Commodification and Popular Imagery of the Biker in American Culture

Austin et al highlight a result of a long-term ethnographic research project on the nonoutlaw recreational touring motorcycling community. One of their early, unexpected findings was a strong divide within the community, with some members embracing an image of the outlaw biker and others strongly resenting and resisting it. As a result of this finding, they sought to learn more about the historical origins of the image and its meaning to contemporary riders. Drawing upon the history of motorcycling, they argue that the present-day surge in the popularity of motorcycles is, in large part, a response to the commodification of a rebellious biker image created in the 1940s, l950s, and 1960s and later amplified by capitalists to sell products to a population in search of adventure and expressions of rebellion.