Interesting, possibly slightly muddled; thought-piece.
This part puzzled me...
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"Firstly, the identity of the cyclist is not a homogenous one – internally and externally. This is often painfully evidenced by the internal discussions about what a cyclist ought to do, or not to do – what a real cyclist is. I am tired of these discussions. We also see external discussions about the expectations that are squarely levelled at a “typical cyclist” in the UK. In many ways the UK cyclist is a losing frame, not a winning one – at least currently. The identity of cyclist must be used carefully. Some thoughts
here. Despite the negative frame C-UK does not seem to have an apparent communication strategy how to bridge that divide. I do not see a C-UK inclusively reclaiming effort of the cyclist frame (if this were expressly wished, in actual fact other initatives and projects might be more worthwhile)."
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Surely 'identity politics' exists in order to focus upon, in order to promote; specifically defined identities.
BLM for one example or the LGBT lobbies for others.
Your author seems to want to eat cake and have it too.
Does s/he feel CUK somehow excludes his/her performative identity?
If so, how and for whom? To exclude one performativity creates those eloquent silences wherein other performativities may be privileged. Is the author implying that CUK privileges MAMILs or other cyclist identities at the expense of the author's undefined 'other' silenced cyclist-identities?
WHO? We aren't told.
That "the identity of the cyclist is not a homogenous one – internally and externally.." implies that outreach needs to be diverse in order to reflect and recruit diverse cyclists. Look at us on here.. we're a mixed bunch.
IMO CUK does a pretty good job in reflecting its diverse constituency. I.e. "Us" whereas the author of your quoted thought-piece presents a somewhat hollow thesis. Hollow in the sense that it lacks a subject-centre. We aren't told exactly who it is s/he claims to be excluded.
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Would anyone like to apply a similar analysis to katsdekkers's Cycling Embassy?
