a females perspective on surfing

[IanCaio]

Interesting topic, and one I actually discussed last night with someone who was bitching about how aggressive surfers ruined the experience for him 8 years ago which lead to him no longer surfing.

I'm not sure many will agree with me, but I think this barrier is actually a good thing. I don't think people should be aggressive in the water, but keep and sort of impose the respect for the rules, the place, the locals. It's not black and white on the line up though, you'll see locals breaking rules too sometimes, lacking respect on some situations, but overall I think it keeps a more balanced place than not having that atmosphere at all. And in the end, if one gets in true love with surfing, they will struggle through that barrier and earn their place. Makes the line up a little more restrict to those who paid the dues and are passionate about it you know?

But I'm not sure that was the situation with your friend, maybe the place he was surfing did have some overly aggressive figures..

[RobSF]

I was raised to be courteous. So I always first ask, "May I mansplain what you're doing wrong there, sweetie?"

[kookRachelle]

Interesting topic, and one I actually discussed last night with someone who was bitching about how aggressive surfers ruined the experience for him 8 years ago which lead to him no longer surfing.

I'm not sure many will agree with me, but I think this barrier is actually a good thing. I don't think people should be aggressive in the water, but keep and sort of impose the respect for the rules, the place, the locals. It's not black and white on the line up though, you'll see locals breaking rules too sometimes, lacking respect on some situations, but overall I think it keeps a more balanced place than not having that atmosphere at all. And in the end, if one gets in true love with surfing, they will struggle through that barrier and earn their place. Makes the line up a little more restrict to those who paid the dues and are passionate about it you know?

But I'm not sure that was the situation with your friend, maybe the place he was surfing did have some overly aggressive figures..

Good point. I'm all for imposing respect for the rules. I'm not sure what he was doing to provoke it either, but I would imagine he was dropping in on people because he's kind of a spaz. If I had someone doing that to me and I didn't want to move, I might say something but in a non-aggressive way. Maybe "hey, not sure if you're noticing but you keep doing that to me." You know, give the benefit of the doubt before getting all OFF MY WAVE, HAOLE!!! LOCALS ONLY!!!!!

[kookRachelle]

I was raised to be courteous. So I always first ask, "May I mansplain what you're doing wrong there, sweetie?"

[saltydog]

I guess if you can pull it off there is nothing wrong with it.....

Ugh, I can't stand those narcissistic attention beggars, especially in the lineup. I don't care if they are a dude, a chick, or whatever. Thank god I rarely see them where I surf... except for this one SUPer in high fashion patterned speedo. Poison to my eyes

[LostAtSea]

I really enjoy watching women's surfing - all flow and style. There are a few that surf more of a male (aggressive) style, but I don't find it as appealing. Hack, hack, hack,...Steph Gilmour is a fantastic surfer to watch. Sally is a force too.

Many of the women on tour use their sexuality to market themselves. I guess to earn extra $ in sponsorships to pay for their tours/lifestyle.

I never know what to make of this. Is it society that pressures women to market themselves in a sexual way?

BTW - re:males giving advice to females. A musician in the band I play with loves to give advice to younger, female artists we meet along the way....and it's totally, 100% creepy. When a girl musician is in the vacinity, soundcheck, studio singer, whatever, he is like a magnet. He's around 50, and these girls are in their teens, 20's.

It's not cool. He's pretty harmless, but it's a sexual thing that is not consensual. Most don't mind (probably either used to it or too awkward to show disdain) but a few have told him to back off.

[RobSF]

I live in San Francisco. My woman surf mate is gay. So my perspective on women surfers, I think, is a little different from that of a lot of white men in their late 50s. I think the difference between women surfers and men surfers is basically that they're women. And they have to deal with men. That's pretty much it. It's a burden and an annoyance sometimes, and other times it's no more noticeable than being a woman having to work with men, or being a woman having to do anything else with men. When it's positive, it's positive in the same way it's positive surfing alongside women friends. In other words, it's positive when sex and gender aren't in the foreground. At all.

There's a documentary coming out . . . sometime . . . about women who surf Ocean Beach that I'm really looking forward to if they ever get the distribution money they need. It pretty much encapsulates my experience of women surfers in the Bay Area. "It Ain't Pretty":

[BoMan]

I really enjoy watching women's surfing - all flow and style.

