Motorcycle clubs have always been a part of the LGBTQ struggle for equality. Growing out of the 1950s rebel ethos and inspired by the renegade bikers portrayed by Marlon Brando and James Dean, their countercultural iconography is one of individual empowerment and visibility underscored by a deafening roar.
Early on, such clubs became a vibrant subculture within Wisconsin’s gay and lesbian movement. More than 40 years ago, Si Smits became a face of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community when he was featured riding his motorcycle in a WTMJ series, “Some Call Them Gay.” Later, Smits would found the Silver Star Motorcycle Club. Other clubs, like the Argonauts and the Castaways, would become part of Wisconsin’s LGBTQ landscape.
About the same time, Soni Wolf founded Dykes on Bikes in San Francisco. The lesbian motorcycle club has since become an international organization. Wolf died this year in April just weeks before she was slated to be the Grand Marshall of San Francisco’s Pride Parade. Aside from organizing Dykes and Bikes, she fought for its name and logo, winning cases for both before the U.S. Supreme Court. Interestingly, those cases were launched when a Wisconsin woman tried to use the “Dykes on Bikes” name to market a lesbian fashion line.
LGBTQ bikers represented what the straight world could not fathom: gay men not as fey and mincing stereotypes but as masculine, rough-and-tumble guys; and gay women not as nuns and spinster librarians but as tough, can-do gals. Both intimidated the social order into clearing the streets for LGBTQ rights. Tough as they appeared, bikers actively supported local LGBTQ and other charities like Toys for Tots.
The Milwaukee Pride Parade has had contingents of riders over its decades’ long history, including Dykes on Bikes and local motorcycle clubs. This past PrideFest sponsored its first Ride with Pride, a parade of LGBTQ and ally bikers that formed at the Harley-Davidson Museum and made its way to the PrideFest grounds. Anticipating 40-50 riders for this inaugural run, organizers were overwhelmed by the appearance of well more than 150.
The enthusiastic response to Ride with Pride inspired the formation of a social media group, Pride Rides Wisconsin (PRW). Again, expectations were modest. Within weeks, however, the Facebook community group matched the number of Ride with Pride participants and continues to grow. PRW holds three monthly recreational rides throughout Wisconsin allowing people in far-flung corners of the state to participate in local events. According to organizer Nick Bohn, the rides provide outreach, bringing an LGBTQ Bike Night to smaller communities to create a safe zone in a café or restaurant to let people be out and among likeminded people.
Like their predecessors, PRW also has a charitable mission, supporting CourageMKE’s house for homeless LGBTQ youth. The group also works with Harley-Davidson’s LGBTQ employee group, Eagle, as well as with the women’s rider group Stilettos on Steel. And, of course, PRW will be actively involved in Harley-Davidson’s 115th Anniversary, and it participates in the weekly Iron Horse Hotel Bike Nights. Information on upcoming rides and other events can be found on the group’s Facebook page.
