women, skateboarding, and the Elephant in Room

Hopefully, you hang on till the end lol.

Skateboarding has historically been at the epicenter of counter culture. Shaking up society is a daily pass time and breaking norms is as arousing as it is progressive. Because of that, skateboarding, both the community and culture, have generally been pretty open in terms of who is "accepted". As long as you have a skateboard, busting your ass like the rest of us, who cares who you are, what you look like, or where you're from. So of course, male skateboarders have been stoked to see that women have been getting some more traction in the industry (despite the few weirdos that actually think girls shouldn't skate). I mean who wouldn't be? Girls pulling up with switch tricks, and bugging out in bowls, getting techy? Finally, because let's be dead ass, the skateboarding community is definitely a sausage fest. It's for sure a male dominated activity and with that comes some problematic shit that I honestly don't have time to sit and write a whole dissertation on. Especially in relation to women. Women deciding to get increasingly involved is a breath of fresh air for us, not to mention a great way to represent women outside of the norms society has strictly placed on them since the dawn of time. So it's really weird that social media in the skateboarding world literally lights on fire every time a girl is posted on a major page.

I mean have you seen The Berrics Instagram page?

Yo, every time Steve Berra or Eric Koston posts a girl, the comments split into these weird political groups. Skateboarders, political? That doesn't even sound right in the same paragraph. But, there's been this hot debate of what girls should be posted on pages such as this, which have a large following and is known to house some of the best skateboarders in the world. Arguments from purists suggest that The Berrics is not taking accountability for the quality of skateboarding they post in regards to women. That these women being posted are subpar in skill level, and they're only posting them because she is a woman. Even further, those arguments are followed by, "How come she can do that shit I do all the time, but I've been sending y'all my shit for years and y'all still ain't post me". Now of course, many of these types of comments (particularly the last one) come from angsty teens and young men, who have been skating for years, and would literally commit murder, for a literal 15 seconds of fame on this page. And yet, they find themselves boat-less in an ocean of DMs to Berra and Koston asking for a shot. In their defense, they care. They care about skateboarding, they care about The Berrics, and they care about the direction of where skateboarding is going. They feel cheated and I can understand why. Here's this girl who can do exactly what you do, yet she's getting the accolades for it. But, what these people don't realize is that i t i s n o t a b o u t y o u.

Men have dominated skateboarding for years. And while we as a community haven't outwardly said "no girls allowed" the rest society kind of did that for us. These days, representation is everything. Influencing youths who may or may not see themselves doing a particular thing, making adults feel like they're actually a part of a society, telling the rest of the world, "hey we're here too", representation fucking matters. And in this case, that's what it's about. I mean, skateboarders are open to everyone right? Skateboarding is for everyone. What Berra and Koston are doing, is honestly their duty as skaters with such a large platform. They're showing the world that skateboarding is more than a bunch of sweaty, beer chugging, BROOOO'S. They're planting seeds for future generations. They're showing the world that there are girls here too, busting their asses, stomping these tricks, and chugging beers with us. So Berra and Koston, good on you, you're doing a good thing. Right?...

See, the other side of the comments argues that what's happening is a classic example of gatekeeping, and policing of someone else's page and content. They argue that people who antagonize and reject the women that are being posted are problematic because they're insecure that a woman is "taking their spot", "women can do it too". And, while these are usually the lesser used arguments, the one that's been mostly taking headway is "They don't need to be bangers all the time, it's about progress. Isn't that what skateboarding's about?"......... S i g h............ Now of course, these comments come from angsty teens and young women, and the men trying to fuck em. The young women of course, justifiably defensive, because here are men from a male dominated society, in a male dominated activity policing women. AGAIN! Of course you're tired of it. Of course gatekeeping of any sort is gonna tick you off. But the fact of the matter is, skateboarding, though working on its representation of you, is still bigger than you.

Skateboarding, by nature, has always been competitive, and difficult, and this only increases the further up you go. It's what drives talent and progression in skateboarding. On an individual level you're battling yourself, on a micro level you're learning and competing with the homies, on a macro-professional level you're competing with others from places you've never heard of for sponsorships and deals and pro contracts. Skateboarding is inherently competitive, even if it's just for fun. Even if you remain on the individual level. Since when in any competitive space is there passes and pats on the shoulder for good effort? There is, and always will be, a threshold, a standard, that we all hold ourselves and other to. Does this mean videos of progression and attempts aren't valid? Of course not! Should you still post your progress? ABSOLUTELY. But, in the context of pages such as The Berrics, this is different since they have a large platform that boasts its posts of other very talented skaters. See the main gripes from less angsty, socially aware teens and young adults is that they have no problems with women being represented in these spaces. In fact, they encourage it. No, their issue is the quality of skateboarding by these young women on these huge pages, our refusal to acknowledge it, and the higher quality skateboarding by women that is DEFINITELY out there.

You see, while Berra and Koston and sooooo many others post women on their pages for representation, they do not hold these young women to the same standard as male skaters (which has some problematic implications in and of itself). The women you'll see on these pages will not fully pop their tricks, barely leaving the ground. Some will lack any type of style, others might not even land the trick at all but still get recognition for it. Some will very clearly accidentally land on their boards showing a lack of control, balance, and stability. Even further, many of these women on these pages are either very conventionally attractive, have a crazy large following based on other aspects of their lives, or are even models who happen to skateboard. Now of course, if this skill level was biologically constant for all women skateboarding, this would be moderately acceptable. Shit, if it was recently legalized for women to skateboard, on some super light and simplified Handmaid's Tale shit, totally acceptable, since they'd have to play catch up. But, obviously this isn't the case, especially since women have been killing the skateboarding industry for years, though in low numbers. Marisa Dal Santo

Lacy Baker

Leticia Bufoni

just to name a few, are all women who've reminded us that women have always been just as capable as men, and should therefore be held to the same standard. They've gone above and beyond the standard, even when society said they shouldn't be able to. So why are we lowering the standard for models with well established clout, when there are women who are besting the pros everyday that deserve recognition. I mean have y'all seen Adrianne Sloboh?

Beatrice Domond?

Savannah Headden?

They, and so many other girls like them, been putting in work, busting their asses, landing their shit, and yet all this glory falls on the pretty blonde who can barely pop her kickflips. I mean isn't that an insult to the culture of skateboarding, where even your homies hold you accountable to popping your tricks? Isn't that insulting to women, since this lowering of standards hinges on the fact that one believes she is less capable because she is a woman? Isn't that an insult to your female consumers and fans, who are talented and skate tirelessly everyday in hopes that one day, they get a shot despite not being a model or Instagram famous? And, while I respect and support these pages for representing women in skateboarding, don't y'all think y'all can do a little better?

Aye man, idk. I be chattin.