Cycling Cultures: Insights and Methods Thursday, 14 February 2019 Book of abstracts Kate Themen - Examining Gendered Cycling Cultures: Piloting Research Methods for a Study into Women’s Competitive Cycling I undertake a sensory auto-ethnography in order to examine ways that sensory and visual methods can contribute to understandings and representations of women’s experiences in physical activity, particularly in amateur and competitive contexts. Having taken part in several sessions at a velodrome, also taking video footage, I use this as the basis for discussion during our analysis to think about the cycle track as a transitory space, and how it is possible to conceptualise ways in which senses and the body are negotiated in this context. What is it like to become a track cyclist, and to progress on the path of becoming competitive? I present empirical data collected in these track sessions to examine the process of developing a sensory grammar in way that can represent the experiences of women in competitive cycling, and importantly, to challenge the pejorative framing of female physicality.
Marlon Moncrieffe - First Black-British female cyclists My observations and research illustrate a dearth of Black-British female (of African, African-Caribbean, or Asian origins) cycling athletes who have progressed to become national champions or have represented Great Britain and become European or World Champions. I present the four female cyclists who have been able to make this progression at Junior and Senior levels in the sport. However, I will question their sparsity in comparison to the more numerous and well known Black-British females athletes in elite Athletics. These female athletes have been extremely successful as national, European, World and Olympic champions representing Great Britain. National accolades have been bestowed upon them such as Damehoods, BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year Awards, MBEs, OBEs and CBEs. Why have there been hardly any Black-British female elite road and track cyclists gracing the sport as icons in a similar way to Athletics? I will showcase the life-history narrative of one Black-British cycling champion from my research and recent
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