Saturday 13 February 2016

Tokenism, exceptionalism and the comodification of women in skateboarding

The issue of participation of women and girls in skateboarding is contentious and not likely to be resolved soon - it’s also a reflection of wider society - and with a couple of high profile skaters (Vanessa Torres and Lacey Baker) calling out the industry on its sexism, along with the success of organisations like Girls Skate Network and Longboard Girls Crew, it’s probably time to talk about the elephant in the room.

Strangely this issue always seems to boil down to arguments about whether girl/women only sessions are sexist or not. Which is really strange because these kind of sessions are a symptom of the real issue - which is that skateboarding is not a friendly environment when you’re not a man.


Now because I know what is going to happen next like I’m reading it off a script, I’m not saying all men are terrible, I mainly skate with guys and they inspire me, help me out when things are bad and are generally an awesome bunch of people - this isn’t about individuals, it’s about Men, a distinct social class (and yes male supremacy and patriarchy are actually things). So if your initial reaction to my words is an angry proclamation of “Well I’m not like that”, turn off your computer, make a cup of tea and come back when you’ve calmed down.

Okay?

Feel better now?

The issue of getting women and girls involved in skateboarding is so full of nuance that I could probably write a book on it, and there is a lot more going on than girls and women being intimidated by the guys at the skatepark/session. I think it’s more interesting - and productive - to look at how the skate industry treats female pros and women in general. How many times have you seen a skate company present women in an overly sexualised way and as little more than an accessory to skateboarding? Often they aren’t even riders.


watch this and see what I'm talking about https://vimeo.com/146929050


The end of this video sums it up perfectly’ “What’s this got to do with skateboarding? Not Much”. The thing is, representation matters, and this kind of media isn’t unique (not even unique to skateboarding) and it sends a very distinct message that they are either there to look pretty, or some million to one exception to the rule. This shit-baggery is compounded if a company or brand has obviously sponsored a female skater because they’re attractive. I have heard lots of guys - from teenage boys to grown ass men - complain that some girl/woman “only got sponsored because she’s pretty”.


No shit Sherlock.


Lacey Baker talks about how the men who run the skate industry (I’m referring to it as the skatriarchy from now on) don’t judge women and girls on how well they skate but on how good they look. These same men will then pat themselves on the back for including a single woman on a skate team, as if that kind of tokenism does anything to actually inspire girls and women to skate. These token female skaters are then held as an exception to whatever lazy stereotype about women in skateboarding you can think of (poser, skater-dater, not a real skater etc), which can leave you feeling that if you can’t skate as well as the best female pros, that somehow you’re not good enough to call yourself a skateboarder at all. Sometimes it genuinely seems like guys get to be mediocre and still be told that skateboarding is for them, but when you’re not a man then even being one of the best isn’t always enough to get a seat at the table.
So to the point of all this, if the skatriarchy has created a space that is centered around and caters to the experiences of Men, where do non-men fit in? The answer is in the spaces we create for ourselves, from women only sessions to brands run by women for women. These spaces are important because they give us the chance to do our thing in an environment that isn’t subtly (and sometimes blatantly) telling us we don’t belong.


It’s relaxing, it’s freeing, it’s about knowing you won’t be the only woman at the park. Some women will only ever want to skate with other women, and that’s fine. Some of us, after building up the confidence are happy to skate with the guys, and that’s fine too. It takes a lot of entitlement to complain about these spaces and tell us that sexism doesn’t exist in skating because we’re all just skaters - a worthy sentiment, but just saying it doesn’t make it true - when I know plenty of women who do experience sexism in skateboarding.


If you’ve made it this far, and you’re a Man you might be sitting there in a bit of a defensive huff thinking “Well, what can I do about it?”.
Fortunately my friend, there’s plenty.
Firstly listen to non-men when they talk about how uncomfortable a space skateboarding can be sometimes, because if they’ve opened up to you, it means they trust you, and trust me that can be a big thing sometimes. Remember that our experiences are not universal - what doesn’t even register for one person, can make another feel completely unwelcome.
Support and encourage the non-men who skate with you - this can vary from coaching to just making sure they get runs when the parks busy. There’s a fine line between support and encouragement, and forcing people into doing something they’re not ready for - again this is where listening comes in.
Finally, let non-men have the spaces that we’ve created for ourselves. You literally have the rest of skateboarding catering for your needs, it’s petty as fuck to complain about the spaces non-men have created to centre what skateboarding means to us.

1 comment:

  1. Awesome post. I share your sentiments. I am working to address similar issues. My current project is a zine called Skating with Shes and Hers. Maybe you want to write an article for it? You can find the photos and interviews on instagram at #skatingwithshesandhers. Lets talk!

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