Carrying class and gender

Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles of urban middle classes in Dutch inner cities

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5136808
AutoresWillem R Boterman (0000-0002-8908-5842, University of Amsterdam, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen21
Número2
Páginas245-264
Fecha de publicación2020-02-12
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial & Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1464-9365 • E-ISSN: 1470-1197
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14649365.2018.1489975
OpenAlexW2829129352
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas63

In Dutch inner-cities, like Amsterdam, ‘cargo bikes’ have become a popular mode of transport for urban families. Remarkably, the cargo bike has become a highly contested object in both public space and public discourse. This paper uses the cargo bike as a lens to discuss the transformations of urban space from the perspective of class and gender. Based on a qualitative content analysis of national newspapers it argues that the cargo bike has become a symbol of the interdependence of specific residential, employment, consumption and mobility practices. Cargo-bike drivers are portrayed as ‘yuppies’ or ‘elitist’, related to their class position; and described in terms of specific gender roles: cargo-bike mothers are described as career-focused mothers who are assertive and self-confident, while cargo-bike dads are portrayed as ‘soft’ yet also emancipated. These labels attest to the different expectations and normativities around being a ‘good’ mother or father, particularly within the context of urban space. This paper concludes that the cargo bike is a symbol of the way in which middle-class mothers and fathers challenge and negotiate these dominant norms around parenthood, who are thereby remaking the city

Class (philosophy · Demographic economics · Economics · Geography · Middle class · Political science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Law