Women in the Sub-Culture of Surfing
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gender roles longboard Masculinity surf culture surfing
Alana Blanchard/Photo from www.couriermail.com.au
This post is by Cori Schumacher.
The largest surf brands, the majority of which are located in Orange County, California in close proximity to each other (e.g. Quiksilver, Billabong, O’neill, Rip Curl, Volcom), exert control over the content of surf media. Representatives and CEOs of these companies have been known to walk into the main surf media outlets to influence what audiences/consumers see in the surf media. They do this by using their advertising dollars as leverage to stifle stories and sponsoring surf trips with hand-picked surfers and photographers that are subsequently featured in surf media.
Stories that flirt with controversy are used ubiquitously in the surf media to stir up aggravation, hostility and web traffic, rather than provoking thought or sincerely addressing controversial issues. The most glaring example of this was the handling of the untimely death of three-time world Champion Andy Irons in 2010.
Surf writer Brad Melekian broke the palpable cloud of quiet that surrounded the death of Irons. He did so by risking a move outside of “surfing’s wall of silence” to publish his controversial exposé on Irons’ drug addled history and Billabong’s (Irons’ main sponsor) knee-jerk press release stating that his death was caused by dengue fever. Even after Melekian’s article was heralded by surf fans for its critical perspective, only one other media outlet, TheInertia[dot]com, dared to cross the line in the sand. The Inertia is an online surf media outlet that is run strictly off subscriptions and intentionally avoids accepting advertising dollars from the surf industry in order to remain independent.
I had a first-hand experience with this phenomenon at the beginning of 2011 when I participated in an article for Surfer Magazine that tackled the perniciousness of homophobia in surf culture. It was a piece of journalism that was well written, well researched, well sourced and timely. The staff journalist pulled quotes from various professional surfers, ASP leadership, and surf industry executives. Those who participated were told by the magazine editor that the piece was scheduled to be published in February of 2011. It was never published. I requested an explanation for why the article was not printed, but I never received any feedback from Surfer Magazine and without the courtesy of a response, I can only assume (given past patterns) that the article was killed in hopes of stifling dialogue. Maintaining and directing the image of surfing through the media is of paramount importance. This is most obvious, not through those stories and images that are printed, but in the limited amount of content that provides dissident opinions, voices or viewpoints.
What is this carefully constructed and closely monitored image? A quick content analysis of any surf print magazine or online surf site shows surfing to be an activity primarily composed of: white, risk-taking, heroic, relatively stoic elder men or their goofball younger counterparts, healthy, clean and carefree, athletic and heterosexual. Surfing certainly isn’t touted for its diversity. The issue of racism in surfing, though counterintuitive given its roots in Hawaii, is prevalent. The recently released documentary White Wash tackles the ubiquity of racism in surf culture.
One group that seems to have had a modicum of success penetrating the projected image is female surfers (there were more pictures of women in the June 2011 print issues of Surfer, Surfing and TWS than non-white males). For every one picture of a woman in these three print issues, seven of men could be found. For every one shot of a woman actually surfing, there were twelve and a half more images of men surfing. Unfortunately, in both image and content, the surf media is right in line with mainstream sports, whose own media often trivializes and minimizes the accomplishments of female athletes.
The above may be a deceptive snapshot, however, given that the June print issue of Surfing Magazine spent two pages advertising its swimsuit issue and the Nike 6.0 Leave a Message women’s surf film. This film prompted a story in the June print issue of Surfer Magazine along with ads in each magazine. The film was much anticipated and promised to highlight a “new generation” of female surfers who were pushing the boundaries of women’s surfing. What the film amounted to was a twenty-minute, rapid-fire advertisement for Nike 6.0. Though there were moments of inspired surfing, the all-male film crew could not avoid the gratuitous girls-in-bikinis wrestling match in the sand and the “come hither” glances and model poses that reinforced the 2011 trend of hypersexualizing the image of the female surfer.
In 2011, top female surfers posed nude for ESPN’s body issue, frolicked topless and inviting, posed in Playboy, and, under the supposed protection of a play on words, brushed the edges of soft porn. What began as the year fans would see “a new generation of women pushing the boundaries of surfing” saw the new generation instead, pushing the boundaries of the sexualization of the female surfer, all under the watchful eye of an industry that praised them for “embracing their femininity.”
