Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Sarah Hoiland, "Righteous Sisterhood: The Politics and Power of an All-Women's Motorcycle Club" (Temple UP, 2025)
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Dr. Sarah Hoiland
Date: November 23, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into Dr. Sarah Hoiland’s groundbreaking book, Righteous Sisterhood: The Politics and Power of an All-Women's Motorcycle Club. Dr. Hoiland joins Dr. Miranda Melcher to discuss the intricacies, challenges, and significance of researching and documenting the world of an all-women’s motorcycle club—an environment previously underexplored by scholarship. The conversation covers motivations behind the book, the history and politics of motorcycle clubs, feminist interventions in biker culture, and the unique structures and rituals that define the Righteous Sisterhood Motorcycle Club (RSMC).

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Author’s Background & Motivation

• Dr. Hoiland's Background: Professor of Sociology at Hostos Community College, CUNY.
• Initial Motivation: Transitioned from a dissertation chapter to a full book, feeling a need to tell a key informant’s (pseudonym “Sandy”) full story. (02:54)
• Dedication: The book is dedicated to the women of RSMC and to women in Hoiland’s support network.

Research Methods and Access

• Participant Observation: Main fieldwork occurred during RSMC’s annual national meetings (“Nationals”), providing a rare window into club rituals and culture. (05:26)
• Interviews & Documents: Conducted multiple interviews and analyzed internal documents to supplement observation.
• Archival Discovery: Found archival images of women bikers from the 1940s, challenging accepted histories of motorcycle culture as male-dominated. (11:38)

Defining “Righteous Sisterhood”

• Struggle for Terminology: Previous literature used derogatory or inadequate terms for women bikers.
• Coining ‘Righteous Sister’: Hoiland adopts the term “righteous” (with roots in jazz and MC subculture) to center women’s agency and community in biker culture. (07:16)
• Unique Identity: RSMC members are women who self-identify as bikers and choose to ride with other women—distinct from being “women bikers” who prefer men’s clubs. (11:01)

"The key here is that she prefers to ride with other righteous sisters."
– Dr. Sarah Hoiland (10:48)

Club History & Structures

• Origins: The club was founded in the 1980s, though women’s visible presence in biker spaces dates back to the 1940s. (11:38)
• Co-ed to Segregation: MCs were more integrated in the 1940s; segregation escalated in the 1960s with clubs like Hells Angels rising. (14:24)
• Patch Politics: Patches are analogous to national flags—sacred symbols of membership, with rigid protocols about initiation, wearing, and ownership. (17:57)
• Initiation: RSMC’s initiation is notably longer and more inclusive than most men’s clubs (3–5 years), emphasizing mentorship and community, not just endurance. (17:57)

"In the women's world, they were just called sister almost from day one."
– Dr. Sarah Hoiland (19:45)

Symbolism and Power of Patches

• Patches as Identity: Wearing a three-piece patch signals full citizenship in the MC “nation”; patches must never touch the ground and are protected at all costs. (17:57)
• Anecdote: A male MC member prioritized saving his patch over medical protocol after an accident, underlining the patch’s significance. (23:56)

Motivations for Membership

• Demographics: Predominantly women 50+, often accomplished professionals seeking community and meaning. (26:44)
• Philanthropy: Unlike men’s MCs, RSMC’s philanthropic engagement and activism (e.g., domestic violence, breast cancer awareness) are central. (26:44)
• Sisterhood: Creating meaningful, lasting relationships and collective action are major draws for members.

Race, Sexuality, and Club Politics

• Racial Segregation: Both men’s and women’s MCs remain largely racially homogenous; RSMC is predominantly white, and race is rarely discussed. (30:48)
• Sexuality: Discussions of sexuality are closely guarded as “club business,” with some gay members present but closeted for club cohesion and respectability. (30:48)
• Conformity for Legitimacy: To earn respect in a misogynistic wider MC world, RSMC often mirrors prevailing norms, even as they redefine others.

Recognition, Awards, and Social Structure

• Sister of the Year: Annual award decided by nationwide peer nominations, celebrating non-traditional forms of excellence and support. (34:26)
• Diversity of Excellence: Recognition is not for dominance or violence (as in some men’s MCs), but for leadership, caregiving, skills, or community service.

"It really provided... a space of appearances for women who might be marginalized in society to achieve a kind of excellence that's quite unique."
– Dr. Sarah Hoiland (36:48)

Conflict & Exclusion

• Exit vs. Exile: Exits are voluntary, exiles are forced and treated as civic death—members must sever all ties, even friendships and family links. (38:25)
• Club Democracy & Coup Attempts: Despite being structured as a democracy, attempts to challenge leadership can provoke harsh discipline and excommunication. (38:25)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Creating a New Scholarly Term:
  "I really struggled writing for a long time because I could not find the language to describe what I was observing... I really sort of tried to figure out whether I could adapt and adopt existing terminology. And I just came down to the fact that I couldn't."
  – Dr. Sarah Hoiland (07:16)

• On Female Biker Visibility:
  "...I found a plethora of photos of women wearing patched jackets and vests from the 1940s... happy, smiling, confident, you know, arms draped around sailors... They really challenged the dominant narrative about what women were doing during the sort of origin phase of the American male outlaw motorcyclist."
  – Dr. Sarah Hoiland (12:33)

• On the Patch as Sacred:
  "So, you know, that particular example is very significant because it just demonstrates the way in which that sacred object is valued."
  – Dr. Sarah Hoiland (24:09)

• On Sisterhood and Philanthropy:
  "...it was a time of their life when they had time, and they could devote that time to the Righteous Sisterhood motorcycle club and simultaneously have a nation full of sisters."
  – Dr. Sarah Hoiland (29:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------|---------------| | Introduction and Author Background | 01:35–04:23 | | Research Methods and Fieldwork | 05:05–06:50 | | Defining “Righteous Sisterhood” | 07:16–11:01 | | Club Origins and Historical Context | 11:38–14:24 | | Club Structures, Patches, and Hierarchy | 14:24–17:57 | | Initiation Rituals and Patch Significance | 17:57–24:29 | | Motivations for Joining | 26:44–30:15 | | Race & Sexuality as Club Business | 30:48–33:51 | | Recognition and Internal Awards | 34:26–37:56 | | Conflict, Exit, Exile in Club Politics | 38:25–41:57 | | Author’s Current & Future Work | 42:31–44:46 |

Final Thoughts & Next Projects

• Sisterhood Beyond the Club: Dr. Hoiland continues research on women-centered community and support networks, including a college program for parenting students and a life history book with a 94-year-old Harlem woman. (42:31)
• Continued Relevance: The idea and power of sisterhood remain central to Hoiland’s work, transcending biker culture into other marginalized or community-building spaces.

In Summary

Righteous Sisterhood shines a light on a hidden world of women’s agency, community, and political identity within motorcycle culture. Dr. Sarah Hoiland’s ethnography reveals both the empowering and challenging aspects of all-women’s motorcycle clubs, while critically engaging with issues of language, power, exclusion, and resistance. This episode offers a thoughtful, in-depth look at how gender, ritual, and rebellion intertwine on the open road—and beyond.