#hitchhiking — Public Fediverse posts

Hitchhiking As A Type of Women’s Emancipation in the Early Thirties

https://youtu.be/v7nAKKLxLXY

This scene from director Mervyn LeRoy’s 1934 Heat Lightning brings me back to the observation that American women in the 1920s and 30s pioneered and popularized the practice of hitchhiking. Women like Doris Poggendee and Nettie Matthews, Barbara Starke, Nancy Youse, Betty Simpson, the McManus Sisters, or Allen Ginsberg’s mother Naomi – all could have been models from which these two characters were drawn. Some were out for adventure or, like these two, were seeking their fortune; many others just had no other practical way to get to where they were going, or get away from where they were.

By 1934, the word “hitchhiking” and its variants had already been in circulation for well over a decade (the earliest instance I’ve found, so far, is 1918); and female hitchhikers were an established American “type.” I borrow that word from one reviewer of the 1933 play (also called Heat Lightning) on which LeRoy’s movie is based, and where the characters of “First Hitch-Hiker” and “Second Hitch-Hiker” were played on stage by Gail de Hart and Geraldine Wall. (LeRoy cast “Blonde Cutie” Muriel Evans and the brilliant and under-appreciated brunette comedienne Jill Dennett in the roles.)

The comic portrayal here may not be entirely true to historical type — it would be surprising if it were — but it was the case that American women often hitchhiked in pairs, sometimes advertising in newspapers for a traveling companion.* And then there’s that thumb gesture George makes when he says he and his troubled friend Jeff are “just passing through” – the hailing gesture that we now associate with hitchhiking, and which Helen Card associates with a woman’s “right to ask things of the world.”  

In Card’s 1931 book and in newspaper accounts from the 20s and 30s, the hitchhiking type of woman meets with a mix of moral disapproval, admiration for her pluck, and a thinly-disguised sense of titillation. Even here, in LeRoy’s film, the hitchhikers complain about having to listen to their ride’s “speeches about nice girls not hitchhiking” while the old man pinches the thigh of whichever young woman has the misfortune of being seated next to him in the front seat. And that line about the lecherous hypocrisy of the moralizing old codger made this one of the scenes in the film that the Hays Office found objectionable. Nor did it sit well with the Catholic League of Decency, founded in the same year this film was released. The League gave Heat Lightning a rating of C, for “condemned.”

Dressed for the road, as these two are, in trousers (or jodhpurs) tucked into boots, a loose blouse or buttoned shirt, and a sturdy hat, the hitchhiking woman cuts a transgressive figure. Adventuress or androgyne, self-directed or vagabond, an avatar of social dissolution or revolution? She looks like trouble. As one columnist put it in 1928, “the only distinguishing vestment left to man is his trousers…and even these are assumed by the female hitch hikers…. Man may well ask, tremblingly, ‘How much farther is this emancipation to go?'”

How much farther? It’s a question Helen Card takes on, albeit from a different angle, in her book about her hitchhiking adventures (and in this connection it’s worth remembering that the American edition of Card’s Touch and Go appeared under the title Born in Captivity). It’s also a question that runs throughout Heat Lightning itself, though there’s not much hint of it in this comic, flirty scene (except perhaps in the remark George makes, that their ride, “Popsy,” has more to fear from these two tomatoes than they from him).

The film — which is currently playing on Criterion Channel, but which can also be found online — explores this question of women’s emancipation more fully and a little more seriously through the story of its main character, Olga, a former dance hall girl who traded her fancy dress for denim overalls and now runs a filling station with her kid sister in the California desert. By the end of the picture, Olga’s virtue may be compromised, but her independence is not. 

*Postscript 12 Feb 26: It was also the case that women in the late 1920s and early 30s were hitchhiking to Hollywood, or at least the newspapers said they were. The type was well known. The 1933 Will Rogers film Mr. Skitch features Florence Desmond as a hitchhiker bound for Hollywood. I hope to find a copy and watch it soon.

Correction 13 Feb 26: The 28 December 1933 review of Mr. Skitch that got me looking for a copy of the Will Rogers film was misleading. In the film, which I’ve just managed to see, Florence Desmond is headed for Hollywood, but she’s not a hitch-hiker; she just flags down Will Rogers and his family because her own car has run out of gasoline. I haven’t seen any instance where the word is used in this way, as a request for roadside aid, so I’m assuming it’s just an error.

