"Granny gear" and sexism

[Moderators]

Mod's Note:
numerous off topic posts have been removed.
Please discuss the topic not the poster.
Thank you!

 

[Vantage]

This thread is ridiculous.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Thinking about it, I don’t think it’s a phrase I have ever used tbh. Us young folk wouldn’t be seen dead on a triple!

And us old folks would not be seen on anything with gears. Youngsters today, don't even know they have been born.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Me in my granny gear

 

[flake99please]

Me in my granny gear
View attachment 408752

Freemasons meeting?

 

[Fab Foodie]

This thread is ridiculous.

Welcome to Cycle-Chat... have a nice day.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Me in my granny gear
View attachment 408752

@rich p you may have competition....

 

[slowmotion]

@rich p you may have competition....

Nah. There's no crisp packet in sight.

 

[PaulSB]

Thinking about it, I don’t think it’s a phrase I have ever used tbh. Us young folk wouldn’t be seen dead on a triple!

That presumes only triples have a low gear. In fact ever cyclist has a granny gear - it’s the lowest gear on your bike.

When I’m unsure about something like this I ask three good friends of mine - my wife and two other women. I’ll do this later and go with their opinion.

I’m also going to ask them about the term “boy look.” I’m not on a wind up with this.

I don’t know how widespread “boy look” is but locally it’s used when someone fails to find something which is staring them in the face. Based on the principle if you ask a male child to find for example his shoes, he might open his bedroom door, look in and claim he can’t find them!!!!

In my circle “boy look” is used by men and women to describe anyone’s failure to find something which is obvious.

Currently my opinion is while I understand the argument against the term “granny gear” I think it daft to suggest it’s sexist or ageist. I’ll let you know if this changes.

 

[rikki]

Have not heard "boy look", but it's clearly the opposite of a "mother's look". As in "why don't you take a mother's look" or "it took a mother's look".
In my circle you do not have to be a mother or female to "take a mother's look".

 

[bpsmith]

That presumes only triples have a low gear. In fact ever cyclist has a granny gear - it’s the lowest gear on your bike.

When I’m unsure about something like this I ask three good friends of mine - my wife and two other women. I’ll do this later and go with their opinion.

I’m also going to ask them about the term “boy look.” I’m not on a wind up with this.

I don’t know how widespread “boy look” is but locally it’s used when someone fails to find something which is staring them in the face. Based on the principle if you ask a male child to find for example his shoes, he might open his bedroom door, look in and claim he can’t find them!!!!

In my circle “boy look” is used by men and women to describe anyone’s failure to find something which is obvious.

Currently my opinion is while I understand the argument against the term “granny gear” I think it daft to suggest it’s sexist or ageist. I’ll let you know if this changes.

I just went with the definition for granny gear, further up the thread. Wasn’t my place to argue. Anyway, @YukonBoy got the idea that I was just having a laugh and responded accordingly.

I have never heard of Boy Look. Totally get the concept though and that’s generally true in my experience. I wouldn’t take offence at it, whether directly applied to me or indirectly.

To argue otherwise would be as daft as this thread.

 

[slowmotion]

Is the "Boy Look" something like The Bay City Rollers? It's not a good one.

 

[Julia9054]

I just went with the definition for granny gear, further up the thread. Wasn’t my place to argue. Anyway, @YukonBoy got the idea that I was just having a laugh and responded accordingly.

I have never heard of Boy Look. Totally get the concept though and that’s generally true in my experience. I wouldn’t take offence at it, whether directly applied to me or indirectly.

To argue otherwise would be as daft as this thread.

Boy look (man looking is the phrase I've heard) and man flu are part of a culture of infantilising adult males - watch any advert or household products featuring a family. I have a male friend who finds it all very irritating so i now don't use such phrases.

 

[welsh dragon]

This is so funny. I can't remember the last time a thread generated the need to have so many posts by so many members modified and all because of the term 'granny wheel' and people finding it objectionable. Def PC gone mad.

I shall continue to watch this thread for the entertainment value.

 

[User16625]

This cropped up in the "get home after a breakdown" thread, and several people correctly said it was a diversion of a quite useful and interesting thread. So, for anyone interested in discussing this in its own right:

The term "granny gear" is deeply embedded in cycling, is used by most people with no malign intent, but is nonetheless derogatory and sexist.

The paradigm behind it is that cycling is a macho activity; real cyclists ought to be macho enough to cope without low gears; and not subscribing to that macho culture, or simply prefering easier gears, is distinctively female (and, the imagery conveys, old, feeble females at that).

Low gears make cycling easier and more enjoyable. It cannot be anything other than sexist to link a desire for cycling to be easy and enjoyable with women.

It is damaging not just because all prejudice always diminishes all of us, but because the whole sports-derived macho culture of cycling - of which selling ordinary people bikes with unsuitably high gears is part - puts off more people discovering and embracing our wonderful mode of travel, to the detriment of them, us, and the whole of society.

Discuss (if you wish).

-1

Cant stand all this "womens rights" crap thats so hot on the agenda these days. I mean its literally got you (OP) stating that the term granny gear is sexist, FFS. In sports men are naturally more powerful, so associating something thats physically easier to women isn't sexist.