This is it:
Spectacular, yes?
Anyone who knows my taste in motorcycles and is reading this is likely very surprised at this point; I’m not known as a particular fan of Harley-Davidson. But this thing? It works on all levels for me. I’d happily ride the wheels off of it, assuming I could afford to build or buy it or a copy.
But I just skimmed the article; I was looking at the photos contained therein, and the last one… ..the last one is of a scantily clad woman, posing with the bike (go look if you want).
Now, most of you reading this also know that in general, I have no particular objection to scantily clad models of any gender. But why the fuck is that photo even there? I know, I know – it’s an old, old trope that goes back at least as far as Easyriders magazine. That doesn’t excuse it. It doesn’t add anything to the aesthetics of the bike itself, it objectifies women, especially women of a certain body type, turning them into just another accessory the a “biker” should own. It’s old, outdated thinking, and the attitudes behind it gives rise to the same shit that’s powering GamerGate and various related obnoxia, the general social discrimination against women, and via that, discrimination against GLBT folk. I know that I’m likely preaching to the choir here, but isn’t it time to give it a bloody rest? Do we, as motorcyclists need any more examples of this? Can we just fucking move on, and talk about the machinery? And perhaps talk about how to end the rampant inequality in our society, instead of paying asswipes like Cyril Huze to keep the status quo going?
Fuck.
So, if anyone was wondering, this kind of thing is why I do not consider myself a “biker”, nor will I ever.