Type your email…

Subscribe

Interstellar Hitchhiking on Objects Like 3I/ATLAS - Avi Loeb – Medium
https://atlas.whatip.xyz/post.php?slug=interstellar-hitchhiking-on-objects-like-3iatlas-avi-loeb-medium
Interstellar Hitchhiking on Objects Like 3I/ATLASAvi Loeb – Medium Heads Up
#interstellar #hitchhiking #objects #medium

I TRAVELED TO ALL 7 CONTINENTS WITH NO MONEY

• Hitchhiking
• Leftover food from restraunts
• Selling cookies for donations
• Couch surfing when possible

💡Sharing this for people to show how people can do anything without money, donations were monetary but people who donated just wanted to help if they didn't have money they would have helped with food or housing or whatever its about the feeling compassion and help.

#Hitchhiking #mutualaid #couchsurfing #gifteconomy #freeworld #tradelesssociety #moneylesssociety #antiwork #yestheory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cNrCPKlEKY

This old serial killer story has been made possible by another instance of not believing sexual assault victims
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-48346543
#mysogyny #hitchhiking

mit @hajnrich auf abenteuer

es war n bissi zaeh heute aber schlussendlich ging alles gut. wir sind fast da

#trampen #hitchhiker #hitchhiking #autostop #reise #travel #roadtrip

mit @hajnrich auf abenteuer

es war n bissi zaeh heute aber schlussendlich ging alles gut. wir sind fast da

#trampen #hitchhiker #hitchhiking #autostop #reise #travel #roadtrip

mit @hajnrich auf abenteuer

es war n bissi zaeh heute aber schlussendlich ging alles gut. wir sind fast da

#trampen #hitchhiker #hitchhiking #autostop #reise #travel #roadtrip

boston, massachusetts
november 1970

hitchhikers, mass turnpike

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dboo/52081914982
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dboo/246978672/

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation
Image-use requests are welcome via nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

#photography #film #blackandwhite #bw #blackandwhite #boston #massachusetts #streetphotography #turnpike #sign #people #hitchhikers #hitchhiking #1970s

Going for the hitchhiking bird trifecta:

HEY, I was doing just fine! Go find your OWN branch!

There are branch managers, and then there are BRANCH MANAGERS.

#bird #birds #branch #branchmanager #hitchhiking #hitchingaride #glide #trifecta

Going for the hitchhiking bird trifecta:

HEY, I was doing just fine! Go find your OWN branch!

There are branch managers, and then there are BRANCH MANAGERS.

#bird #birds #branch #branchmanager #hitchhiking #hitchingaride #glide #trifecta

Going for the hitchhiking bird trifecta:

HEY, I was doing just fine! Go find your OWN branch!

There are branch managers, and then there are BRANCH MANAGERS.

#bird #birds #branch #branchmanager #hitchhiking #hitchingaride #glide #trifecta

Going for the hitchhiking bird trifecta:

HEY, I was doing just fine! Go find your OWN branch!

There are branch managers, and then there are BRANCH MANAGERS.

#bird #birds #branch #branchmanager #hitchhiking #hitchingaride #glide #trifecta

Going for the hitchhiking bird trifecta:

HEY, I was doing just fine! Go find your OWN branch!

There are branch managers, and then there are BRANCH MANAGERS.

#bird #birds #branch #branchmanager #hitchhiking #hitchingaride #glide #trifecta

Continuing the hitchhiking bird theme...

When an Uber driver gives a Lyft driver a lift:

#bird #birds #seagull #gull #hitchhiking #hitchingaride #glide #soundon #uber #lyft

Glide... glide... glide... hitching a glide...

When a vulture hitches a ride for a bit:

#bird #birds #vulture #sky #hitchhiking #hitchingaride #glide #soundon #nature

Froggelio is hitch-hiking in the fields side. Would you pick them up?

Froggelio haciendo autostop en el campo. ¿Le recogerías?

