surfing

Surfer Girls in the New World Order

barbara — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I was twelve years old when my mom moved to South Florida and I was first introduced to surf culture. My step-dad’s shed was filled with boards all different shapes and sizes and on the few rare occasions I did paddle out, it was always with him by my side—and with his help navigating the powerful ocean. I was interested and wanted to learn, but I was scared. I wouldn’t be good enough, I wasn’t strong enough, the boys would make fun of me, I’d get in their way, they wouldn’t like me. I had never been one to be intimidated before, especially by boys, but standing on the beach in my first bikini made me acutely aware of myself and of the dozens of boys that dominated the landscape. No matter how I longed to rush into the water and ride waves, my feet remained planted on the beach.

Krista Comer recognizes these and a host of other issues and arguments related to girls’ experience in surf culture. But rather than positing girls as victims of alienation, Comer explores the innovative and inspiring way in which girls have participated in a traditionally male-dominated sub-culture and what this means for women’s presence in the growing global economy.

Immersing herself in girl surf culture, Comer has constructed an accessible body of research that, while very readable, offers a fiercely intelligent commentary. Seeking a deeper understanding of women’s relationship to surfing as play and profession, and how this constructs and re-constructs traditional female gender roles, Comer focuses her research on the emergence of female professional surfers and their role in developing surf camps and trainings that enable girls and women to learn to surf. Positing surf culture as a unique site where community, play, environment, and economy intersect in a common narrative shared by most who participate in the culture, Comer pays specific attention to how female presence in the growing surf industry is part of an increased presence in the greater global economy: “Surfing thus constitutes rhetoric of optimism about the potential of globalization to advance the greater good.”

Beginning with an analysis of Gidget and the Las Olas Surf Camp, Comer deftly articulates how participation in surfing offers girls a space for the “expansion of gender norms related to femininity,” while also remaining critically aware of the traditional gender boundaries that remain intact, granting access only to a certain type of surfer girl. The author calls into account the privileged position of those who fit the “babe” archetype, such as World Champion and a-typical “California girl” Lisa Anderson, while offering examples of talented surfers such Mexican native Sofia Silva Sanchez, whose opportunities for professional development are hindered by their “non-babeness.” While the bulk of the industry has been created in Mexico, Comer points out not a single Mexican women owns or even manages a surf business and even as recently as 2004, no Mexican women or girls surfed the local break, the first being Sanchez.

Surfer Girls in the New World Order is thorough and acute; Comer situates her argument in the lived experiences of surfer girls and women while also drawing important connections to surfing’s place in the broader context of social and economic ideologies. By dedicating a significant amount of her process to exploring gender construction in the surf world as it is related to girls, her work continually celebrates the “playfulness of girl culture.”

Written by: Alicia Sowisdral, December 21st 2010

High Water

brittany — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Directed by Dana Brown

Apostrophe Films

In his second full-length documentary, High Water, surf journalist Dana Brown composes a love letter to Hawaii’s North Shore by chronicling the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing big wave competition. Home to the largest rideable waves on the planet and nicknamed “The Seven Mile Miracle," this stretch of sand is the place where legends are made; a natural Mecca for those who worship the sea and a place where one wave can change your life. The son of famed surf photographer and documentarian Bruce Brown, whose 1966 documentary The Endless Summer was the first to bring attention and awareness to surfing, Dana Brown grew up on beaches around the world, saturated in surf culture. Concerned that surfing has been eroded into a competitive sport and lucrative commodity, Brown was inspired to capture what he fears are the final glory days of a lifestyle choice rooted in love for the planet and a deep commitment to community.

Perhaps the most obvious difference in the changing surf landscape is the proliferation of female bodies on the North Shore, where the women’s pro-tour garners nearly as much attention as the men's, both in sponsorship and spectators. Brown relates this point via the development of women’s surf clothes, currently a billion dollar industry that was nonexistent twenty years ago. There is a loyalty among surfers that is unique to a competitive sports environment, and an absence of traditional social markers like race and gender. Surprisingly, all of the men interviewed by Brown were receptive and supportive of the growing participation of women, though the sport has been historically male dominated and testosterone fueled.

Local legend and infamous badass Sunny Garcia grew up on the North Shore, where surfing is a private and personal relationship to your environment and your community with distinct places of belonging. If you’re not getting your ass kicked by the ocean, you have just as good a chance getting it kicked on shore. The contrast is that these hyper-masculine bodies who punch each other’s lights out over a wave are the same bodies that channel the energy of the sea and navigate the movement of the most powerful waves on the planet.

The submission to and respect for something much larger than humanity is what makes Brown’s film as inspirational as it is educational. Interviews with surfers, lifeguards, photographers, parents, and craftsman all with their own personal anecdotes, mythical stories, and life philosophies form a collective voice paying homage to the supreme authority of the ocean. The most powerful example of this is illustrated by the response to the death of competitor Malik Joyeux, one of the best big wave riders of his generation. Taking to the water, friends, family, and competitors sit on their boards in a giant circle, splashing laughing and crying out “Malik” as a helicopter rains flowers from above.

Whether you’re a surfer, an ocean lover, or neither of the two, High Water is an emotional tribute to “meaningful meaninglessness” and a reminder of what awesome beauty exists in our own backyard.

Written by: Alicia Sowisdral, September 13th 2010

Bra Boys

admin — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:06:00 +0000

Directed by Sunny Abberton

Berkela Films

I have to say, I thought I would hate Bra Boys. A documentary about the much maligned surfing gang of the poverty-stricken Maroubra Beach community in Australia, made by the _Bra Boys _themselves, I expected a lot of glorification of violence, sexism, and machismo. Instead, the film portrays violence negatively and only to be used in self-defense, promotes tolerance and acceptance of all cultures, and tells a very compelling story about how surfing saved a great number of boys in Maroubra from broken and abusive homes, drugs, and prison.

As for the overt sexism, there wasn’t any. There were also no women in the film whatsoever, except for the saintly grandmother of the Abberton brothers, the brothers being the primary filmmakers and storytellers of the movie. Perhaps there was some kind of freak sewage spill, and no female children are born in Maroubra anymore? I don’t know. The lack of females is that extreme. I’d like to know, if the boys have surfing to save them, what do the young women of Maroubra have to save them from poverty, violence, and a surfing culture that entirely excludes them.

At any rate, Sunny Abberton tells the story (with help from some totally unnecessary narration from Russell Crowe) of how the Bra Boys were formed, how the police came to hate them (not their fault), how they fought with other gangs (the other gangs started it), how one of his brothers, Jai, came to be charged with murder (naturally, not his fault), and how they have helped to mend racial tensions in the area (they want credit for that). This is where the line between PR piece and documentary becomes blurry; these are some seriously unreliable narrators, after all, which does not entirely detract from the film.

There is a lot to be said about the power of those who have been disempowered getting the chance to tell their story with cameras in hand, a chance to redress wrongs by showing the systematic oppression of a population. Despite the shaky handheld recordings, the overly long running time, and the very narrow point of view, there is a really strong, affirming message underneath about banding together, the beauty of surfing, pride in one’s community, and overcoming some very formidable obstacles. Also, the footage of big, scary waves and incredibly daring surfing are just really fun to watch.

So, Bra Boys exceeded my expectations, and I spent a fairly entertaining hour and a half watching it (although I can’t promise the only real reason I was entertained was because it was decidedly better than I thought it would be). There are weaknesses here, yes, and they can make for a frustrating viewing, but the surfing and the waves, dude, on the big screen, they are just awesome.

Written by: Arin Brenner, April 19th 2008