Rather than push a false rhetoric of empowerment meant to sell stuff (Empower yourself to purchase gender-normative, surfer-esque stuff! But be yourself, just not too different a self! Look carefree, easy-going, and surfy by wearing _____!) along with a visual-lingual mantra of sexy, hetero, white (save for those few Hawaiians who are used to create the illusion of lineage to the “heart and soul” of surfing extinguished by surfing as a business itself), I would hope that having more women in leadership positions in the surf industry would help to create an environment less focused on what titillates and excites the male gaze and what actually empowers women to efficaciously participate in the world and to become more comfortable in their own skin. The dynamic of the industry itself needs a shift.
The trouble with surfing as a business is that it is an industry that is, for the most part, publicly owned, growth and profit driven, neoliberal and newly greenwashing itself per the Millennial’s preoccupation with environmentalism. Patagonia stands as an important exception, along with a rising tide of smaller companies emerging currently, and a tantalizing example in both its private ownership and practices. What this means is that surfing as a business isn’t invested in breaking stereotypes. It is invested in selling a lowest common denominator stereotype/identity: the one that makes it the most money. This means that any change that must occur must come from the success of smaller businesses–most importantly, the consumer.
Surfing as an activity is not reliant on surfing as a business for its robust health. As far as the future for surfing the activity goes, there are more women out in the water than ever before. Local line-ups are far more accepting, diverse, and generally progressive than what is projected by surfing as a business. There is no need for the validation of one’s experience in the lineup by a profit-before-people-driven industry. Period. Most seasoned surfers I know take the surf industry with a grain of salt–“they” don’t represent “us”–and there is a growing movement of surfers who are sharing their stories outside of the control of surfing as a business to great applause and stoke. This, I believe, will continue to broaden the identity of “surfer” and tear down the stereotype produced and projected by surfing as business. The “uncooling” of surfing as a business is well underway.
I do think that things will change. I think they are changing now. Looking at these large companies, we can see that many of them responded to surfer’s desire for more environmental products, even if simply in rhetoric or with one or two products for testing. The industry will respond, but they need to feel the heat from consumers. The more we see through the thin veneer of marketing rhetoric, the more able we are to make consumer choices that support those who align with our vision of surfing the activity. Where we go next is entirely up to us.
Lynne Boyer from the late 70’s was the first woman ever to win titles in surfing. She struggled deeply though with homosexual feelings and didn’t want them to come out in the surfing industry. I know you are very concerned about gay rights and athletes. Do you think things are just as bad as they were back then?
I believe that we are in the midst of a massive shift in this particular area. Gay athletes and their straight allies are speaking out in a way that has never before been done. Nike recently offered a sponsorship to the first out-gay team athlete. Sports institutions are readying their interiors for the expected coming out of many gay athletes, much like the US military did directly before DADT (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) was rescinded.
In surfing, the first gay documentary is due out at the end of this year and another documentary about a transgender surfing woman is due out at the same time.
The key thing to keep in mind here is that just as women’s surfing in the 1990s opened up a market and profit opportunity for surfing as business, this too is a new demographic for surfing as business to jump into (now that public consensus has shifted in a more favorable direction for LBGT… folks). Surfing as business today is not a forward-thinking entity but one that follows well established trends in the wider culture. While this might make some athletes (though to what extent they will be gender non-conforming or gay surfers of color is another question) more comfortable being open about their sexuality, it is important to look ahead to how the “gay surfer” stereotype might also be warped as women’s surfing is being warped now, two decades after the first women’s boardshort was introduced.
What do you want up-and-coming female surfers, that want to be pros, to know?
Go to school instead. The individual dream of getting on tour, winning a world title(s)… being an ambassador for companies who want to make money off of your accomplishments… none of it compares to owning your life, your feelings, your body, your opinions, and using your knowledge and all the time and money required to travel on tour (so much time and money) to effect change that actually matters in the world.
Get an education, surf, have a stoke-filled blast, and if you are still interested in participating in surfing at a level greater than simply an activity you love, get involved at the business level. Better yet, create your own business and help to change the institution of surfing towards a more inclusive, diverse and empowering experience.
Do you think it is possible for a new organization of some kind to be created that would give women a chance to surf the way that they want and to make equal pay instead of the ASP?
This has been tried at least a few times before in the US with WISA (Women’s International Surfing Association) in the 1980s and other organizations that popped up in the 1990s. What has historically happened is that it is either assimilated into the surf industry or put out of business by being locked out of the surf industry completely. The ASP is run by the surf industry rather than the ASP being a body of influence over the surf industry. In order for something of this magnitude to happen, a sponsor would have to come from outside the industry with some serious money and invest for multiple years. The problem is that there would be conflicting bodies representing “the best surfers in the world” and so who would be the “real” champion? This becomes the test for surfers who choose to surf in these tours–the legitimacy of their titles rather than the equalling of pay alone.
Competitive surfing isn’t in the same place it was back in the 1980s or even in the 1990s. It is not as relevant to the mainstream and neither are the companies who back it. This is why we are seeing the decline of such companies as Billabong and Quiksilver, to some extent. I am doubtful that this could be pulled off with any long term success.
Do you think women are afraid to venture into surfing out of fears of what they might experience with men, the competition, etc, or do you feel their is a fear about the ocean and taking risks?
I think there are myriad reasons why women don’t take to the water (each woman would have to share why herself), some you have listed, and some that aren’t so obvious, like not having so much free time with children, work, education, and sometimes all three at once (living within reach of the ocean is expensive, after all)! Yet the number of women in surfing continues to grow, not because they see some beach-babe stereotype (which actually repels some women from surfing) but mostly because they have friends who surf, other women who want to share the experience.
