2018 SpokesPeople Series

Presenter

Caitlin Starr Cohn, Ph.D

Description:

Women cycling in the nineteenth century often is associated with the image of a “liberated” woman riding in bloomers. The history of women’s cycling, however, existed in tension between the progress the bicycle allowed and most wheelwomen’s need to be perceived as respectable. This talk address the way that discourse around women’s dress both reinforced social norms and helped legitimize the idea of cycling as an appropriate activity for women.

Bio:

Caitlin Starr Cohn earned a Ph.D in Apparel Studies from the University of Minnesota. She completed her dissertation on women’s bicycling dress from 1868-1900. In 2011 she became obsessed with cycling and eventually realized that she could combined bicycles and clothing into one research project. Her research focuses on how women’s cycling dress was written about and depicted in nineteenth century media.

Image 1- Velocipede race in the Bois du Boulogne, Harper’s Bazaar, December 5, 1868.

Illustration of fashionable woman and bicycle, May 1897.

Studio portrait with bicycle, mid-1890s.

General 2018 SpokesPeople Series Information:

Noon - 4pm, Open Vault

1pm - 2pm, SpokesPeople speakers in the theater

Open Vault and talks are at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 519 Oak Grove St, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Enter via the blue “Welcome” awning on the east side of the church. Free parking available by the entrance.

Light refreshments will be available after each talk.

Questions? Email info@cmm.bike