I would be very confident indeed that they are indeed all ladies. In Victorian times, virtually all forms of status and hierarchy and identity were ascribed rather than achieved; wealth was virtually the only exception. Today, we are free to achieve whatever condition we can convince others of. Which usually means, of course, that we are free to mess our lives up in the most utterly moronic ways imaginable.
Edwina Baggage (see Scrobs passim), would have been mortified having to ride in kit like that!
(To the uninitiated, and probably better for it, Edwina is Bicycling Correspondent for The Sodden Prickney Bugle. The term 'bicycling' has a much darker but energising meaning in her case).
Not for the "respectable" or the upper class. Also, because of cost well beyond the means of ordinary people. Given the number of them, could be that they were the metropolitan free wheelers of their day.
To my mind, the jarring thing is that, even just maybe two, and at a stretch almost certainly not much more than five years ago, we would have found a gently amusing ‘ironic’ topical speculation on the self-evident gender of these rather fine, jolly and deceased ladies utterly pointless and incomprehensible.
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I would be very confident indeed that they are indeed all ladies. In Victorian times, virtually all forms of status and hierarchy and identity were ascribed rather than achieved; wealth was virtually the only exception. Today, we are free to achieve whatever condition we can convince others of. Which usually means, of course, that we are free to mess our lives up in the most utterly moronic ways imaginable.
Edwina Baggage (see Scrobs passim), would have been mortified having to ride in kit like that!
(To the uninitiated, and probably better for it, Edwina is Bicycling Correspondent for The Sodden Prickney Bugle. The term 'bicycling' has a much darker but energising meaning in her case).
Not for the "respectable" or the upper class. Also, because of cost well beyond the means of ordinary people. Given the number of them, could be that they were the metropolitan free wheelers of their day.
Sam - that sounds like the voice of bitter experience coming through.
Scrobs - so she isn't known as Edwina (Blazing Saddles) Baggage for nothing?
Demetrius - I wonder if it was partly a promotional stunt by a bicycle manufacturer.
To my mind, the jarring thing is that, even just maybe two, and at a stretch almost certainly not much more than five years ago, we would have found a gently amusing ‘ironic’ topical speculation on the self-evident gender of these rather fine, jolly and deceased ladies utterly pointless and incomprehensible.
How our agendas are managed!
Clacket - excellent point, the question wouldn't even be on the agenda.
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