On the road to sustainable mobility : shared space, gendered conflicts and micro-politics in everyday traffic interaction

• When cyclists begin to take up more space in traffic than before, conflicts appear. In ‘cycling friendly’ Sweden, there have been media reports about hatred against cyclists when describing the antagonism between (male) cyclists and (male) car drivers, as well as between cyclists and pedestrians, in traffic-dense environments. Despite the current political renaissance of cycling in Sweden, the proportion of personal trips in which the bike is the main mode of transport has remained largely unchanged over the past fifteen years. This has in part been linked to cyclists’ experiences of insecurity in traffic space. Therefore, conflicts between more or less vulnerable road users are becoming increasingly important to investigate in a society where car normativity needs to be challenged in favor of more sustainable travel.The aim of this presentation is to, based on Swedish media material, interviews and cyclists online discussion-forums, present the risk-negotiations that cyclists perform and to discuss their situation in a car-normative environment from a gender and violence perspective. What forms of risk negotiations do cyclists perform in their everyday traffic environment? How can this be understood in relation to gender and violence? The presentation argues that cyclists are being positioned in contradictory ways: both as vulnerable and exposed, as well as particularly dangerous road users in need of disciplining and interventions. The results suggest that not only do cyclists negotiate their situation by viewing themselves as drivers would, namely as more or less invisible. They are also subjected to what has been called ‘cycling hate’: discursive and even physical violence directed towards cyclists for taking up ‘too much’ traffic space from motorists. Hence, the act of swapping our everyday modes of transport for more environmentally sustainable alternatives implies a challenge to normative assumptions in a car-normative environment, including shifts in, masculinities and men’s road practices.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Genusstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Gender Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

cycling

conflicts

space

micro-politics

masculinity

violence

Gender Studies

Genusvetenskap

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)