Pathway 1. Written Research Project
Topic/Working Title-
How has female biking changed over the years and has documentary portrait photography had an impact on how women bikers are viewed, inside and outside of the biking community?
Keywords-
Motorcycles, Female Bikers, Stigma, Biking groups, Symbolise, Lifestyle, Iconic women, Appearance, Biking community, Globalisation, Documentation, Media, Photography, History
Introduction-
- How has the history of female biking changed since the 1930’s up till current day?
- Is there still a stigma around female bikers and the female biking community?
- Do motorcycle brands such as, Harley Davidson, Triumph and Indian promote female biking with in their industries, if so, how is this done?
Research background and Questions-
Primary research includes-
- Getting involved with female bikers and female biking groups, speaking to them about their experiences within the biking community and being a part of an all-female biker group, such as, The Litas
- I have also got in touch with the Editorial assistant of ‘Bike’ magazine about her experiences with the female biking community and as to whether she feels there is still a stigma revolving around biking and it most prominently being focused around the male riders as opposed to the female riders.
- I am also going to be carrying out interviews with individuals from different biking groups, including ones situated in the UK as well as ones in America, especially as biking and female biking is very well known in America.
- I have also attended a couple of biking events, such as, the NEC Motorcycle show which takes place in Birmingham each year in November, this has furthered my knowledge about how Biking brands, such as, Indian are becoming more inclusive of women and using them in their advertising.
Secondary Research-
- I have also begun to take out books from the library for example ‘Bikers Culture, Politics and Power’ with a section looking at Women riders and the Motorcycle riding community.
- I have also been looking at online articles looking at the history of women motorcycle riders and how female biking communities have evolved over time.
- I have been carrying out research by looking at biking Magazines, such as ‘Bike’, ‘Ride’ … and although a lot of the content is to do with male bikers, there are still some sections that include female riders and how they first got into biking
- I am also currently working on finding archives, such as old newspaper articles and images that could help to give me a further insight into the project that I am undertaking and be able to understand how female biking has evolved over time, and whether it has changed much since the first female rider came about to more current times.
Research Methods
- Books from the library
- Archives e.g. Old magazines/ Newspaper articles/ Images
- Interviews with individuals from the female biking community
- Interviews with some of the well-known biking brands, such as, Harley Davidson, Indian and Triumph.
- Artist research- Looking at artists such as, Bill Ray, David Mann, Grace Roselli, Hassan Hajjaj.
Schedule of work-
- Introduction- (500 words)- Including the question and a brief discussion about what my dissertation is about and what I am going to be looking at within it.
- Chapter one – (1500 words)- Talking about the history of biking and female biking, including points such as who was the first female biker, when was the first all-female biking group first started, what judgement did this individual/group of individuals face during this time- was it positive or negative. For this part I will be using the secondary research that I have collated, including archives and online research.
- Chapter two – (1500 words)- Artist research, looking at artist who have worked closely with female biking communities and female riders, for example, Bill Ray, David Mann, Grace Roselli and Hassan Hajjaj. Looking at their experiences that they had working with the female riders, including their thoughts and feelings whilst photographing them, conversations that they had with these individuals. I also will be looking at how they use photography in order to portray these women and groups of women, whether they were using it as a method of documentation, using it to inform other individuals or was it used to make a point or change a stigma surrounded with female riders and female biking communities.
- Chapter three – (2000 words) – Primary Research, including interviews with female riders and female biking groups, about their experiences with being a female rider and possibly some of the challenges that they have faced whilst being a biker. I will also be looking at whether they still feel that there is a stigma around biking and female riders or whether they feel that over the years this has reduced, and biking is for both male and female.
I will also be discussing some of the information about the evolution of female bikers, and the number of female riders who are now purchasing their own bikes, this will be taken from the interviews that I will have had with brands such as Harley Davidson, Indian and Triumph. And from also speaking to an editorial assistant of ‘Bike’ magazine; Colleen Dixon and get an insight into her experience within the industry and whether she has faced any negativity whilst working for a company that is mostly made up of male individuals. - Conclusion- (500 words)- Conclude the essay, looking at whether I have been able to answer my question and whether there would be any additional research that I would need to carry out.
Bibliography-
Online research-
- Female First. 2019. Five female British bikers you need to know about. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/features/five-female-british-bikers-need-to-know-1181175.html. [Accessed 15 November 2019].
- Huck. 2017. The all-female motorbike crew inspiring a new era of riders. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.huckmag.com/outdoor/bikes/vc-london-all-female-motorbike-crew-women/. [Accessed 15 November 2019].
- Timeline. 2017. The women of the Hell's Angels were bad, brassy, bombshell 'old ladies'. [ONLINE] Available at: https://timeline.com/women-hells-angels-ladies-3134cbae0776 [Accessed 15 November 2019].
- The Guardian. 2015. Women shift gears in motorcycle culture: 'It's about being on the front of the bike'. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/aug/16/women-motorcycle-culture-litas-utah [Accessed 15 November 2019].
- We Buy Any Bike. 2016. There is an increase in female motorcycle riders! Why is this?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://webuyanybike.com/blog/we-buy-any-bike-increase-female-motorcycle-riders/ . [Accessed 15 November 2019].
Books-
- McDonald-Walker, S., 2000. Bikers Culture, Politics and Power. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Oxford International Publishers.
Ethical Considerations-
- Because my project is just about female bikers, I don’t want to come across as being sexist towards men, so its making sure that the way that I talk about the biking community isn’t disrespectful and that I use the right terminology.
- Within my primary research I am using individuals, it is important that no personal information is included. It is also important that when interviewing them that I don’t change what they have said, so that it could be seen as invalid research as I would have tampered with the findings.
- I will also have to receive permission for each individual used within my project before I can use any of the information or images that they have provided me with, and document this correctly so that it cant be seen as plagiarism.
