Women bikers group defends sign at parade: VICE MAYOR SAYS IT WAS OFFENSIVE
By Michelle Ku
Lexington HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
During the Fourth of July parade, Bitches on Bikes, a women's motorcycle group, roared down Main Street to the cheers of the crowd.
But before the start of Saturday's parade, the bikers drew the attention of Vice Mayor Mike Scanlon, who wanted them to take down a sign because he considered the word "bitch" offensive.
"My concern was that the b-word was going down Main Street on a family holiday when we all know there are women in abuse shelters working their hardest to get that stereotype eliminated," Scanlon said.
The sign came down, but it didn't stay down. It reappeared on the front of a car as Bitches on Bikes turned onto Main from the Midland Avenue staging area.
The banner was taken down while the female bikers decided what to do and the group of about eight voted unanimously to put it back up, said Shannon Salisbury, founder of the biking group. "The theme of the parade was 'Let Freedom Ring,' and we were censored."
For Bitches on Bikes, the word "bitch" isn't hateful or offensive, it's an empowering term, Salisbury said.
"Bitch" is used to play off of a well-known term in the biking community, said Chester Salisbury, Shannon's husband. "A guy or girl riding behind is called 'riding bitch.' We're taking someone from the back and bringing them to the front."
Until Salisbury formed Bitches on Bikes, female motorcyclists in Lexington often rode alone because the local men's groups would only allow a woman to participate if she "rides bitch," Shannon Salisbury said.
Although the women of the group have claimed and embraced "bitch" for their own, that doesn't mean it's OK, Scanlon said. "It just doesn't feel good to see a hate word going down the middle of Main Street on the Fourth of July."
Although Scanlon hadn't received any complaints before he acted, he wasn't the only one bothered by the use of the word.
Councilman Bill Farmer Jr. said there were some uncomfortable moments as parade participants lined up in the staging area before the parade.
"They were so near my unit in the parade, and I was having to explain to children why the sign was on this car and why this man with a beard was wearing a dress," said Farmer, whose entry was just two spots ahead of the women's bike group, which included a man in a dress.
During Tuesday's council work session, Farmer announced "there were some issues of taste" in the parade and that the city should be more careful next year.
When Bitches on Bikes signed up to participate in the parade, a city official should have asked them to "change the name of their parade unit," Farmer said Tuesday.
Unless the parade entry is submitted past the deadline, every group that wants to participate in the parade and pays the entry fee is allowed to join, said Gerald Smith, Mayor Teresa Isaac's chief of staff. "We figured (this group) was a bit edgy and they were making a statement, but there was no discussion about them not being in the parade."
Next year, the city will "look at language about signs, but we have to be careful because that's censorship," Smith said.
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