Before We Had RBF, Women Were Warned About Bicycle Face
Before modern women had to contend with accusations of “RBF,” or the idea that a relaxed facial expression can come off as angry or irritated, 19th-century women were warned about “bicycle face.”
This fictitious medical condition wasn’t associated with crashing or being hit by a car, either. Instead, according to the Literary Digest of 1895, doctors claimed, “Over-exertion, the upright position on the wheel, and the unconscious effort to maintain one’s balance tend to produce a wearied and exhausted ‘bicycle face.'”
Those who supposedly suffered from “bicycle face” were said to look “flushed but sometimes pale,” with lips that were “more or less drawn” and dark shadows underneath their eyes. Plus, they apparently “always” had an expression of weariness.
A British doctor named A. Shadwell said that he coined the name of this so-called condition. He was featured in a London National Review article discussing how bicycling was particularly dangerous for women, saying, “Cycling as a fashionable craze has been attempted by people unfit for any exertion.”
As the mythical threat of “bicycle face” spread, the exact details and understanding of it differed. Some people suggested the condition could be permanent, and others stated it would subside following time spent away from bikes.
We know today that “bicycle face” was not real. Rather, its ideation was an attempt to squander women as they gained a new mode of transportation into the world.
The invention of the bicycle, for men, was viewed as a fun toy. For women, however, it was a way to travel freely, meaning the tool became a symbol of feminism.
Bicycles helped increase mobility, lessened clothing restrictions and challenged Victorian views of femininity. But men seemingly did not like that.
This is what led mainly male doctors to begin pointing to various reasons that women shouldn’t ride bikes, using health concerns to conceal their anti-feminist agenda.
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The activity was called unsuitable for women since it was physically taxing, and aside from “bicycle face,” it would supposedly lead to other conditions, including headaches, exhaustion, heart palpitations, insomnia, and depression.
Even after being warned of “bicycle face,” though, many women still enjoyed cycling, and they were forced to follow a variety of rules.
For instance, “Don’t refuse assistance up a hill,” or “Don’t emulate your brother’s attitude if he rides parallel toward the ground.”
It took until the 19th century came to an end for doctors to debunk the myth of “bicycle face” at last. In 1897, Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson spoke out about it in the Phrenological Journal.
“Cycling is not injurious to any part of the anatomy, as it improves the general health. The painfully anxious facial expression is seen only among beginners and is due to the uncertainty of amateurs,” Dr. Stevenson explained.
“As soon as a rider becomes proficient, can gauge her muscular strength, and acquires a perfect confidence in her ability to balance herself and her power of locomotion, this look passes away.”
Even so, the fake condition had already influenced the popularity of cycling, especially among women, highlighting the extreme obstacles that women encountered in their quest for both independence and physical activity.
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