History of a Harlot

Language is a funny thing. Words can have multiple meanings and change over time. "Awful" used to mean awe-inspiring, and "artificial" used to mean artistic. (Not to mention silly linguistics such as "phat".) If you don't like a word's meaning, change it!
That's what were trying to do with Harlot. There is something to be said for labeling yourself before someone else does it for you. If a bunch of us start calling ourselves harlots, and we are all smart, self-reliant, independent women, then the word starts to be associated with strong women rather than loose women. (Not that there is anything wrong with being loose!) Over time, any derogatory power that word had is removed. Don't you think we owe it to our foremothers of the bicycle who endured name-calling and ridicule just so we can all ride our bikes to make that happen?

In the late 1800's women began to ride bicycles.

These first brave women were often ridiculed, as bicycling was generally considered unsuitable for women at the time. With the unladylike body position, the need to alter the conservative dress code of the era, and the possibility of falling (bruises were so unsexy back then), cycling was seen as an activity of loose women or harlots.

As more women started riding, it became apparent that there needed to be some serious changes to their long, heavy dresses in order to make it more safe to ride bikes. This led to the "rational dress" movement that protested against any clothing for women that "deforms the figure, impedes the movement of the body, or in any way tends to injure the health. It protests against the wearing of tightly fitted corsets, of high-heeled or narrow toed boots and shoes; of heavily weighted skirts, as rendering healthy exercise almost impossible.... ". As you can imagine, this movement infuriated many conservatives. Women who wore bloomers or other forms of altered dress while riding their bikes were fined and treated like prostitutes.

Critics warned that the "unfettered liberty of bicycling would intoxicate women to immoral acts" and that the bicycle "promoted immodesty in women". As Clare S. Simpson noted, "The independent mobility of cyclists raised genuine alarm for their physical, if not moral, safety; simply put, the bicycle could easily take women to unsavoury places where they might be endangered physically ... or morally. Drawing on previous knowledge of the kinds of women who deliberately made themselves conspicuous in public, that is, prostitutes, there would be a strong tendency to conclude that cycling women were far from respectable: not exactly prostitutes, perhaps, but possibly women of loose morals or with an undeveloped sense of propriety."

Women just put their chins up and pedaled on.

In 1893, a supporter of women cyclists said "Woman has taken her stand, and her seat in the saddle. I am tolerably certain that the net result will be that woman will take her true position as man's equal."

In 1896 Susan B Anthony said "Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than any single other thing in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."

Many people ask us about the name Harlot. Certainly, an old word for prostitute might seem like an odd thing to name a company after. We actually have a good reason that makes sense to us. It involves the history of women on bicycles, the reclaiming of a derogatory word, and little tongue-in-cheek fun.

Here's the history part:

Not EXACTLY a prostitute...