Seattle Dykes on Bikes®
Womxn's Motorcycle Club
Who are Dykes on Bikes®?
Dykes on Bikes® (DOB) is a chartered lesbian motorcycle club with both national and international chapters. We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity and are known for our activism and advocacy work in the LGBTQIA+ community. We ride and participate in queer pride events such as Pride parades, and significant LGBTQ+ functions to increase visibility, promote advocacy and empowerment, and to show the world queer joy.
Our loud bikes and presence remain at the front of many Pride parades, and are celebrated in this place of honor. We stand united as a symbol of LGBTQIA+ pride, defiance, liberation and empowerment. We are fiercely independent, self-reliant, and resolute in feminist traditions and we embrace cultural resistance as a means to raise awareness of social injustice and to promote equity and inclusion.
Meet the Seattle Dykes on Bikes® Board
President: Wen
Officer
(she/her/they/them)
Rider Name: Cruz
From an early age, I have have been a thrill seeker, rebel, activist and community builder. It was only a matter of time until I found my way onto a motorcycle. I started riding in 2015, and it changed my life. When I ride, every worry in the world goes quiet. It is just me and the wind, dancing and racing. When I ride, I feel alive and free, wild and empowered. Fortified.
For me, there’s no better therapy and no better way to find your tribe.
Vice President: M.A.
Officer
(they/she)
Rider Name: Uptown
I’m a locomotive engineer, avid rider, and fierce member and advocate of the LGBTQIA+ community. With an extensive history in the queer community, I first rode in the Seattle Pride parade in 1986 as a teenager. I have engaged in advocacy work for years, most recently via speaking engagements to employees and maintenance crews about diversity, harassment, discrimination, and the federal law around protected classes, for a fortune 500 company. I’ve also helped facilitate motorcycle safety for many years in the Seattle Pride parade as well as other marches in Seattle, and have coordinated motorcycle security teams in support of Trans Pride Seattle.
Treasurer: Fei
Officer
(they/she)
Rider Name: YogiB
Road Captain: Brisa
Officer
(they/them)
Rider Name: Camino
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Pride
Ride with Dykes on Bikes® in the Seattle Pride Parade!
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Ride with DOB
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Become an Advocate
Did you know you can support the important work we do even if you don’t ride motorcycles?
Did you know?…
The term “dyke” originated as a homophobic slur for masculine, butch, or androgynous girls or womxn as early as the 1920’s. Although pejorative use of the word still exists, the term dyke has largely been reappropriated by many lesbians and is proudly used as synonymous with assertiveness and toughness.
The reclamation of the term “dyke” began in 1969 as people in the gay community began to march in the streets to demand civil rights and during this time, dyke referred to a womxn committed to revolution!
As the fight for equality and civil rights has continued, so has controversy around the term, with some active in the community even calling its use “linguistic activism.” While LGBTQ empowerment and pride movements gained momentum, understanding of lesbian culture and identity remained lacking outside of the LGBTQIA+ community and the term '“dyke” has continued to remain misunderstood.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office initially denied the San Francisco Chapter of Dykes on Bikes® a trademark for its name, on the grounds dyke was offensive, derogatory and disparaging to lesbians. However, after a grueling legal battle where attorneys and advocates appealed and submitted hundreds of pages to show the slang word does not disparage lesbians in the way it once did, the office reversed itself and permitted DOB to register its name. On December 8, 2005, Dykes on Bikes® won the trademark case and the organization has since gained international recognition for leading gay pride parades from San Francisco to Sydney!
