July 24, 2007

"The motorcycle has always been a phallus substitute"
posted by Argh 17 years ago
  • What the hell was the article about? That bikes are an irresistible sex symbol? That they are dangerous, possibly deadly? That they are more sexy than they are dangerous? That their marketing is exploitative? If there is a thesis there, it eludes me completely. I doubt that an apparent surfeit of bikes is the greatest of India's social ills. In fact, I think bike usage should be encouraged as they are much more fuel efficient and cause less congestion than cars and busses. Also, lecturing about helmets and whatever to an Indian is useless carthorsing; my brief run through their capital city left me with the impression that lane markings and traffic lights are treated more as suggestions than as regulations, and the Lord have mercy on your soul if you dream of crossing the street.
  • I can understand motor bikes as freedom subsitiutes. Cars are like houses, safish, but they shut out experience of the "outside." Meeting the wind,and shifting smells of wild plants and trees, and urban emanations is a very different experience, as I discovered in the brief time that I owned a convertible, and then decided that too much wind and sun was too much. And,having ties to the "live fast, die young" era, I can even understand the dislike of helmets. Risk has a certain attraction, doesn't it? Even if you never take risk up on it. And, I'm not sure that bikes are penis substitutes. The male bikers I see out on the highway are mostly pretty squared away and alert, and don't seem to be trying to prove anything about their manhood. They may or may not be be members of motorcycle gangs, but that's not apparent when they're riding. In general,they're less threatening than the guys in cars, weaving in and out of traffic and racing on congested freeways. And, to addresss the issue of female bikers, well, more power to them. To take command of a big motocycle and meet the "outdoors" has to be a thrill. If I weren't such a wimp, I'd have done it long ago.
  • I thought it was a legs substitute. There goes my thesis. /rips papers
  • Third leg, Hank. Get out the tape.
  • What's big and red and throbs between your legs? A Post Office motorbike! Joke not funny outside UK, or indeed there either.
  • Wow... I just love articles written by someone who has never experienced what he/she is writing about who uses snippets of pseudopsychological jargon and movie clips to stitch together a theory and put it out there as fact... That said... I call BS... Now, I'm going for a ride...
  • What are mopeds?
  • A moped is a motorbike that can be pedaled or driven by a low-powered gasoline engine. Moped classification is designed to allow the use of small motorised vehicles while avoiding the safety restrictions and licensing charges required of larger motorcycles. Vulcans do not use them.
  • Moped: What you need to get when you don't have enough ped. But seriously, folks, that was some kind of confused article. Although it did make the valid point that 'cycles can make for some very nasty casualties. My mate had one years ago, went "over the high side" and was in a coma for about six weeks, after which it was necessary to learn how to speak and walk from scratch. Still has occasional speech issues 30 years later. Not my conveyance of choice... I like a little more solid matter between myself and the road, thank you very much.
  • I miss my motorcycles a lot, but can honestly say that they were inadequate phallus substitutes.
  • fish... you just needed a bigger bike!
  • Mopeds are a sex-ed substitute. ...teacher, that is..
  • Well, I rode on motorcycles for years because neither me nor my boyfriend[s] had a car. It was purely utilitarian for us, and let me tell you, transporting a week's worth of groceries on the back of a bike was scary. Also, unbalancing. That said, oh my, motorcycles are fun. Is it a phallus substitute? I kinda miss having a daredevil boyfriend with a bike who'd roar around mountain roads and nearly scrape our ankles on the ground on curves. Yee-HA!