#froggelio #frog #field #mojon #hitchhiking #autostop #carretera #cartoon #ilustration #clipstudiopaint #spain

Hitchhiking taught me an important truth: in life, it is extremely important to choose the right direction and be able to relax in time, trusting the unknown. Only then will the whirlwinds of fate, filled with winds of change, catch your sails and lead you to your true path, where you will meet those who will become part of your exciting adventure.

#LifeLessons #Hitchhiking #TrustTheJourney #EmbraceTheUnknown #AdventureAwaits

Wenn du wissen willst, in welchem Land du einfach #trampen kannst, schaust du hier; https://machteburch.social/@StefanBlasel/110723963287839647 und wenn du an einem konkreten Ort, den besten Startpunkt zum #hitchhiking suchst , dann schaust du hier:
auf der #OSM Karte fèr #Autostop |per https://hitchmap.com/
2/3

Wenn du wissen willst, in welchem Land du einfach #trampen kannst, schaust du hier; https://machteburch.social/@StefanBlasel/110723963287839647 und wenn du an einem konkreten Ort, den besten Startpunkt zum #hitchhiking suchst , dann schaust du hier:
auf der #OSM Karte fèr #Autostop |per https://hitchmap.com/
2/3

Wenn du wissen willst, in welchem Land du einfach #trampen kannst, schaust du hier; https://machteburch.social/@StefanBlasel/110723963287839647 und wenn du an einem konkreten Ort, den besten Startpunkt zum #hitchhiking suchst , dann schaust du hier:
auf der #OSM Karte fèr #Autostop |per https://hitchmap.com/
2/3

Wenn du wissen willst, in welchem Land du einfach #trampen kannst, schaust du hier; https://machteburch.social/@StefanBlasel/110723963287839647 und wenn du an einem konkreten Ort, den besten Startpunkt zum #hitchhiking suchst , dann schaust du hier:
auf der #OSM Karte fèr #Autostop |per https://hitchmap.com/
2/3

Wenn du wissen willst, in welchem Land du einfach #trampen kannst, schaust du hier; https://machteburch.social/@StefanBlasel/110723963287839647 und wenn du an einem konkreten Ort, den besten Startpunkt zum #hitchhiking suchst , dann schaust du hier:
auf der #OSM Karte fèr #Autostop |per https://hitchmap.com/
2/3

#Hitchhiking at midnight in the early 90s me & my girlfriend were picked up in Portsmouth by 2 very old, very posh, insomniac ladies in a vintage sports car - they drove us all the way to Brighton at about 120 mph with us terrified in the back & them saying things like: “Gladys loves the wind in her hair”. Often wonder what became of them. #psychedelicduelling #deathdrive #thanatos

► https://FunHouseRadio.com <-- ON AIR
#hitchhiking #travel #highways #convicts #photo #meme

Pas de transports publics car l'État préfère financer la voiture.. ouf, le stop est là 😍

#autostop #hitchhiking

have you ever been tired after a long ride and have dreamt to #hitchhike with your #bicycle (= #hitchbike)
That is possible even when normal hitchhiking in that country is difficult, hitchbikers plays in a different leage Experiences here: https://hitchwiki.org/en/Bicycle
#hitchhiking In Bologna a girl found today within 5 min a truck driver to Turin on the motorway
#Anhalter #autostopp #mdrza

Mutti hat davor immer gewarnt, doch nun erlebt das Trampen eine Art Revival. Offenbar strecken immer mehr #Abenteuer|lustige den Daumen aus. Schließlich passt das #Trampen zu den anderen Trends der Gesellschaft: Es ist „social“, #umweltfreundlich und flexibel.
#Tramper, #Reisen per #Anhalter, #Hitchhiking, #Autostopp
https://www.travelbook.de/reisen/daumen-hoch-warum-trampen-auf-einmal-wieder-in-ist

Mutti hat davor immer gewarnt, doch nun erlebt das Trampen eine Art Revival. Offenbar strecken immer mehr #Abenteuer|lustige den Daumen aus. Schließlich passt das #Trampen zu den anderen Trends der Gesellschaft: Es ist „social“, #umweltfreundlich und flexibel.
#Tramper, #Reisen per #Anhalter, #Hitchhiking, #Autostopp
https://www.travelbook.de/reisen/daumen-hoch-warum-trampen-auf-einmal-wieder-in-ist

