Beauty and the Bike

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A group of people in Darlington, United Kingdom, decided to approach the problem of getting women on bikes by getting girls on bikes. The result is Beauty and the Bike, a book, a documentary, and perhaps most excitingly, a bike-share program…. It’s so wonderful to see how the girls move from skepticism about cycling to exhilaration about how “liberating” it is.

I've always said the moment when a woman can ride her bike comfortably around a city while wearing heels and feeling beautiful is the moment when that city has a real bike culture. Of course, another important aspect is feeling safe and the role of bike lanes in facilitating a sense of safety. The girls from Darlington visit Bremen, Germany to see how a strong infrastructure can cultivate a culture of bikes. (via SomethingChanged: WorldChanging)

Untrammelled Womanhood

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammelled womanhood."

— Susan B. Anthony, American Suffragist, 1886

A Gathering of Women

Earlier this year, I became involved in the project Voices of Our Future with the organization World Pulse Media to help train women around the world to use social media as a tool for social change. A group of 31 women participated in an online training course in citizen journalism and I was honored to work with six of them as an Editorial Midwife, helping them research, write, and present their voices to a growing community.

The women I mentored came from Bolivia, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Alaska, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia. Over the months, our friendship grew and I learned what citizen journalism is really about as they wrote about life in their communities and they issues they face: female genital mutilation, access to information, youth suicide, social inequality, and other subjects. Many of these women struggle to sound their voice in the face of oppressive regimes or smothering patriarchs, but they are determined not to be silenced.

On Sunday, the women submitted their final articles and I was awed by the transformation that had taken place in the period of a few months. These women are emerging writers that are eager to share their experiences of life, their communities, and their struggles and successes as women in the world. I hope you're listening.