The hype of the surf industry and the surf media would have us believe that this attractive, shrinking-bikini-clad, flirtatious, ever-younger crop of emphatically feminine ladies is more empowered than ever, but if this is true, why do these women consistently get stuck surfing the worst conditions in contests? Why do they feel they have to surf in a bathing suit adding to still-existent body image issues? This is not an easy task with the force of the ocean seeking to tear the suit off with every shift of the body. Why are female pro surfers losing their most prized events on their professional surfing world tour (the tour that determines the official professional World Champions), while the male pro surfers continue to keep theirs? In canceling women’s events in places like Hawaii and Fiji, where the waves are some of the best in the world, and centering the women’s professional surfing tour around locations that offer mediocre, weak-energy waves, the pro tour offers viewers a very unequal vision of women’s and men’s pro surfing. This is equivalent to binding the legs of the best female ballet dancer in the world before sending her on stage to dance alongside her liberated male counterpart in the world’s most prestigious production of Swan Lake. Ultimately, the entire production (the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour) is weakened because of an inbuilt handicap.
The activity of surfing itself promotes a healthy, active physical culture. Through surfing, young girls have the opportunity to experience a deep connection with their bodies that can help them fend off a society obsessed with women’s bodies as sexual objects for men’s consumption. When abdicated to the overwhelming androcentrism found in and around the surf industry, this opportunity ceases to be an empowering experience and instead, can add to the body-anxiety that is so damaging to girls and women.
When I was a younger professional surfer, anorexia and bulimia were (and perhaps still are) problems for female surfers. The reason for this revolved around an entrenched and accepted view of the “feminine” being thin and without musculature. The most tragic aspect of this was that women who were aware that other women had these problems would rarely speak up. A large group of women supported this unhealthy image of the feminine, either by actively engaging in the behaviors ourselves, or by being de facto partners to the status quo through our silence. More emphasis was placed on how we looked than on how well we were surfing. This was true individually as well as institutionally.
Beginning in the ‘90s a new generation of female surfers began to recast the athletic female body in a positive light. These ladies first had to overcome the institutionalized, androcentric view that strength and athleticism were not feminine. They had to change their minds first and then the minds of those around them. The results of their struggle directly influenced how acceptable being a strong, competitive and athletic female surfer is today. It was by overcoming a stifling image of ourselves that we were able to refocus and literally, reshape women’s surfing. For awhile, this was accomplished under the noses of the largest surf brands. Women’s surf magazines sprang up, along with all-female surf schools, women’s surf shops and women’s clothing lines. Advertising shifted away from the too-thin female surfer and female surfers began to surf stronger.
This movement fell short of placing ability over image precisely because of the entrenched, androcentric perspective that values a woman’s looks as an indication of her femininity and the need of the surf industry to tightly control the image of surfing. The emerging female surfing economy finally grew large enough to attract the attention of the industry. The major surf brands effectively shut down the women’s surf magazines, like Wahine Magazine (denying advertising dollars and shifting this money to surfer-girl media newly introduced through the main surf publications where the surf brands could control how female surfers were presented), and began producing their own lines of women’s surf clothing. Retail stores felt the same pressure. Female surfers remained excited about the shift but unaware that this play was being made behind the scenes. Meanwhile, emerging all-female surf brands slowly disappeared, all-female surf shops closed their doors and only those surf schools that worked with the main brands remained. The four main brands effectively assimilated the movement. Then, they began the task of shaping the image of women’s surfing that would be most beneficial to growing their consumer base.
The current image (long hair, fit, athletic, slim-but-not-too-slim, flirtatious and heterosexual, always smiling, younger and younger, sexy, and skin-bearing), continues to feed into the status quo for female athletes that emphasizes ability as an accessory to beauty. It is unchallenging to the dominant male sexual economy and it is fueling the current re-emergence of the sexual objectification of women in surf media.
Though female surfers as a group may have had some success penetrating the dominant stereotype of “surfer,” they have acquired their own burdensome stereotype along the way. The troubling thing about this is that the foremost professional female surfers seem unified in their support of the status quo. How much of this is due to internal competition for the few resources (sponsorships and media coverage in a male run sport) female surfers do have? How much of this uniformity is due to the oligarchical, controlling influence of the surf industry? The ladies are, after all, employed by these same surf companies through sponsorships. How much is due to an internalization of sexualization by the girls themselves? Are we to assume that women’s surfing is exactly how we are fed it, given what we know of how the surf industry controls the image of its surfers?
The image of female surfers that emerges is not the surfer’s view of herself (to what extent she has had an environment in which she might explore her own understanding of herself is questionable) but a tailored image that neatly fits into the androcentric values and expectations of the surfing world. Instead of accepting the current image of female surfers as empowered simply because they are wearing bikinis and say they want to… and shredding… we should keep analyzing behind the scenes and pushing for more institutional change from the bottom-up.
Cori Schumacher has spent more time in water than on land. She began surfing at five years old and competing at eight. She is a three-time Women’s World Longboard Champion (2000, 2001, 2010), two-time North American Women’s Longboard Champion (2008, 2009), and Women’s Longboard Pipeline Pro Champion (2009). She also holds multiple amateur shortboard titles. Cori is an advocate, tackling various issues including the persistent gender disparity, heterosexism and homophobia in sport.
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7:15 pm
Great piece, I think it’s the tip of the iceberg.
Like I said before, I will work for you on anything.
Keep up the great work.
Thanks
Larry Hammerness
P.S. Is it possible to be male and be a victom of androcentric behavour?
7:50 pm
sweet article thats full of heresay….
9:14 pm
I really appreciate this article and all of your insight.
9:32 pm
Cori always provides a good read.
I’ve never been comfortable with gender segregated surf shops, magazines and contest.
I personally believe Nike 6.0′s interest in surfing is temporary but they will do plenty of damage in the meantime.
The mainstream monthly mags are struggling and becoming increasingly irrelevant as more and more independent surf blogs rise up.
The culture of the mainstream surf industry will change as more and more authentic female surfers replace the aging Costa Mesa baby boomers who are retiring.
The future of surfing is co-ed, look at all the little mini groms learning to surf together right now.
Things will look very different in 10 years.
9:37 pm
A well thought-out and written piece which raises some interesting points. On a positive note, there are now far more girls and women surfing than ever before, but the power of the surf industry and media is undeniable. Sadly, the whole issue of unrealistic body image and sexualisation of girls is widespread across the board, not just within surfing. We need to fight the tide, and teach girls to enjoy surfing for their souls, not their image!
12:28 pm
Well Said!!
10:06 pm
Thank you for your bringing into light the darkness that remains so much a part of surfing industry. Women have for so long been given just enough recognition by sports industry so as not to make these companies looked at as
only male oriented.
11:40 am
Great article Cori! Thanks so much for writing this.
I agree with JP and feel that things are finally starting to change (very slowly). Hopefully women will continue to learn to shift their own perception of beauty and health from within.
Funny, but when I show my swimsuits to guys most of them are surprisingly happy and tell me how they think they are very elegant and attractive although they don’t show that much skin. Of course, all the like minded women surfers think the same thing, but sometimes when I show them to the women buyers at more mainsteam stores, the girls they say they like the “idea” but they think they might be easier to sell if the cuts were more sexy and showed more skin. So ironic!
2:57 pm
This is something i wrote and i wanted you to look over. I worked for one of the largest surf companies in the world and have seen first hand the BS and sexism that goes along with it:
Surfing and Sexism: The Damsel or the Dyke
When I began surfing at the age of 15, I was blinded by the rush of being in the water, having the sun beat on my back and riding perfect southern California waves. Little did I know that the surf industry was as sexist as they come. During high school and college, I managed a high volume surf shop that I called my second home. However I felt more demeaned, ridiculed and oppressed in that “home” as I have to this day ever felt. I decided to write about my experience because I am tired of choosing the Damsel or the Dyke roll.
It is clear to me that the sexism I experience isn’t uncommon. In an article written by April Jackson for the L.A. times (http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-27/news/ss-820_1_surf-county), she recalls the harassment she encountered daily by the men in the lineup. Boys and men alike would call her off waves cut her off just because of her sex. She asks,” What is more dangerous to the female surfer- the great white shark or the great tanned jerk?” This being asked, what is so intimidating about a female surfer?! To help understand the sexism behind the surf industry, we need to look at the root of the problem: Men’s attitudes and perceptions of the female surfer.
The Dyke: This woman is characterized as an aggressive female surfer who disregards the harassment from the men out in the line up or parking lot. Often times, the men will make advances at her and she will fire back something obscene. The men’s response is to use “lesbian baiting” (the use of sexist slurs referring to homosexuality to scare women back into a submissive role that is accepted by the general population) to try to re-boost patriarchy. She often is built more “boy-ish” with narrow hips and broad shoulders. She surfs well, in fact, probably just as well as the majority of the men out there. She recognizes the sexism and does not feed into it. She stands up for what she thinks is hers, even if her “feminine” reputation is at risk.
The Damsel: The Damsel is the female surfer who is often glamorized in movies, T.V. and the media. She is a smoking hot blonde with long blonde hair, is toned, thin, and have a bright white smile. Not to mention she also wears tiny bikinis while she surfs. Usually, she will surf for an hour or so and then proceed to lay on the beach and tan. She never questions her place at the beach or in the water and the only reason the male surfers tolerate her in the water with them is because she’s attractive and flirty. She doesn’t use surf lingo or try to be one of the boys, she has accepted her roll as a sex object and will be often treated as just that.
There is no in-between for us female surfers who do not necessarily conform to either roll that the male surfers want to place us in. To them, we are one or the other. This has somewhat ruined my attitude towards surfing, although I still work in the surf industry. Each day, I witness more sexism towards our female surfers being perpetuated by the males, some of whom I work with. My solution? That I am not sure of.
6:26 pm
A great read: thought-provoking, articulate and resonant with this female surfer. Thanks Cori.
5:23 am
Awesome to read these points so well articulated. Thank you so much for your critical thinking and being up front about what you see going on, and what you experience.
There is no denying the points you lay out here, and I look forward to the day these issues change. There is nothing more sexy than a person truely at home in their own skin, alive and confident and truely free. When we can relate with each other with that level of respect, its fireworks! How awesome to be truely rocking together! What are we afraid of?
Heres to every woman who continues to be bold, and rocks her styles, no matter what, heres to the men who dig friendship and awesome surfing..
7:58 am
All interesting. From a somewhat older woman’s viewpoint and a parent of a once pro surfer girl, what is happening to this industry? The girls started out making an effort to change how women are looked upon and perceived as having a place with equality alongside the men. To stand up and be counted to the world as highly talented athletes. I find it sad that quite young women got caught up in a twist from them starting out to make themselves be counted in the world of surfing but somehow got side tracked and persuaded to pose barely clothed or nude, which although portrays the human female body as beautiful, is also exploiting young girls and camourflaging the real objective of some. Disappointing to think these very young girls are really unaware, caught up in the limelight – Shame on those stripping these very young women of their innocence – have some respect they could be your daughters – girls wake up and see what is really happening here – keep your clothes on you are just as beautiful & talented, if not more so …. begin to realise that just perhaps you are being lead off the track somewhat! Get real those guilty of taking such advantage of these females and allow these girls to not look back later and regret what innocence could not see at the time. Give these teenage girls time to grow and mature into brilliant young athletic ladies! These young women are all beautiful and dedicated as much as the men!
11:36 am
Ms. Schumacher has shown, once again, that she is a supremely eloquent and intelligent writer, as well as a leader in women’s surfing. As someone who came of age during the feminist movement, it saddens me to see that the surfing world (in general) remains stuck in the ’50s regarding gender equality. To be fair, there are some companies that promote and value female surfers equally (like Dewey Weber and Coral Reef, with whom my daughter has an affiliation). My daughter is also fortunate to have a high school surf coach who values his girl surfers as much as his boy surfers.
