[sarahG]

My 5 yr old dd has been noticing and therefore asking about women who ride on the back of motorcycles. I told her my mom had her own motorcycle, but that doesn't change the fact that all the women she sees are on the back of motorcycles. She's already talking about when she'll get married, and assessing the boys she knows for a good husband, and "wants to be a mom when she grows up," etc etc, so I don't know how to answer her motorcylce question w/o giving her any more reason to think a woman *needs* a man. It's not a pressing issue at the moment, it only comes up occasionally, but I thought maybe somebody would have some suggestions.....?
Thanks Mamas
Sarah

 

[stafl]

what's the problem? whenever I ride a motorcycle, it's on the back, right behind DH. I honestly don't care to have my own bike. I have a friend who rides her own motorcycle, and she's faster and a better rider than her DH who introduced her to the sport. How would your child know if a person inside a full-face helmet and racing leathers is a woman or a man, anyway? Or are you only talking about half-naked people riding cruisers from bar to bar? Maybe you should expose her to road racing instead. There are some really fast female motorcycle racers.

hmmm... that's the angle I would take - helmets and leathers are important safety gear. Women might be less likely to want to scrape their skin off in an accident, and are more likely to wear appropriate safety gear, which would hide the fact that they are women. The women she sees half-naked on the back of bikes are not the only women riding them.

 

[KalamazooMom]

Hmmm, I haven't had this particular question from my DD before, but she does seem to be awfully impressionable about the gender roles she sees. I am totally NOT a girly girl, don't wear high heels or make up, I work FT outside the home, DH is a SAHD and she sees pretty non traditional gender roles, but still she says a lot of the kinds of things you describe about wanting to have a wedding and a husband, has a fixation with high heels and lipstick, etc. I still don't totally understand where all of that comes from. I've basically decided to just show her a lot of options and point out all the varieties of men and women and what they do.

 

[its_our_family]

What was the question?? WHy do women ride on the back??

If so, it is the same thing as why are women the ones in the passanger seat of a car? They are just a passanger. It has nothing to do with ability to do it herself.

I ride on the back and I drive the motorcycle. Ever seen a man on the back of a bike with a woman driving? I have. It is the same thing. Some times women are passengers and sometimes women are drivers

It also has to do with the fact that "hystorically" (if you can even say that) women wern't supposed to ride their own bike. But luckily that is a trend that is slowly falling away. There are some women out there on hot bikes!

 

[moondiapers]

I think it's because statistically speaking, more men than women own motorcycles....and it's usually the owner that's driving. I don't let other ppl drive my car, etc. Until I was married and it became "our" car.