Interesting post - I definitely think Moto Guzzi needs to revise their terminology.

As somewhat of a tangent to your last paragraph, I think height would be better than weight as a defining criterion for the size classes in the football leagues you propose. For that matter, I think it would be a better defining criterion in wrestling (and boxing) as well - I have serious problems with a system that is so open to "gaming," in that contestants crash diet just before weigh-in so that they're competing in a different weight class from the one in which they live the other 99% of their life.

This reminds me of the time I was sitting in an airport departures area and heard an announcement stating that, because of weight distribution issues on a packed flight, all women would be seated toward the back of the plane.

I know absolutely nothing about this, but since the quote refrences inseam instead of actual leg length, could it be that this seat is more desgined to help women who (thanks to fashion standards) normally wear pants and leggings that are snug and tight to the body, whereas men normally wear baggier pants that allow for slightly better leg movement.

Just curious *shrug*

I think they could use a different term than "lady seat", but if the difference in motorcycle seats is anything like it is for bicycles, the wrong-sized seat is going to really really hurt. I had a bike with a "mens" seat for a couple of years (because most products labeled 'for women' tend to be of inferior quality because us silly wimmins won't notice, we're too busy cooking and cleaning and being sexy for teh mens! right?) and couldn't figure out why it was causing some fairly horrifying and painful bruises downstairs until I realized the "mens" version was meant for a different weight distribution.
Perhaps they could call it the "wider pelvis" seat and the "narrow pelvis" seat or something along those lines? That might actually make it easier for people to choose whichever version is more comfortable for them - men won't feel like they can't buy the "womens" version and women won't feel like they can't buy the "mens" version. And that would address the issue of men being the 'default' and women being 'other'.
Apologies for my overuse of quotation marks.

Lizz: "inseam" is the measurement from your crotch to your ankle, so "people with shorter inseams" would simply be people with shorter legs. I wonder if they used the odd phrasing because it's a direct translation from Italian.

If the difference really is only that the seat is mounted lower, and it's not shaped differently too, calling it a "lady seat" seems quite silly. I'm a 5'9" woman and I know a number of men who are shorter than I am - and who would balk at ordering something called a "lady seat" even if it was what was appropriate for their 5' 5" frame.

And if it is, as mblues suggests, a seat shaped differently to accommodate a wider pelvis, why would it only be available at the lower height?

Motorcycle seats come in a variety of widths depending on the bike. It usually depends on the type of riding. Eg. a cruiser motorcycle seat is wide as you sit on it most of the time, whereas a dirtbike seat is narrow as you stand and move around a lot.

A lot of women and men pay big bucks to get custom seats made because they are too short or they want something wider/narrower. I think shorter men would still pay for a custom seat rather than be seen buying a "lady seat". Motorcycling is still seen as a fairly masculine activity after all.

In the world of motorcycling, not only is it hard to find smaller bikes and equipment in the first place, it is hard to find anything that is not made smaller that isn't labeled for ladies - gloves, jackets, pants, boots. As a short woman I have to look hard and pay more to find the stuff I need. But, a man my size would have the added problem of being seen buying and wearing ladies' stuff. Sigh...

I think it will change as more and more women start riding. It is nice that Moto Guzzi is trying to attract female customers, it just doesn't seem like they did it in the right way.

I don't get what difference it makes whether you get a "lady seat" or the original - the height difference is 30 mm! It's a bit more than an inch.

As a 5'11" woman, I'm used to buying "men's" stuff, and don't have a problem with it. But in my experience it's a lot more difficult for some men going the other way around. I feel really sorry for the short guys who need that seat.

Yes Simone, but the stigma is attached to "womanly" qualities. Anything "womanly" is thought to be of less value than "male" qualities. It's the reason men are called pussies as a put-down, etc.

Men's feelings might be hurt by being compared to women, but men aren't the ones I feel bad for in these situations.

"If we had two football leagues (say, in high school) based on weight, both sex integrated..."

That'd work with football, I think, but with many other sports not so much, because even if a man and a woman are the same weight, the man is likely to have more muscle out of that weight, and be stronger.

Maybe they should call it something other than a ladies seat but I am sure that it was designed to accomodate the average height of woman. I go this same kind of thing designing equipment and work cells at work. The majority of our assembly personel are women (I'm sure that will be an issue with this site). In fact, the majority are asian, which tend to be even smaller. For ergonomic reasons, we must design based around the average height and reach of women. Yes, we have some that are taller than the average 5'6" but too bad for them. Not everything is an attack on women.

I just wanted to say thanks for posting my little observation, and I'm glad it sparked some discussion!

I'm an avid motorcyclist, and I can tell you that sexism and bigotry (especially homophobia) is alive and well in many facets of motorcycle culture, the least of which comes from manufacturers.

And yes, we say "inseam" to mean "leg length". If I had to guess why, I would say that if you know you have a 30" inseam, and the bike you're interested in also has a 30" seat height, then you know that you will most likely be able to fit on it and still touch the ground with your feet.

You know, I've gotta say, I do consider myself a feminist. But when it comes to matters like this, I think cutting these companies some slack is a fair response. One thing I've kept from my high school anatomy class is knowledge of bone growth. The reason women are shorter than men - and it's the majority, not just an average - is because high amounts of estrogen stunt bone growth. Thus, when puberty occurs, we essentially stop growing. And during menopause, we often shrink, or develop osteoporosis.

In the case of calling a shorter bicycle a ladies' bike, I see no issue. If we were to talk about how this affects the MEN that have to buy that size, then there's something worth discussion!