Also true where I ride. I'm usually tired after paddling out and often spend the "recovery time" watching other surfers. I always see something to do better or a bad habit to fix. It's one of the best parts of my day.

Sometimes I'll pause to watch a good ride on my way out...until I take one on the head.

[oldmansurfer]

Sounds like it should be a good documentary. I don't think you can remove gender from anything and good luck removing sex from surfing. Gender is the first thing you notice about a person. That is just the way our minds work. While you may have a bunch of over the hill older surfers who think nothing of sex while surfing, teenagers and young adults still think about sex often. Our culture is so bizarre from my perspective especially the way females and males are trained to conform. Females are taught that they need to scrape their hair off their underarms and legs and apply pigments to their faces and buy expensive clothes in order to be normal and males are taught this is attractive. So strange and yet normal Yeah there is room for improvement in the way our society handles issues of gender and sex but I don't think pointing it out is going to make any difference. As far as women making money from it all why not? Men would do it too. You know Laird was a fashion model. I am not sure what is the answer.

[kookRachelle]

As far as women making money from it all why not? Men would do it too. You know Laird was a fashion model. I am not sure what is the answer.

Totally agree. Women do it because they can, and if a woman chooses not to, cool but she's no better or worse of a person, stop the hating. Women using their gender to benefit themselves is strong if there's a healthy relationship with it. Personally, I don't understand why some person women cannot see their image and sexuality attracting partners as a fact of life positive thing. You don't see men getting all bent out of shape when women expect them to be beer drinking, sports loving, horndogs. We are just wired very differently. Society definitely plays a big role but every species has one sex that does crazy things to attract the other. It's biological, as well as environmental in my opinion.

[RinkyDink]

I'm not sure many will agree with me, but I think this barrier is actually a good thing. I don't think people should be aggressive in the water, but keep and sort of impose the respect for the rules, the place, the locals. It's not black and white on the line up though, you'll see locals breaking rules too sometimes, lacking respect on some situations, but overall I think it keeps a more balanced place than not having that atmosphere at all. And in the end, if one gets in true love with surfing, they will struggle through that barrier and earn their place. Makes the line up a little more restrict to those who paid the dues and are passionate about it you know?.

I agree with you about respecting the rules. However, I do not believe some local dude has any more right to a wave than the kookiest kook. I don't care if it's Dane Kealoha or Larry Blair or anybody else. Nobody is entitled to waves who can't wait their turn. Once locals or anybody else start believing they're entitled to more waves or deserving of more "respect" than the next guy, then every dipshnitz who thinks he's good feels he can just drop in when he feels like it. In the end, that sense of entitlement ends up creating more drop-ins than they prevent as well as some insufferably moronic characters in the water. It also sends the message to groms that one day you too will have so much "respect" that you can start being an entitled George Bush Jr. in the water.

[oldmansurfer]

I think crowded breaks it is all about paying your dues. The first time anyone goes out they are the low man in the order. It doesn't matter if you are a really good surfer or if you are local. You have to go out and show everyone that you can follow the rules and not mess up other peoples surfing. Ultimately you will end up where you deserve to be in the lineup based on your surfing skills and ability or desire to follow the rules.

[Big H]

It's not cool. He's pretty harmless, but it's a sexual thing that is not consensual. Most don't mind (probably either used to it or too awkward to show disdain) but a few have told him to back off.

LOL....consensual advice giving and taking.....and it's the music world....that is what is supposed to be going on right?!

I grew up in DC....have family in Boston and Brooklyn. The way I see it, was taught and the way I teach my girls is to tell someone to *#%! off if they ask you anything you're not down with including spare change, the time or directions as all those were good openers where I grew up to robbing someone......if you're. It with the creepy vibe kick them to the curb and go on your way.

[HyrdoDoc]

Always interesting to hear the differences in perspective between men and women. Sadly, men tend to stereotype women which, equally sad, leads to some women stereotyping men. It usually ends up as, "girls just ...insert anything here", and the similar, "the problem with men is...". I suppose it's to be expected that surfing is no exception. It reminds me of a few weeks back when I received a new visitor; a therapist for a home visit for dad. I was sewing a longboard bag for my new epoxy minimal. She took a look at me and burst out laughing. Embarrassed at her outburst, she explained she'd never seen a man use a sewing machine and make anything other than a mess but said she was hopeful, I'd not "screw things up so bad that my wife would need to school me". Finally, she asked if she could instagram it so her friends could see. That was enough. I can take a bit of ribbing, but instagram? LOL. Nope. But it makes me chuckle thinking about assumptions about gender roles in sports, work, etc. I've not been out in the lineup once this month where there wasn't at least one or two women there. Never gave it a second thought. You love the ocean? So do I. You enjoy surfing. Me too. So much in common. At my tender age, perhaps my perspectives have changed. My view? Everything is chill. Everyone is nice until proven otherwise, and, waves are a gift from God and proof he wants us to learn to surf.

