Surf spaces are permeated by dominant masculinity and other hierarchies of power that cut across the axes of gender, race, class, sexuality, and ability. These hierarchies create environments of spatial injustice, where (predominantly white) men act as spatial managers who intimidate and exclude women from surf spaces. Our analysis of the lived experiences of women who surf is framed by intersectionality and the theory of spatial justice to emphasize how surf spaces have historically been sites of deliberate social exclusion for marginalized groups. Drawing on qualitative research, we explore how women have used surfing to challenge harmful gender norms and fight for their own inclusion in surf spaces. The photographs included in the chapter were taken by women who participated in SheShaka, a participatory action research project conducted with women who surf in a regional coastal town in southern Australia. Using photovoice methods, SheShaka participants identified a range of gendered and cultural barriers experienced when surfing. Our research findings highlight how surfing is a practice that has the power to redefine gender, social, and cultural norms. Women use surfing to resist forms of gendered and racial exclusion, ultimately transforming surf spaces from sites of exclusion into sites of spatial justice.

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SheShaka: Surfing Is a Feminist Practice That Promotes Spatial Justice

  • Gemma Tarpey-Brown,
  • Fran Edmonds,
  • Natalie Galea,
  • Georgina Sutherland,
  • Cathy Vaughan,
  • Karen Block

摘要

Surf spaces are permeated by dominant masculinity and other hierarchies of power that cut across the axes of gender, race, class, sexuality, and ability. These hierarchies create environments of spatial injustice, where (predominantly white) men act as spatial managers who intimidate and exclude women from surf spaces. Our analysis of the lived experiences of women who surf is framed by intersectionality and the theory of spatial justice to emphasize how surf spaces have historically been sites of deliberate social exclusion for marginalized groups. Drawing on qualitative research, we explore how women have used surfing to challenge harmful gender norms and fight for their own inclusion in surf spaces. The photographs included in the chapter were taken by women who participated in SheShaka, a participatory action research project conducted with women who surf in a regional coastal town in southern Australia. Using photovoice methods, SheShaka participants identified a range of gendered and cultural barriers experienced when surfing. Our research findings highlight how surfing is a practice that has the power to redefine gender, social, and cultural norms. Women use surfing to resist forms of gendered and racial exclusion, ultimately transforming surf spaces from sites of exclusion into sites of spatial justice.