Katja Leyendecker #IdeasWithBeers 9 February 2021

1. The little difference:
cycling, sex and gender
__________
Katja Leyendecker
#IdeasWithBeers
9 February 2021
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2. Susan B Anthony,
wrote in 1896:
“I think [bicycling] has
done more to
emancipate women
than any one thing in
the world”
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3. Women? Gender? What?
Existentialism Essentialism
feminine & masculine woman & man
female & male
Nurture / culture
Learnt behaviour
Nature
In the genes, hormones etc
Gender Sex
Sociology
Psychology
Evolutionary biology
Endocrinology
PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE
Socially constructed given by nature
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4. 4 / 13
Terminology
Binary system : dichotomy / either-or)
Gender conformity : or else: social penalising)
Hetero-normativity : sanctioned sexual preference
Androcentricity : male/man as normal/yardstick
Epigenetics : switching on and off of genes /
production of hormones ie proteins, neurotransmitters
etc)

5. The personal is spatial
NOW
Cycleway-activism
Re-organisation of public space
Participation in public life
Enabling cycling for all
Structural
Social
rights
Personal
responsibility
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PREVIOUSLY...
Cyclist-activism
Vehicular cycling
Identity, exclusionary
Rights and respect

6. Sex differences I
Women's travel is more sustainable.
EU27, source Civitas (2014)
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7. women
men
(NTS)
7
Sex differences II

8. All trips
Commute
Care / maintenance
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9. Where women cycle...
Women's
participation
Cycle mode share
Berlin
Tokyo
Städte in USA, UK, Aus, NZ
KOP
AMS
Graph:
Garrard,
J.,
et
al.
(2012).
Women
and
cycling.
City
cycling.
J.
Pucher
and
R.
Buehler,
Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology
(MIT).
red
:
UK
Census
2011,
blue:
VEP
Bremen
2025
Newcastle
Bremen
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10. Eurofund 2018:7
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Sex differences III

11. 11 / 13
Three thoughts
1 ) “Getting people cycling” is a spatio-political
exercise.
2 ) Play with your data! For effective spatial policy,
differentiate: which category is serves whom:
●
Datasets by sex (wo/man)
●
Datasets by gendered activity (f.e. journey type)
3 ) Putting emphasis on care/maintenance journeys (ie
way from commute) assists neighbourly/citizen
realities and community life

12. References
My PhD thesis https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.799745
Civitas. ‘Smart Choices for Cities - Gender Equality and Mobility: Mind the Gap!’ Policy Note. Civitas Policy Notes,
2014. http://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/civ_pol-an2_m_web.pdf.
DfT. ‘Transport Statistics Great Britain 2017’, 2017.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/661933/tsgb-
2017-report-summaries.pdf.
Eurofund. ‘Women in Management : Underrepresented and Overstretched?’ Policy brief. Working Conditions.
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018.
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef18018en.pdf.
Garrard, Jan, Susan Handy, and Jennifer Dill. ‘Women and Cycling’. In City Cycling, edited by John Pucher and
Ralph Buehler. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 2012.
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13. My publications
Leyendecker, Katja ‘Call to Action: Towards a Practice of Inclusive Road Safety’. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers -
Municipal Engineer 172, no. 1 (2019): 10–17.
———. ‘Framing the Potential Cyclist’. Applied Mobilities 0, no. 0 (18 May 2020): 1–15.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23800127.2020.1764238.
———. ‘Greater Manchester’s Cycling Plan Is a Radical, Much-Needed Approach – Now It Needs Funding’. The Conversation, 14
February 2020. http://theconversation.com/greater-manchesters-cycling-plan-is-a-radical-much-needed-approach-now-it-needs-
funding-131419.
———. ‘Stop That Car, and Plan Cities around Bikes to Make Cycling a Real Option for More Women’. The Conversation, 2 August
2019. http://theconversation.com/stop-that-car-and-plan-cities-around-bikes-to-make-cycling-a-real-option-for-more-women-120842.
———. ‘Trust Me, I’m a Cyclist | The Northern Correspondent’, 20 October 2014. https://northerncorrespondent.com/2014/10/20/trust-
me-im-a-cyclist/.
———. ‘What Constructs a Cycle City? A Comparison of Policy Narratives in Newcastle and Bremen’. In The Politics of Cycling
Infrastructure: Spaces and (in)Equality, edited by Till Koglin and Peter Cox, 113–31. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 2020.
https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-politics-of-cycling-infrastructure-in-europe.
———. ‘Women Activists’ Experience of Local Cycling Politics’. PhD, Northumbria University, 2019.
https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.799745.
- - - and book reviews - - -
———. ‘Book Review: Bike Nation - How Cycling Can Save the World’. Journal of Transport Geography, 15 May 2020, 102735.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102735.
———. ‘Book Review: Designing for Cycle Traffic - International Principles and Practice’. Journal of Transport Geography, 14 May
2020, 102736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102736.
———. ‘Book Review: Mobility Patterns and Urban Structure’. Urban Design International 21, no. 3 (2016): 276–77.
https://doi.org/10.1057/udi.2016.4.
———. ‘Book Review: Valuing Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research - beyond Impact’. Journal of Transport Geography, February
2020, 102667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102667.
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