The research, based on a survey involving 563 respondents, revealed that approximately 30% of participants considered cyclists to be less than fully human. Yes, you read that correctly, less than human. Explains a lot, actually. Interestingly, cyclists wearing helmets were perceived as less human compared to those without helmets. Moreover, cyclists wearing safety vests without helmets were perceived as the least human.
The study also found that dehumanization was more strongly associated with visible safety gear, such as helmets and vests, rather than obstruction of the hair and eyes. Additionally, the perceptions of dehumanization varied among respondents based on gender.
I’ve been mad at cyclists (mainly as a pedestrian almost getting hit by bikes). Occasionally someone will do something stupid like speed up from behind you when everyone is supposed to be stopped. But I’ve never considered cyclists to be subhuman. That’s never crossed my mind. If anything, I remember they’re human and they’re doing something dangerous in a very squishy human body.
What a bizarre reaction to have where you start thinking of them as robots.
Although I was unable to access the full article, the framing from the abstract seems to be:
“Which is less human?” Followed be two pictures of cyclists. The question frames dehumanization as a given. I do not specialize in crafting these kinds of surveys, but it seems like “people dehumanize cyclists” is a weird conclusion to draw. I don’t know what the pictures were or if they were in color or silhouette, but I can imagine people are not used to seeing cyclists in safety vests and therefore it’s rated as least human, because it’s the least often seen kind of person riding a bike (at least in my experience). Just a friendly reminder to always look at the source, especially if it’s so easily accessed, since the commenter above was kind enough to link directly.
No helmet gang
“kill me bitch”
a strategy supported by research
https://momentummag.com/surprising-nobody-study-finds-drivers-think-cyclists-are-less-than-human/
I’ve been mad at cyclists (mainly as a pedestrian almost getting hit by bikes). Occasionally someone will do something stupid like speed up from behind you when everyone is supposed to be stopped. But I’ve never considered cyclists to be subhuman. That’s never crossed my mind. If anything, I remember they’re human and they’re doing something dangerous in a very squishy human body.
What a bizarre reaction to have where you start thinking of them as robots.
deleted by creator
Although I was unable to access the full article, the framing from the abstract seems to be: “Which is less human?” Followed be two pictures of cyclists. The question frames dehumanization as a given. I do not specialize in crafting these kinds of surveys, but it seems like “people dehumanize cyclists” is a weird conclusion to draw. I don’t know what the pictures were or if they were in color or silhouette, but I can imagine people are not used to seeing cyclists in safety vests and therefore it’s rated as least human, because it’s the least often seen kind of person riding a bike (at least in my experience). Just a friendly reminder to always look at the source, especially if it’s so easily accessed, since the commenter above was kind enough to link directly.
I literally just rode a bike, tipsy as hell, from the bar to my place. 5.5km, from the Yangtze to inner Jiang’an, Wuhan. Shit was great.