Feeling numb and bruised down there after a ride? Here’s why.

It took one single TikTok to ignite a group of people with vulvas to ask why for so long we have accepted pain and numbness while riding a bike. And why it might be time for vulva-centric designs to be offered instead of the 'standard' saddle (at no extra cost). 

We meet again. Yet another problem that could have been avoided if products weren’t designed exclusively by people with penises for use by people with penises.

This time, it’s a bike seat. You know those long, hard leather plinths shaped like the tears we cry when we sit on them? Yep, those.

According to TikTokker Emma J Renner, people with vulvas have all been ‘personally victimised by ‘standard’ bike seats’ and it’s time to uncover why.

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The 24 year-old mechanical and systems engineer explained, “I spent my whole life thinking I can’t bike because I’m not tough enough to stick out the pain, when it turns out that you’re not supposed to have pain in the first place.”

She goes on to explain that women tend to have wider hip placement, so with the thin nature of the seat, we end up with most of our body weight being put on the soft tissue between our legs as opposed to the soft flesh of our butts.

raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by "standard" bike seats🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️ #bike #design #silentmajority #bikeseat #genderequality #fyp #outdoors

Unsurprisingly, there doesn’t appear to be extensive, peer reviewed research on the matter. One study, completed in 2011 found that narrower saddles “negatively affect saddle pressures in female cyclists,” but concluded that further studies on the long-term effects of saddle pressure are “warranted”.

You see, bikes (and thus, bike seats) have a long history of being invented by men. The first Penny Farthing was invented by British engineer James Starley in 1871. These bikes were ridden almost exclusively by men.

Just over 10 years later, in 1885, James’ nephew John Starley created the Rover Safety Bicycle. It had wheels that were more similar in size and was closer in style to the bikes we use today.

Penny Farthings were ridden exclusively by men. Image: iStockSource:BodyAndSoul

The Rover was a lot easier to ride, and many women started to take up this new mode of transport. Some parts of the design were altered later by male inventors (such as dropping the cross bar to allow ladies with skirts to get on and off with ease – but it appears the ‘standard seat’ has remained largely standard.

It’s especially poignant given that bicycles were a key part of the early stages of the feminist movement. The bike allowed women more freedom and agility and also ushered in new changes to apparel so women could ride safely. Many suffragettes would attend rallies, transported via bicycle.

It became so synonymous that some dissenting voices in the medical community coined the term ‘bicycle face’, a supposed malady that would occur to some women who rode often. Vox, reports that this so-called medical phenomenon was used to dissuade or discourage women away from riding bicycles, also designed to curtail this newfound freedom.

A magazine at the time, Munsey’s Magazine, commented (in an 1896 issue) “To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of devices they knew in their work and play. To women, it was a steed upon which they rode into a new world.”

Re-enacting a suffragette on their bike. Image: iStockSource:BodyAndSoul

So, it’s no secret that women have been widespread adopters of cycling. And that as a device, bicycles heralded a new era for women. Yet, it seems most bikes still come with a ‘standard’ style saddle. Buzzfeed reports that an Exploring Wild survey found that of 300 female cyclists, more than half reported pain during their rides.

All these years on, there are now different seats available for people with vulvas to purchase (featuring a wider saddle, better padding and even a breathable cut out where the vulva sits), but this often comes at an additional cost to the woman.

“This is helpful! but can't help feeling annoyed that bikes/bike shops don't just offer this version of the seat when purchasing, feels very pink tax,” one user commented.

Women need to shell out extra cash for vulva-specific seats. Image: iStockSource:BodyAndSoul

Regardless, this single TikTok video has changed millions of women's opinion on bike riding. They have realised that they need not avoid cycling altogether any longer for fear of vulva pain, bruising and swelling.

"So, go buy a seat that's made for you!" Emma says in the video. "And remember, if something feels so uncomfortable, and you feel like you're not tough enough for it, it's probably because the thing isn't built or designed with you in mind, and that's not okay."

She added in a further TikTok that the discussion around bicycle seats adds weight to the notion that women are often socialised to place blame themselves first, rather than the problem itself.

She says that it is a ‘superpower’ for people with vulvas to discuss these struggles en masse, to prove that no, there is nothing wrong with us at all, but rather with the age-old patriarchal designs that have become so ingrained in our culture (see: every cycle seat on every gym bike) that we don’t even question it.

Replying to @caralineodegaard #bike #design #patriarchy #feminism #complain #complainingismysuperpower #fyp

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