Motorcycle club Ladies in Leather trades stereotypes for sisterhood

What you probably already know: The cultural image of a typical motorcyclist persisted for decades. Think individualistic, rugged men cruising down a dusty highway, as epitomized in the famed 1969 film Easy Rider or 1953’s The Wild One starring Marlon Brando. Now, a seismic shift is underway as a growing number of women take to the open road. Women now account for roughly 19% of all motorcycle owners in the United States, nearly double what it was just a decade ago. The surge is particularly pronounced among younger generations, with roughly 26% of millennial riders and 22% of Gen X riders being female.

Why it matters: Amber “Mamacita” Cohen, though, isn’t one to simply follow a trend. She prefers to lead. Cohen, who lives in Sour Lake, Texas, launched Ladies in Leather in 2019, initially as a way to connect female motorcyclists. She’s now busy preparing for the upcoming Ladies in Leather Parade & Rally from Sept. 10-13 in Wichita Falls, Texas. The eighth-annual event is the nation’s largest traveling all-female motorcycle parade and rally and is sponsored by Copperhead-Harley Davidson. Past rallies have drawn 900 women riders and, including other festivities, thousands of people. Cohen notes that the broader Ladies in Leather network counts a family of more than 12,000 women riders across the country.

What it means: “When I started Ladies in Leather, I said, ‘we don’t care if there’s three of us or 300,’” Cohen recalls. “We’re just there to celebrate this just amazing sense of unity. It was the craziest thing to look around this crowd of women and see all ages, from my daughter’s age to my grandmother’s age, of women riding motorcycles.” Cohen says the group “rides for impact,” and the Ladies in Leather Parade & Rally is partnering with the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank on a “Stuff Your Saddlebags” food drive initiative. The event — open to women riders only — is billed as an “action-packed weekend promising jaw-dropping stunts, motorcycle competitions and deep-rooted sisterhood.”

What happens next: Cohen and the group have had to overcome stereotypes. She says Sons of Anarchy — a crime drama that ran from 2008 to 2014 that depicted an outlaw motorcycle club in a fictional California town — didn’t help. She also admits that the sight of hundreds of leather-clad bikers can be intimidating. But, as time passes and more women ride, she’s begun to receive many positive comments. “There’s something about seeing a female on a motorcycle that just empowers other females,” says Cohen, who owns three bikes and uses a motorcycle for transportation 50% of the time. “When you see a 70-plus woman handling a 700-pound machine, you’re just like, ‘wow.’ It’s a really inspiring thing to see.”

Tomorrow: An interview with Amber Cohen on her foray into motorcycles, the group’s origins and why she calls the Ladies in Leather Parade & Rally “a family reunion.”