be able to catch a ride. I always enjoyed riding bikes for fun, but didn’t see how anyone could use them to get around on a daily basis for a long time.

When I got older, I couldn’t get a car and taking the bus did not sound ideal (everyone I knew who had used the bus system said that it needed a lot of work), but my older brother always rode his bike everywhere he could. For a while, I thought that he just did it because he raced bikes all the time and he lived in San Diego and that I wouldn’t be able to do it. But I got into it because I was interested in trying a road bike as I had always had mountain bikes. I bought an old road bike at a thrift store and I learned that there was so much about bikes in general that I didn’t know. They didn’t just have to be objects used for special occasions like “bike rides”. They have been for a long time, and still are the main form of transport for many people. In high school, I would get a ride up and down the mountain and ride my bike to school most days out of the week.

Now, riding bikes is a huge part of who I am. I ride for transportation and recreation. I am really happy and surprised when I go home and see that a lot of the roads are being repaved and painted with bike lanes (I wish they would have done that before I moved away, but at least they’re there now). Ever since coming to UCSC and joining the bike co-op, I have been riding everywhere. From now going forward I hope to ride my bike as often as I can. I still don’t have a car and have to get rides from people sometimes. Obviously, you can’t use bikes for everything, but I believe they are beneficial for the rider and everyone else.

Riding goes along with my goal of being more sustainable and I see it as a way to change communities and make them more sustainable too. It feels good to be able to go somewhere quickly without having to have a car.

Maryam's Transportation History

Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world?

One of my earliest memories was the purchase of a white Dodge minivan with a built in roof extension. I was at the dealership with my parents and two sisters, vastly unaware about what was happening at four years old. What I did know was that we drove home in a different car that day - a car that would come to see dozens of family road trips and the birth of my youngest sister. The Egg, as we called it, soon became a symbol of family unity and comfort. Looking back, it is no surprise how I was brought to value the automobile at a young age. Then I entered my teenage years. I began carpooling with the neighbors who traded one Mercedes SUV for another each month. Suddenly, the Egg was not cool. It was the opposite of cool. It was an incredibly lame assault to my desperate pursuit of acceptance from the snobby and self absorbed junior high school kids. I hated the Egg as I was conditioned to perceive cars as a status marker.

Eventually, the Egg broke down. To my wretched fourteen year old delight, we traded it in for a Nissan Armada. It was shiny, new, horribly gas inefficient, and one of the biggest cars on the road. I was driven around by my parents until I got a license. I hated that I had no control over my transportation. The city was hardly walk-able, and bikes were not culturally relevant enough to even consider.

My first car was a 2000 Mazda Millenia. For the first couple weeks, it was freedom on wheels. It was quickly apparent that owning a car came with a lot of responsibility, expense, inactivity, and anxiety. I sold it during the Summer before I moved up to Santa Cruz for college. While I expected to be disappointed, I was relieved. I truly felt as though a burden had been lifted. I bummed rides off my friends for the remainder of the summer, and everything changed afterwards.

In Santa Cruz, I relied on my feet and the bus. I loved it. I was breathing fresh air that smelled like redwoods, exercising, interacting with people and my environment, more aware of ecological impact, and truly happy. By the end of my Freshman year, I was working downtown at the Penny Ice Creamery. Suddenly the buses were not reliable enough (either that, or I wasn't), and I was struggling to get to work on time. So, I invested in a bicycle to get to work on the fly. Within a week, it was stolen. I had hardly gotten to know it, but I felt if someone had reached into my chest and ripped my heart out. It was a stark and eye-opening comparison to the way I felt when parting with my car.

After another month or so, I had saved up just enough to get a fixer-upper. I took the initiative to learn the basics of bicycle mechanics and get it up and running. Soon, I had the most beautiful bicycle that had ever existed in the history of bicycles. It was the love of my life, the apple of my eye. I was commuting to Cabrillo college from the west side four times a week, commuting to work downtown, and going on bike rides up and down the coast on the regular. I was introduced to the simple joy of night riding. I felt free and alive. It was a life-changing experience to travel with conviction. Alternative modes of transportation connected me to my community, the city, my body, and my bicycle.

Camille's Transportation History

Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world?

I grew up in Eureka, CA, a town in Humboldt County that had its climax during a time of unregulated logging and fishing, where an abundance of resources was excitedly consumed and a town was built as a dwelling for these rugged laborers.  Now it’s made up of a mixture of conservative old people and liberal growers, probably in pursuit of a quiet, undemanding life in what’s left of the lush redwood forest that is Humboldt County.  In terms of geography, the town is somewhat sprawling with no central business hub, as most jobs were concentrated at the mills which were built on the outskirts of town. Because of this, I would guess that at least 90% of the population in Eureka owns a car. Growing up, I didn't know anyone who rode their bike except for the occasional recreational weekend ride, and as a kid I saw the bus system as a dirty, dangerous and unreliable last resort for transportation. The city itself is pretty flat and not too spread out so biking would have been an incredibly easy way to get to school or work. Using a car was such a normalized way of getting around that it almost seemed ridiculous to consider walking somewhere, even if it was less than a mile away. I realize now that Eureka is a strange, isolated place where people are unconscious (in a lot more ways than transportation) of overarching issues of sustainability.

Up until high school, my parents would drive me to school or anywhere I needed to go, but once I was old enough that they felt comfortable leaving me to walk, they often left me to find my own way to and from school. Because I saw walking as a painfully slow waste of time, I started skateboarding to and from school, which was drastically faster than walking and a lot more fun.

However, once I got my drivers’ license and my parents bought me a little Toyota, I started driving to and from school, as most of the more affluent kids did. There was a whole culture built around driving at my school; different parking lots informally designated to different social groups on campus: the hicks parked their trucks in the parking lot near the metal and the wood shops; the jocks and preps parked their expensive cars in the lot next to the language building; the seniors had their own lot, etc.

Once I graduated from high school and decided that I was going to UC Santa Cruz, I figured I’d buy a bike since my car had been totaled by a reckless lady who’d run a red light on me that summer. I had a mountain bike at the time but decided I wanted a road bike because it seemed like the hip thing at the time. I took my grandpa’s 1970s Univega Sportour to Porter College but was intimidated by the hilliness of the university so it sat locked up outside of my dorm for the entirety of my Freshman year. My sophomore year, I lived pretty far from campus, and, again inspired by my frustration with the sluggishness of walking and with my impatience in waiting for buses, I started taking the bike shuttle to campus and biking home. I began to recognize other people who rode their bikes a lot and started to see how my role as a bicyclist made a statement in the politics of sustainable transportation.

Now, my junior year, I use my bike more than ever not only as a means of beating traffic and avoiding the bus system, but for fun and exercise too! At this point it’s also a choice I feel I’ve consciously made, now that I have the means to buy a car but don’t find it a necessary or sensible means of transportation anymore.