Don't scratch a match on the seat of your bloomers and other 1895 advice for women cyclists

03 JANUARY, 2012

A List of Don’ts for Women on Bicycles Circa 1895

by Maria Popova
“Don’t ask, ‘What do you think of my bloomers?’”


We’ve already seen how the bicycle emancipated women, but it wasn’t exactly a smooth ride. The following list of 41 don’ts for female cyclists was published in 1895 in the newspaper New York World by an author of unknown gender. Equal parts amusing and appalling, the list is the best (or worst, depending on you look at it) thing since the Victorian map of woman’s heart.

• Don’t be a fright.
• Don’t faint on the road.
• Don’t wear a man’s cap.

more via brainpickings.org