Book Review

Bike Lust: Harleys, Women and American Society
By Barbara Joans
(University of Wisconsin Press, 2001).

Nan Curtis

Barbara Joans’ Bike Lust: Harleys, Women and American Society provides an in-depth look at not only Harley-Davidson (H-D) culture in the United States, but also offers invaluable insight, from an anthropologist’s in-the-field point of view regarding women and Harley-Davidsons. Joans is thorough and scientific in her research, yet reports with a personal style of writing that allows her to do more tha n simply inform her readers; she engages them.

Bike Lust is divided into four major sections: History and Structure; Cultural Analysis; Jamming the Wind; and Polemics and Philosophy. Any of these sections ca n stand alone, and Joans more tha n sufficiently outlines in her preface what the reader should expect, including a synopsis of each chapter. She also provides an extensive glossary and citation list as end matter.

Part One, History and Structure, examines the evolution of H-D motorcycles and culture. Joans provides an overview of Harley Davidson’s popularity and attributes much of the company’s success to the mind-set of World War II veterans. She explains that when U.S. vets returned from the war, they bought and rode H-Ds as a means of resolving the restlessness and trouble from their war experiences. Joans then offers a detailed analysis of the history and phenomena of H-D culture, including the company’s evolution from the first shed on Juneau Ave in 1903 up to the late 1990s. She also includes personal anecdotes of her and her husband’s experiences with H-D’s and transcribes large portions of interviews with dealers, two H-D newspaper editors, an H-D events coordinator, and a motorcycle insurance salesman.

The majority of the book is comprised of Part Two: Cultural Analysis. In Chapter Five (the first chapter of the section), Joans provides a comprehensive breakdown of the types of contemporary male Harley-Davidson riders: “Old Timer, in his seventies and still riding Harleys. One Percenter, outlaw, club member and patch holder. Ten Percenter, always rode a Harley, not a joiner. Old Biker, rode whatever was available, wrenches his own. New Biker, rode intermittently, just started riding Harleys. Rich Urban Biker, new rider and passionate about it. Occasional Biker, new rider and not so sure of his passion” (63). Each category of motorcyclist is discussed at length and interviews are included.

In Chapter Six, Joans analyzes women’s H-D culture. Although she explains that women riders stand apart from the categories she uses to divide men, she does establish a classificatio n system for women motorcyclists. The initial separation is between women who ride and women who passenger, with most women motorcyclists riding pillion. Between these two groups, the subcategories for women who passenger are: Biker Chick, Lady Passenger, and Passionate Passenger. Lady Passengers are the most common even though societal stereotypes have generally focused on the Biker Chick. Women who ride are categorized as Lady Biker, Woman Biker, and Woman Rider. Joans explains that women riders were not present in large numbers until the late eighties when changing gender roles and improvements in motorcycle technology made riding more feasible for women. As in her discussion of male motorcyclist categories, Joans illustrates her discussion of women who ride and women who passenger with interviews, although with a bit more detail and substance than her interviews with male riders.

Sex and Gender (Chapter Eight) critically dissectsthe various stereotypes that non-riders have typically associated with male and female riders. Joans discusses the phenomena that gave rise to the biker stereotype and explains the role that such stereotypes play in America n society, largely that bikers evoke the public’s admiration or what she calls “wish fulfillment” and its scorn and that the riding female has bee n stereotyped as a gender traitor. To dispel the myth of female rider as gender traitor, Joans continues to relate ample interviews with women motorcyclists, interjecting these interviews with personal anecdotes and with descriptions of historical and contemporary motorcycling activities.

The remainder of Part Two is devoted to a discussion of the more traditional aspects of lifestyle and of clubs. Joans addresses the H-D subculture’s approach to weddings and funerals and to the variety of family life that falls in between. She also explores many of the activities that are inherent to motorcycling, paying particular attention to runs and camping. In the final portion of this section, she discusses various types of Harley-Davidson clubs, such as HOG (Harley Owners Group), ABATE (American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education), AMA (American Motorcyclist Association), and more specialized groups, such as those whose members are lesbian H-D riders. It is in this section that she provides the most personal anecdotes and interviews.

Of the ever-increasing number of monographs devoted to women motorcyclists, Bike Lust is one of the most comprehensive. Engaging and informative, Joans reveals in her writing not only her skill in anthropology, but also a gift in relating a story. Fact and anecdote are skillfully blended and presented.

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