Mutti hat davor immer gewarnt, doch nun erlebt das Trampen eine Art Revival. Offenbar strecken immer mehr #Abenteuer|lustige den Daumen aus. Schließlich passt das #Trampen zu den anderen Trends der Gesellschaft: Es ist „social“, #umweltfreundlich und flexibel.
#Tramper, #Reisen per #Anhalter, #Hitchhiking, #Autostopp
https://www.travelbook.de/reisen/daumen-hoch-warum-trampen-auf-einmal-wieder-in-ist

Mutti hat davor immer gewarnt, doch nun erlebt das Trampen eine Art Revival. Offenbar strecken immer mehr #Abenteuer|lustige den Daumen aus. Schließlich passt das #Trampen zu den anderen Trends der Gesellschaft: Es ist „social“, #umweltfreundlich und flexibel.
#Tramper, #Reisen per #Anhalter, #Hitchhiking, #Autostopp
https://www.travelbook.de/reisen/daumen-hoch-warum-trampen-auf-einmal-wieder-in-ist

Mutti hat davor immer gewarnt, doch nun erlebt das Trampen eine Art Revival. Offenbar strecken immer mehr #Abenteuer|lustige den Daumen aus. Schließlich passt das #Trampen zu den anderen Trends der Gesellschaft: Es ist „social“, #umweltfreundlich und flexibel.
#Tramper, #Reisen per #Anhalter, #Hitchhiking, #Autostopp
https://www.travelbook.de/reisen/daumen-hoch-warum-trampen-auf-einmal-wieder-in-ist

Here are valid visual informations for #hitchhikers in and through Europe: The average waiting time until a car stops in all european regions, based on the data hitchhikers have collected on the #hitchhiking #wiki #autostop
#trampen
#hacerdedo
#bildbeschreibung

#ImageDescription
#DescriptionDelimage
#BiBesch

https://i.redd.it/5lqs3tktwho31.jpg

Here are valid visual informations for #hitchhikers in and through Europe: The average waiting time until a car stops in all european regions, based on the data hitchhikers have collected on the #hitchhiking #wiki #autostop
#trampen
#hacerdedo
#bildbeschreibung

#ImageDescription
#DescriptionDelimage
#BiBesch

https://i.redd.it/5lqs3tktwho31.jpg

Here are valid visual informations for #hitchhikers in and through Europe: The average waiting time until a car stops in all european regions, based on the data hitchhikers have collected on the #hitchhiking #wiki #autostop
#trampen
#hacerdedo
#bildbeschreibung

#ImageDescription
#DescriptionDelimage
#BiBesch

https://i.redd.it/5lqs3tktwho31.jpg

Here are valid visual informations for #hitchhikers in and through Europe: The average waiting time until a car stops in all european regions, based on the data hitchhikers have collected on the #hitchhiking #wiki #autostop
#trampen
#hacerdedo
#bildbeschreibung

#ImageDescription
#DescriptionDelimage
#BiBesch

https://i.redd.it/5lqs3tktwho31.jpg

Here are valid visual informations for #hitchhikers in and through Europe: The average waiting time until a car stops in all european regions, based on the data hitchhikers have collected on the #hitchhiking #wiki #autostop
#trampen
#hacerdedo
#bildbeschreibung

#ImageDescription
#DescriptionDelimage
#BiBesch

https://i.redd.it/5lqs3tktwho31.jpg

#introductions

Hi! Here's a collection of hashtags: #ecology #drylands #climatechange #globalchange #drought #science #remotesensing #geography #modelling #soundart #fieldrecording #fieldrecordings #jazz #electronicmusic #doublebass #saxophone #modularsynths #monome #llllllll #supercollider #hitchhiking #hiking #cycling #tourcycling #mountainhiking #ambient #solarpunk #permaculture #programming #linux #rstats #physics #opensource #oss #foss #meditation #creativecommons #Brussels #Copenhagen

Android users can now install the "BeWelcome - Hospitality Exchange" app from the PlayStore, or download the installation file from www.bewelcome.org
APK: http://downloads.bewelcome.org/apps/BeWelcome-1.0.0.1.apk

#hospitality #hitchhiking #couchsurfing #travel #journey #Bewelcome

https://twitter.com/BeWelcome/status/1326812962464563200?s=20