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Spinning around the ”lycra-lout”
Linköping University, The Tema Institute, The Department of Gender Studies. Linköping University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5268-8957
2009 (English)In: Centrum med många riktningar: en vänbok till Gunilla Bjerén, Stockholm: Stockholms universitet , 2009, p. 11-24Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This essay is politically and emotionally written in the vein of cycling, deeply intertwined with my own experiences of such a mundane, nevertheless risky, activity. Of late, cyclists have been regarded as disruptive and dangerous, and for at least a decade the cycling ”Lycra lout” has figured in Anglo-Saxon demonology. Simply put, ‘lycra lout’ is derogatory British slang for an arrogant, road-hogging cyclist supposedly sporty dressed up wearing lycra. In a Swedish context, we may talk of a similar figure, namely “cykelmarodören”, stylishly forcing his way through the busy streets of Stockholm city. Refusing wearing lycra, simply because it would make me look ridiculous, the joys I experience from scooting up the outer lane onto the oncoming traffic would nevertheless make me into a ‘lout’ - at least from the perspective of car drivers. Traffic, the scene of encounters through which I pedal my speedy bike affords not only excitements, it also brings relaxations. I write this text with a feeling of rest throughout my body –a welcomed reward the activity of cycling brings to wind up bodies located within academia. However, writing from the perspective of a male cyclist, this essay aims at bringing attention to risks and risk taking as a traditional aspect of performing masculine behaviour - to prove skill and potency - for example through sorting out a difficult and risky traffic situation.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Stockholms universitet , 2009. p. 11-24
Series
Centrum för genusstudiers skriftserie, ISSN 1100-3103 ; 43
Keywords [en]
Gender, cycling, risk taking, cars, automobility
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-22045ISBN: 91-87792-42-7 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-22045DiVA, id: diva2:242354
Available from: 2009-10-07 Created: 2009-10-07 Last updated: 2020-01-28Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf