Alana Blanchard: more than a bikini model. Photo: @Rusa
Today, marketability is an idea so inextricably linked with professional athletes. In fact, many of the top female athletes, notably in surfing, could easily replace the models on the catwalk at the New York fashion week. Many of them have been featured in the pages of magazines like Vanity Fair and they didn’t look a touch out of place. I’m sure its readers flipped through the pages thinking they were just another model carrying a surfboard as a prop. They probably thought their hair was dyed, tans were sprayed, and their physique was acquired from a few overpriced Soul Cycle sessions. But it wasn’t. It’s from hard work, dedication and the determination to live out one’s dreams.
We’ve playfully—and sometimes not so playfully—bickered in the comments section of articles that are supplemented with a Laura Enever magazine spread, or with the latest follow count of Alana’s Instagram, which has yet to feature a photo of her actually on her board. Men get to laugh and snicker (because men totally snicker) at a sport that sees female marketing campaigns from inside studios, pampered with big hair make up, shiny lights and no waves. But I think the snickering should stop. Laugh and ridicule all you like. But as you sit behind your screen and watch Alana swish her hair and flash her booty you will leave having subconsciously absorbed the Rip Curl logo countless times. And every time you watch you are putting bank in Alana’s ever-growing sponsorship deals. You may think that by clicking “follow” when you find her social media accounts that she is a sell-out who is more suited to the bikini trodden than to the surf. But she isn’t. And it’s a shame they are so misunderstood.
Some people think we should respect Tyler, Carissa and Malia more because they’re not outwardly using their femininity to promote themselves. However, this is just another judgement made in a system that is restrictive to females. Both should be respected and applauded for their variety, confidence, and, of course, talent. Promotion should be reflective of the individual. It doesn’t mean one or the other is more right or wrong. It does, however, mean that they should all have options. Their femininity shouldn’t force them into a pigeonhole of bikini shots from a studio. They can still be females without a booty shot.
Yes, the tour is good-looking, but maybe this has something to do with the women being athletes. They are strong, confident and passionate. They have traded in nightclubs for dawn sessions and binge drinking for health-kicks. They are glistening eyes and wide smiles who sacrificed a lot to live their dreams. How they choose to show the world their strengths varies. Therefore, we shouldn’t compare Laura to Coco or Steph to Lakey unless we’re judging their performance in a heat. We should look at them as individual woman that compete fearlessly and gracefully, putting their bodies on the line, as they forge their legacy.
It may be tricky for a lot of people to understand the difference, and even more so to accept it. We need to promote them as professionals, accept their individuality and understand they’re more than physical representations of the “hot surfer chick” ideal. They’re more than the centrefold in a men’s magazines. They’re that, too, but only if they want to be. Stop judging their right to be who they want to be and how they want to show it.
