page_title: Dykes on Bikes
section_title: Worldwide phenomena
hierarchical_section_title: Dykes on Bikes / Worldwide phenomena
caption_attribution_description: English: The "Dykes on Bikes" at the 2009 Midsumma Festival, St. Kilda, Victoria.
context_page_description: Dykes on Bikes is a chartered lesbian motorcycle club with 22 chapters, numerous affiliations, and 501 nonprofit status. They are known for their participation in gay pride events such as Pride parades, and significant LGBT events like the international Gay Games.
  They most likely were originally put at the front of the parade for logistical reasons and have remained there as a symbol of LGBT pride, defiance, liberation and empowerment. The contingents are fiercely independent and self-reliant in the DIY and feminist traditions and have been studied as a social phenomenon as a "complex, multilayered form of consumption-related cultural resistance that raises awareness of social injustice and discursively informs social meanings in everyday life outside the festivals."
  Along with drag queens, the DOB have been criticized for not portraying a more acceptable image of LGBT culture. Supporters, however, counter that they are highly visible icons of gay pride who refuse to assimilate and conform to mainstream society gender roles, and indeed remind of the butches and queens who helped lead the Stonewall riots launching the modern gay-rights movement.
context_section_description: Dykes on Bikes have been leading marches such as Gay pride parades, Gay Games events, and protests since their creation in 1976. "Dyke Marches" have become a popular Pride event nationwide, with the Dykes on Bikes often leading the marches. The Dyke March events are generally non-commercial, often in sharp contrast to corporate-sponsored pride events, and are usually inclusive of lesbian, bi, and trans women. Contingents of the DOB have led pride parades around the world from San Francisco to Melbourne, Paris, London, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Zurich, Tel Aviv, and Greece.
caption: At the 2009 Midsumma Festival.
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