Quote:
Originally Posted by ozjake2
It is well and truly over and will never be the same.
It coincides with the changing profile of London, which was different 15 years ago. Women no longer want to feel like a chip being thrown amongst seagulls of pervy men from cultures that don’t respect women. My wife is one of those. She used to find it hilarious exciting fun, but we stopped in 2022. He first was in 2015 (mine 2009) when, yes, there, were thousands of spectators. But they were laughing and enjoying the spectacle. In 2022, when she disrobed she was the only naked female for tens of metres surrounded by hundreds of single men taking photos, staring at her in a creepy way and following her when she walked away. She put her clothes back on 5 minutes later and wanted to leave. I rode naked and she in her clothes. That was our last WNBR.
|
My personal experience is that even back when I did this event for the first time in 2012, it was always beset with predatory men who were primarily not of British descent. The majority of riders are male exhibitionists, and a substantial number of the spectators are there to ogle them, not women. Note that even when there isn't a single naked woman to be seen, there are still hordes of these men (and a good few women) lurking about with their phones and vidcams. I think the simple fact is that men are far less bothered about getting their kit off than women, and the preconception among a growing number of people is that there's something a bit grubby about these events, hence declining numbers.
If you go back to the earlier WNBRs (London and elsewhere) you will see that only relatively small numbers of women took part then, particularly those who chose to ride completely naked. It has always been common for various of these riders to partially or completely dress because of the unwanted attention they receive. Brighton had a few wonderful years with very high turnouts of ladies, many from the university who would dare each other to take part. The 2014-2019 period was great but then Covid came along and after it, new organisers took over and that was pretty much the end of that one. London has always been a mixed bag. 2016 and 2022 were my favourite rides. I don't think the so-called glory days were quite as glorious as people remember them and I say that as someone who has covered 30 of these events.