The Gendered Motorcycle: Representation in Society, Media and Popular Culture

Book Review By David Walton

During the last few years I have had the good fortune of reading (and, in some cases, reviewing) some excellent books on a range of motorcycle cultures. We have seen Randy McBee’s excellent Born to be Wild: The Rise of the American Motorcyclist (2017) which chronicles the subject matter with marvelous scholarly acumen in such a way that it will, I am sure, become a classic in the genre … Continue reading

Rider Self-Reports on the Beneficial Effects of Motorcycle Riding

H. Paul LeBlanc III

Motorcyclists choose to engage in an activity known to themselves, their loved ones and the general public to be risky to health and life. The question for many is why? As a motorcyclist, and a scholar, I am keenly aware of the seeming contradiction between the drive for survival and the engagement in an activity that can result in serious injury or death … Continue reading

An Autoethnographic Exploration of Social Identity and Leadership within a Motorcycle Club

Todd C. Wiggen

Autoethnography is a form of qualitative research in which the researcher utilizes self-reflection to examine their experiences in the context of a greater cultural and social environment. This autoethnographic study provides an in-depth examination of the development and maintenance of social identities within a voluntary association – a military motorcycle club … Continue reading

The Heterotopia of an Off-shore Island: Popular Culture, Hegemony, Tourism, Identity and the Question of Death at the Isle of Man TT

David Walton

This article is based on a pilot study I carried out entitled ‘Place, Space and the Isle of Man TT: Probing the Boundaries of Hegemony through Popular Culture’ which was published in the ebook The Playing Field: Making Sense of Spaces and Places in Sporting Cultures (eds Colin Howley and Susan Dun, Oxford: Inter-disciplinary Press, 2016). This is the full version of this research … Continue reading