The problem with inequality became apparent to me a few years ago when my daughter started participating in school contests. The top scholastic surfing association in the United States (NSSA) holds middle school, high school, and college competitions. The divisions they offer are men’s shortboard, women’s shortboard, and “open” longboard. Never mind that women’s and girl’s longboard is equally popular to shortboarding, but that participation drops off at about age 14. Why? I believe it is because NSSA doesn’t offer a women’s division in longboard. “So what?” some might say. Well, this goes against goals of the 1972 Title IX position that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This means that when my daughter goes to college, she will not have an opportunity to compete in longboarding unless she surfs better than the men (and occasionally, she does!) Don’t public schools and universities receive federal funds? Yes! And are they complying with the rules of Title IX? No. With regard to girl longboarders competing with boys, experts on gender differences in athletics recommend that, post-puberty, girls and women are disadvantaged with regard to strength and should be afforded the opportunity to have separate teams
I have contacted NSSA twice in the past few years with this issue. I e-mailed every chairman from Hawaii to the East Coast. Not one of them answered or addressed the problem. So not only are the purveyors of the surf industry keeping “the girls” at bay–so are the scholastic competition organizers.
10:41 pm
“With regard to girl longboarders competing with boys, experts on gender differences in athletics recommend that, post-puberty, girls and women are disadvantaged with regard to strength and should be afforded the opportunity to have separate teams”
I just don’t see how this applies to surfing, especially longboarding.
11:38 am
And I’m curious if you think it is more relevant to shortboarding. In bigger conditions, there can be no question that there would be a male advantage. Increased heart and lung capacity would be one difference. But certainly upper-body strength is the big difference. And if paddling doesn’t involve upper-body strength, then I don’t know what does. Finally, as I’ve watched bigger men charge (snd survive) big floaters, it looks like they have a decided advantage in their body weight to not get bounced off their board. And I’m comparing this to equally talented groms who are unable to do that because they are lighter.
I agree that there are some sports where gender is not an issue. I was a competitive sailor and that was always co-ed. It is a tactical sport and, unless your sailing a high-performance olympic-type boat or on a 35 foot racer, strength was not usually an issue.
11:28 am
I actually think the pro tour should be co-ed. The women surfed well in their recent Snapper contest in Australia, no need to segregate them.
Taylor Knox vs Rob Machado is not a fair upper body strength match up. Joel Tudor vs Tyler Warren is a mis-match for physical strength in longboarding.
The ASP is not forwarding thinking enough to run a co-ed contest.
11:39 am
Great article Cory, you are really brave to speakup! Keep up the good fight and shredding! Surfing is a good sport for women to enjoy.
12:34 pm
If there is any doubt that Cori speaks the truth, here is a 2009 excerpt from the abhorrent Justin Cote (editor of the extremely popular “Transworld Surf” magazine):
“TEN HOTTEST GIRLS IN PRO SURFING”
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a changing of the guard in women’s professional surfing. Out with the old—in with the new as the saying goes. With the new crop of talented girls coming in, we (finally) say goodbye to the Layne Beachley’s of the world and usher in Alana, Bruna, Steph and crew—more talented and definitely easy on the eyes if you catch our drift. The following list, assembled after long debates and plenty of parking lot banter, was assembled following these qualifications: does she rip? And does she look good doing so? While some are more on the rip side and others on the sexy side, we feel both sides of the spectrum are represented and did our best to not come off as total sexist pigs—not the easiest thing in the world to do for this bunch. As always, we trust you’ll rip into some pretty heated debate in the comment box, just one thing, keep it clean—we don’t need any pissed off dad’s/boyfriends/sponsors beating down the door to TWS.—Justin Cote
9:28 pm
That’s the best he can do not to come off as a total sexist pig? I am frankly speechless.
11:26 am
And Pippa, that is the most G-rated thing I’ve ever seen from him. As you probably know, this is one of the top-selling surf magazines. Mind-boggling.
8:59 pm
Thanks for your viewpoint, but until you can write as articulately as Cori I think you’ll fail to persuade me, or the wider world. Just a small tip – personally attacking people, particularly when you know nothing about them, is never going to win anyone over to your argument. A little bit of perspective here – we are just having a dialogue, not inciting a hate war….
12:08 am
Just for context, my comment above was in reply to an abusive rant which is not visible.
2:10 pm
Well said, thanks.