The Social Practice and Regulation of Cycling as "A Boy’s Thing" in Irish Secondary Schools

Abstract

Despite low levels of cycling to secondary education across the adolescent population in Ireland, there is, in addition, a pronounced inequality in rates of ridership between teenage girls and boys, with nearly 10 times as many boys cycling to school compared to girls. In light of this disparity, the Green-Schools #andshecycles campaign was created to explore and address the cycling gender gap among second-level students. Emerging from this campaign, this paper details qualitative research exploring this gender gap, drawing on focus groups with teenage girls and boys across Ireland. Using grounded theory methodology, a theory of cycling as "A Boy's Thing" was generated. This theory makes sense of how cycling as a social practice is continually enacted, reproduced and regulated as a practice of and for boys among Irish adolescents, through related practices of exemplifying masculinity, incompatible femininity and processes of gender regulation. It has significant implications in considering the effects of gender as a configuration of social practice (Connell, 2005) or performance (Butler, 1990) on cycling, and how cycling is a uniquely gendered practice/performance in particular contexts. In terms of limitations, this theory was generated using only focus group data from second-level students in Ireland.  Future development of the theory and its concepts could draw on historical data and involve more comprehensive engagement with gender theory and research investigating the practice and regulation of masculinities and femininities.  

Keywords

• cycling
• gender
• school
• harassment
• femininity
• masculinity