‘Token Attractive Woman’ Cyclist Sets off Alarms

Everybody can relate to being incredibly bored at the office and inserting their own pranks into the work product. Somebody at Cycling Weekly magazine in the U.K., the best periodical for seeing overly self-serious grown men in bike shorts and helmets, listed a female cyclist as “Token Attractive Woman”. That’s supposed to be the subtext, dummy.

In the old days, or before three years ago, publications had copy editors to proofread content to keep the stoners in the press room from pulling jokes like this. Now even the New York Times has shit canned all their copy editors. Nobody can afford them in the deteriorating business model for print journalism. You could caption the photo, “I wish this hot chick was riding my dick” and nobody would’ve noticed until it made Brits clutch their pearls over their morning tea.

Hannah Noel, the female member of the Hinckley Cycling Club featured in the article, was reached for obligatory response and condemnation:

“I made it into Cycling Weekly, it seems not for my ability as a female cyclist but as a ‘token attractive woman’ – I’m absolutely gutted and disappointed in the magazine. It’s not really the reason I’d want to be in a magazine, it’s sexist and derogatory to female cyclists.”

Though, yeah, I am kind of hot. Especially for a British chick in a helmet. Sharp criticisms have been known to come worse than “attractive”. Still, Noel has a right to complain. 

If the caption writer had made odd note of the rare woman riding among the bald guy cyclists with bruised taints they probably would’ve been more on point. Cyclists as a group are known for being the bitchiest male enthusiasts on the planet. They will squirt water at you for daring to believe the nation’s highways were paved for the motorcar. Also, they’re men wearing cellphone company logos by choice.

A guy with a super British name who runs Cycling Weekly, threw himself on the sexist sword:

“Unfortunately during the magazine’s production process a member of the sub-editing team decided to write an idiotic caption on a photo of one of the female riders of the club. The caption is neither funny nor representative of the way we approach our work.”

Sub-editing team sounds like more of a put down than token attractive woman. But at least they’re getting paid. And in England, government provided eyeglasses every three to five years.

There are no winners in this story, but only because Vivid has yet to offer Hannah Noel one million dollars to appear in bike porn. 

_{Photo credit: Cycling Weekly}