2026-07-08 06:59 UTC
Replies (19)
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@likse@mastodon.nu 2026-07-08 07:26
@juliette@mastodon.green south west Skåne Sweden, in urban areas no noticed difference, in the rural areas bike commuters are mostly middle aged with little gender skew, the high school kids get free public transport so possibly that makes fewer teenagers on bikes
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@sorenhave@mastodon.nu 2026-07-08 18:39
@juliette@mastodon.green I live in central Copenhagen, and haven’t noticed any difference (I have two daughters that have biked since kindergarten and see it as a joy and a great freedom).
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@BongoTwisty@social.vivaldi.net 2026-07-08 10:08
@juliette@mastodon.green There was a report last year exploring how children in the UK get about in their area. The report highlighted something similar to what you describe. Looks like an equity issue rather than one of preference. A gender gap exists in children's cycling Proportion of children who cycled at least five times in the last week 17% of girls 28% of boys Proportion of children who think their local area is a good place to cycle 66% of girls 72% of boys Proportion of children who see themselves as someone who often cycles 8% of girls 17% of boys https://www.walkwheelcycletrust.org.uk/the-walking-and-cycling-index/childrens-walking-and-cycling-index/
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@CarstenBoll@mstdn.dk 2026-07-08 07:02
@juliette@mastodon.green My eldest and all her friends ride bikes - but no idea if it's representative of anything.
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@moz@fosstodon.org 2026-07-08 07:05
@juliette@mastodon.green round the Wollongong waterfront/beaches (NSW, Australia) teenage girls on ebikes are a common sight. I suspect I've seen a few pedalling bicycles, but like a lot of people in the area electric "bicycles" that look like motorbikes are extremely common but pedalling those is rare. In the car-dependent hellscape of the surrounding city and suburbs male cyclists are pretty rare and teenage girls on bicycles even more so. I have seen them though. #BikeTooter
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@moz@fosstodon.org 2026-07-08 07:07
@juliette@mastodon.green Where I actually live, middle of Sydney, bicycles are pretty rare in general. But the few I see are either male or middle-aged women, all of us commuting to or from work on the bike paths. There are boys on e-motorbikes in the afternoon, I don't recall seeing girls doing that. E-motorbikes are _A Problem_ here right now. #BikeTooter
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@EF@mastodon.bsd.cafe 2026-07-08 07:29
@juliette@mastodon.green spend time trying to encourage women on to bikes filor sport and or recreation. Your point is correct, girls seem to shy away from sport or physical exercise more readily that boys. I know some amazing women who ride bikes. Female sports and physical activities are gaining more traction but there is a long way to go.
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@simonbp@social.linux.pizza 2026-07-08 08:56
@juliette@mastodon.green I dunno relative fractions, but last week in suburban Colorado, I distinctly remember two teenage girls zooming past me on one scooter, both seeming to try to strike a pose, because teenagers. Scooters do seem more common for girls/young women.
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@oook@im-in.space 2026-07-08 09:03
@juliette@mastodon.green I have the same observation. It looks to me that comparatively more teenage girls seem to switch to e-scooters or take the bus than boys. e-bike are mostly either expensive recreational tools (e-mtb) or e-cargo for wealthier classes, converted or cheap e-bikes as work tool for delivery riders. I don't see much teenager using them, it seems they'd rather use e-scooters or scooter motorbikes than "pedelec" e-bikes.
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@sallyjeffery@mastodon.scot 2026-07-08 09:20
@juliette@mastodon.green @Pepijn@mastodon.online Also true in my bit of London. Most of them probably not going far, just hanging out together in the neighbourhood. Sometimes two boys on one jailbroken Limebike and their friends running behind.
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@cford@toot.thoughtworks.com 2026-07-08 09:53
@juliette@mastodon.green I reckon similar bike situation in Australia. Electric scooters however are used by all genders equally in Spain, where I live now. My impression cause is gender encoding around exertion and greater pressure on girls to be presentable and not e.g. sweaty after a ride.
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@pencilears@mastodon.eternalaugust.com 2026-07-08 10:34
@juliette@mastodon.green well, biking to go places when most of the infrastructure is built for cars isn't safe, mountain biking isn't safe, BMX biking isn't safe. and then after the safety concerns? Biking to go places tends to lead to being at least a bit sweaty and grimy when you're done, and after all that you're also obligated to look after the dang machine. All of this is pretty dang gendered. It's not surprising a lot of girls and women opt out of bikes.
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@aaron@cutie.city 2026-07-08 10:39
@juliette@mastodon.green In my part of London I rarely see what I presume to be girls riding bikes beyond about 10 years old. They walk to school and occasionally (maybe 1 in 50?) I will see a couple riding, but recreationally I never see it unless with their parents. The boys are 50/50 as to whether they are on foot or on a bike all of the time. For these horrible rental e-bikes, they are always driven by boys.
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@benjamineskola@hachyderm.io 2026-07-08 10:46
@juliette@mastodon.green I haven’t really counted obviously but this sounds like it might also be true of London. I seem to see younger children on bikes regardless of gender, but teenagers mostly boys. Not exclusively though.
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@CosmickTrigger@social.edist.ro 2026-07-08 11:08
@juliette@mastodon.green I never thought about it before but that seems to be a thing in TV and movies. (E.T. comes to mind) It's always boys riding bikes, not girls. Or, if it is a girl, she's always got a boy riding beside her. And even in my Texas town I rarely see girls on bikes, and you're talking about Europe, where I was led to believe that EVERYONE rides bikes.
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@jan@social.eden.one 2026-07-08 17:48
@juliette@mastodon.green Since rental e-scooters have been available in my (large) city in Germany, I mostly see teens riding these.
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@jappel@wandering.shop 2026-07-08 19:56
@juliette@mastodon.green Two data points from the US, suburban east coast. In my neighborhood I don't see many teens on bikes at all; mostly elementary and pre-teen kids. That seems to skew towards boys but I just saw three girls riding together the other day. On the campus of my university just outside of Washington DC, LOTS of bikes, and probably a 50/50 split. That's not counting all the micro-mobility scooters, which I think leads towards the femme side.
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@cyklisten@mstdn.dk 2026-07-08 23:10
@juliette@mastodon.green I can´t say that I have noticed the thing you´re seeing. But I have seen many young women in cars. And a decline in cycling among young people in general. (I hate the previous government for lowering the legal age for driving. )
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@mosgaard@uddannelse.social 2026-07-09 18:55
@juliette@mastodon.green here in rural Herning it’s very 50/50. There is a long bike path from our small town to the bigger town with the local school, and I see plenty of youngsters riding their bike each morning.