Cycle News

P102 CN III CROSS-RUTTED BY JEAN TURNER D id you hear that, everyone? Ladies now comprise 19% of motorcycle owners in the U.S.! The MIC revealed its finding that women are taking up ownership at a rapid rate, increas- ing from one in 10 about a decade ago to one in five today. Given the downward trend of the Boomer generation in motorcycling, female owners could rise to a full quarter in the not-to-distant future. There seems to be something about the number 19 that inher- ently relates to women on the rise. The 19th amendment (women's suffrage), was passed by the U.S. Senate in 1919 (later ratified by the states in 1920). One hundred years later as we head into 2019, I'm proud to be a part of that 19% of lady riders. And I'm also very encouraged by the number of industry people (business owners, race promot- ers, etc.) that have asked me about ways to reach more women riders. It's wonderful to hear that appealing to lady riders is on the minds of companies, and I'm glad to hear questions like, "How do we get more women to come race our series?" "What do you think women are looking for in gear?" and "If we offered this to women, would this be appealing, or would it come across as insulting?" I want to take a moment to talk about that last question. It takes guts to ask that, and let me point out that it is a fair question. One, I thanked this person for asking. The simple truth is that address- ing women in motorcycling can be complicated. On one hand you're reaching out to a distinct subset of the con- sumer base that is, in fact, differ- ent. At the same time, you're ac- knowledging a distinction among a group of riders who might resent being called out as differ- ent. When you single out women riders, you've made the point that we're not the same. What exactly is your message? How do you view our needs as different? Careful, that's a loaded question. Reaching out to women riders might be a double-edge sword, but I feel many companies will be exploring female-specific out- reach given the latest MIC report. And this is a good thing! But how exactly do companies go about appealing to that 19% of the pie? One year ago Toyota came out with its famous #Makeup2Mud Supercross campaign, honoring female figures in motocross with a new episode at each round of the championship. Super cool to see Toyota showcasing women riders, but there was something about the theme that seemed a little— off. Makeup to mud? What are we saying? That makeup is bad? As we watched the first episode during Anaheim I, the girls in the room looked at each other with half-cocked smiles and shrugs. It was awesome to see women in such a great spotlight, but it had a strange aftertaste. I suppose the question in my mind was: why do we need to jux- tapose a symbol of femininity with dirt bikes? It seems a bit like a IN HER BOOTS

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