A Brief History of Us.
Dykes On Bikes® San Francisco Women’s Motorcycle Contingent started in 1976 on July 4th. A group of lesbians got together and decided to ride together at San Francisco Pride and challenge the “norms” of middle class America. Dykes On Bikes® was born. The challenge was to reclaim the term “dyke” and take the power away from the word and raise the social awareness in both the gay and straight community. As is often times the case with a term that has negative connotations, this was met with resistance. The small group of women who started the ride and term “Dykes On Bikes®” formed a club of their own, it has spread like wildfire through America, Australia and Canada and even parts of Germany and Britain. Thousands upon thousands of gay motorcycling lesbians embrace the term and wear it with pride. The original group have led one of the largest Gay Pride events in north America, San Francisco Pride. San Francisco Pride, the festival and parade is covered by the media world wide.
Reclaiming a word like dyke was met with and still endures harsh resistance today. It was originally formed during the second World War where women were asked to volunteer and recruited to help serve their country in the women’s army corps. They worked as nurses, mechanics, riveters, dispatchers, machinists and all manner of masculine jobs however; when the war was over they were not happy to bow out quietly! “Post-war many women including lesbians declined opportunities to return to traditional gender roles and helped redefine societal expectations that fed the women’s, black and gay liberation movements.”
Since those times the world has seen equalization of women and African Americans throughout most of the free world. Lesbians reclaimed the term dyke and have left no expense unpaid for its usage. In pride parades, dyke marches and the gay games Dykes On Bikes® lead the way, for two reasons really. The first is that in the seventies, motorcycles didn’t do well with being walked for any distance while on, so they were placed first in the line up. The second is that nothing clears a path like a pack of revving motorcycles! The tradition carried on in these events and occurs today. To us dyke is only an insult if you take it as such. The lesbian community, particularly motorcycling lesbians have said, “no more!”
Can the term still get you in a fight? Absolutely! In 2004 the Patent and Trademark offices of the U.S. Government denied the San Francisco chapter the right to trademark the term Dykes On Bikes® stating the term dyke was disparaging. A costly legal battle ensued which was eventually won by the bikers! In 2006 Dykes On Bikes® became trademarked and is now a registered motorcycle club in 5 countries. The mission of Dykes On Bikes® is “an organization committed to creating a local community of women motorcyclists and friends of women motorcyclists. Our mission is to support philanthropic endeavors in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and women’s communities and beyond, and reach out to empower a community of diverse women through rides, charity events, Pride events and education. “
In March of 2008 I was given permission to start the first officially recognized Detroit Chapter of Dykes On Bikes®. We are a group of women raising awareness in the local community that we do exist, and we are proud of our roots and vehicles! I opened the chapter to create camaraderie for gay motorcycling women in an area that is full of women bikers. We accept and ride all manner of two wheeled vehicles from Harley’s to Honda’s to scooters. We go to swap meets and shows and have monthly rides during riding season. We raise funds and are a nonprofit C corporation in the state of Michigan.
We know there has been a lot of negativity, we didn’t create it, we were merely stuck with it and for decades we have had to endure it’s insensitivity. But we are coming out of the shadows and jokes, curses and blight and wearing our colors. We are women, we are bikers, we are here to stay.
