02 Bicycle Girl. By Krausz, Sigmund
Though a „fin de siecle“ product she is not necessarily a new woman. If not always a picture of feminine grace on the wheel, she represents, as a rule, vigor and health off the wheel. The world has arrived at a point where it does not look askance at a maiden devoted to healthful, invigorating sport.
The bicycle girl does not necessarily loose any of the sweet feminine graces that the sturdier sex so much admires, for indulging in an outdoor exercise which can only be beneficial to her constitution. If „mens sana in corpere sano“ applies to man why not to woman? If the lord of creation needs a sturdy constitution to fulfill his part during his short sojourn in the universe why not woman? Long enough has she been kept from the pleasures and benefits of athletic exercises by the conventionalities of society. She can only be congratulated for breaking loose from long established prej udices. The world will be all the better off for it, as the result can be no other than happier matrimony and strong and vigorous motherhood.
The question has been raised as to the moral influence of bicycle exercise upon our girls. Some have condemned the whole sport on account of a few exceptional cases that have come under their observation, where a dire result might perhaps be traced indirectly to the innocent bicycle. To condemn a healthful exercise on such trivial grounds is like throwing a beautiful apple away on account of a small speck of dirt on its skin. Looking at our bicycle girl in the illustration one cannot but receive the impression that the American girl can, under all circumstances, well take care of herself. Give her, therefore, more elbow-room. She is all right!
The bicycle girl does not necessarily loose any of the sweet feminine graces that the sturdier sex so much admires, for indulging in an outdoor exercise which can only be beneficial to her constitution. If „mens sana in corpere sano“ applies to man why not to woman? If the lord of creation needs a sturdy constitution to fulfill his part during his short sojourn in the universe why not woman? Long enough has she been kept from the pleasures and benefits of athletic exercises by the conventionalities of society. She can only be congratulated for breaking loose from long established prej udices. The world will be all the better off for it, as the result can be no other than happier matrimony and strong and vigorous motherhood.
The question has been raised as to the moral influence of bicycle exercise upon our girls. Some have condemned the whole sport on account of a few exceptional cases that have come under their observation, where a dire result might perhaps be traced indirectly to the innocent bicycle. To condemn a healthful exercise on such trivial grounds is like throwing a beautiful apple away on account of a small speck of dirt on its skin. Looking at our bicycle girl in the illustration one cannot but receive the impression that the American girl can, under all circumstances, well take care of herself. Give her, therefore, more elbow-room. She is all right!
Dieses Kapitel ist Teil des Buches STREET TYPES GREAT AMERICAN CITIES
