Ep. 1 Taking on the Town Square
Few things changed the public landscape for women quite like the advent of bicycles, and yet, when we look around at the narratives being told about the modern cyclist today, it can seem like some of us have been written out of the storyline somewhere.
Episode 1 of Dynamo Jenny the podcast dives into the past, comparing the revolutionary promise of the bicycle with the current state of inequity in professional cycling and the media’s portrayal of who rides.
Research by Dr. Cheryl Cooky posits that “positive images of female athletes and of women’s sports send a powerful message to girls and women, and more importantly to boys and men, that we value women athletes in our society.” And if we take the liberty to extend that idea beyond athletics, we can say the same for adventure.
Featuring
Tessa Hulls, artist/writer/adventurer
Tessa is voracious in all things she does: books, bicycle travel, art, and history. She is a lecturer on “Women, Trans, and Femme Riders in Early Cycling History” and “She Traveled Solo: Strong Women in the Early 1900s.”
She is currently working on her graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts — the story of her mom and grandma fleeing China as refugees — forthcoming in fall of 2022 from MCDxFSG.
Visit her website and follow her on Instagram.
Anna Brones, writer/artist/producer
Anna is the author of many bicycle- and food-related books: The Culinary Cyclist; Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break; Paris Coffee Revolution; Hello, Bicycle; Best Served Wild: Real Food for Real Adventures; and Live Lagom: Balanced Living the Swedish Way.
She is currently working on the Women’s Wisdom Project, a series featuring 100 papercut portraits of amazing women and their insight.
Find out more on her website and on Instagram too.
Nicole Formosa, journalist/Editor-in-Chief
Nicole is a journalist who has worked in the bicycle industry for over 12 years, first at the top industry publication Bicycle Retailer & Industry News and then at Bike Magazine. She is Bike’s first female Editor-in-Chief.
Find her work at Bike.
Related Reading/Watching
List of Don’ts for Lady Cyclists, 1895
Wheel Within a Wheel by Frances Willard
Bike Lanes are White Lanes by Melody L. Hoffman
Dr. Cheryl Cooky’s TedTalk
Cover the Athlete Campaign
Instructions for Learning to Ride a Bicycle: A Music Video