[RinkyDink]

I think crowded breaks it is all about paying your dues. The first time anyone goes out they are the low man in the order. It doesn't matter if you are a really good surfer or if you are local. You have to go out and show everyone that you can follow the rules and not mess up other peoples surfing. Ultimately you will end up where you deserve to be in the lineup based on your surfing skills and ability or desire to follow the rules.

I agree for the most part. I just don't see the need for the hierarchy. If you're fit, competent, follow proper etiquette, and not a danger/burden to other surfers, then you have a place in the lineup. I don't see any reason to require someone to kiss the local surf boss' ring. Of course, I wouldn't challenge a surf boss who defended their tyranny through the threat of violence, but I wouldn't have much respect for them. I wouldn't be capable of making outward displays of respect to someone who acts like a tyrant.

[saltydog]

I can almost see which stage in life each poster is in by reading their response. Pretty interesting. I'm teaching my kids not to be trapped in stereotypes, be it gender, race, or anything else. I see enough boy scout type handy boys who can sew and knit at my kids' school, plus most professional tailors and chefs are male, so it's pretty silly that people make remarks about gender when it comes to activities.I don't oppose the idea of using appearance to attract the opposite gender (or the same side depending on who you ask.) I guess I have issues when an idiot/airhead assumes everyone else is just as shallow as them. When I was in high school, a group of us were chatting whether you want to keep your look but become significantly smarter, or keep the current level of intelligence and gain the world class beauty. It was a easy choice for me to make, but I was amazed that there were enough girls who had to ponder. Some might have indeed picked beauty over brain. Now that I think about it, they might have been smarter???

[IanCaio]

However, I do not believe some local dude has any more right to a wave than the kookiest kook. I don't care if it's Dane Kealoha or Larry Blair or anybody else. Nobody is entitled to waves who can't wait their turn.

Sure, I didn't mean locals have more rights than outsiders, the rules apply to everyone!

[jaffa1949]

In an ideal world maybe, but how does a novice/kook enforce the chapter and verse of unwritten rules in the line up.

Does he become like that song “What about me”, isn’t that a whinge for entitlement?
Good humans will give you space and consideration, others won’t.

However if you are not up to handling the wave and the lineup and it shows as ineptitude, you are actually a hazard a danger and a breakdown, then you will be told!

[RinkyDink]

In an ideal world maybe, but how does a novice/kook enforce the chapter and verse of unwritten rules in the line up.

Does he become like that song “What about me”, isn’t that a whinge for entitlement?
Good humans will give you space and consideration, others won’t.

However if you are not up to handling the wave and the lineup and it shows as ineptitude, you are actually a hazard a danger and a breakdown, then you will be told!

In an ideal world the population would be 1/4 or even less than what it is today. When surf schools are running their new surfer assembly lines at full blast, there are a huge number of people in the lineup. I'm not sure whether any kind of objective determination of competency is possible in those situations. When lineups are overpopulated, then good will and respect for the rules are at a premium. In other words, even the self-appointed monitors of the lineup are overwhelmed; they could spend their whole session educating noobs. In many ways, modern surfing is as much about understanding how to sit in traffic and wait your turn as it is about the actual fundamentals of riding a surfboard.

[Big H]

I almost ran down a guy who was paddling for a wave at the shoulder that I had been on from the peak......called out, he looked at me while paddling and put his head down and paddled harder......gave him a double barrel yell and he pulled off.

Had the live stream of Impossibles on this afternoon.....watched multiple waves, one after the other where someone was burning someone else....no accidents, could see the ones dropping in look at the deeper surfer on the wave and instead of kicking out would keep surfing , even cutback into the other guy. Seems like lots of attitude and not much respect out there lately......could be the shoulder season surfers; in an average lineup, skills are generally lower than in high season.......whatever the reason, there is a lot of douchey surfing out there......