CYCLING

The bicycle offered women freedom from constraints of their daily lives, a latitude that was not welcomed by many, yet was gradually accepted as cycling gained a following of women. The popularity of cycling among women necessitated addressing the unsuitability of women’s clothing, and the problems that it created for women attemtpting to ride a bicycle. It was restrictive, bulky, and was a safety concern in that excess drapery could have been snagged on the crankset or caught in the turning wheels. In 1881 the Rational Dress Society, in London, founded by Lady Florence Harberton, a cyclist and an advocate of exercise for women proposed the wearing of a divided skirt over a pair of bloomers or other under trousers.

The bicycle permitted the freedom to travel and ability to break away from wearing conventional clothing, therefore cycling was directly related to “The New Woman” that was emerging in the 1890s. She was a modern woman who defined her own role in society. Many chose to forgo marriage and child rearing and worked outside the home, or became politically active in women’s  social issues.