Surfer Girls in the New World Order

Surfing, masculinity and resistance at Cloud 9: Filipino men who surf negotiating tourism spaces and social hierarchies on Siargao Island, Philippines

“…At the elite level, female surfers in the World Surf League (WSL) have made gains in surfing spaces through the awarding of equal pay to male and female athletes in every WSL event, from 2019 onwards (World Surf League, 2018). Yet, the exploitation of female bodies in surfing media and through professional sponsorship continues to reinforce the narrow trope of the slim, blonde-haired and sexualised female surfer (Comer, 2010;Franklin & Carpenter, 2018;Olive et al, 2018). This is detrimental to women practitioners and spectators, serving to devalue women's athletic ability and reinforce gender stereotypes of the active, dominant male verses the non-aggressive, less competitive and submissive female (Franklin & Carpenter, 2018).…”

Love, beauty and women who surf: Tourism, transnational relationships and social mobility on Siargao Island, Philippines

“…Tourism is an increasingly important form of economic activity in the region. Australian, American and Japanese surf tourists initiated international tourism flows to Siargao Island in the late 1980s and early 1990s when, following a global trend that began in the 1960s, they arrived in search of the 'perfect wave'-an uncrowded surf break in an 'untouched' location (Comer, 2010;Laderman, 2014;West, 2014). Some tourists stayed and set up small resorts in close proximity to the surf break Cloud 9, named in the early 1990s by an international surf tourist.…”

“…Surfing, however, is more than a sustainable tourism development initiative: it has a rich cultural history originating in Hawai'i (Ford & Brown, 2006;Masterson, 2018;Walker, 2008Walker, , 2011 and existed in various forms prior to Euro-American colonial expansion throughout the Pacific (Dawson, 2017;West, 2014), Atlantic Africa (Dawson, 2017) and Australia (McGloin, 2008(McGloin, , 2017. Modern surf culture, derived from Hawaiian surfing practices in the 1900s (Ford & Brown, 2006;Stranger, 2011;Walker, 2011), possesses its own set of distinct norms, rules and regulations that are remarkably consistent in surfing enclaves across the globe (Comer, 2010;Nazer, 2004;Stranger, 2011). Mediatised representations of surfing are, however, premised upon the white, male, heteronormative, able-bodied surfer, and as such the colonial (Ishiwata, 2002;Laderman, 2014;Leonard, 2006Leonard, , 2007McGloin, 2008McGloin, , 2017Thompson, 2014;Walker, 2008Walker, , 2011West, 2014) and gendered (Bush, 2016;Comer, 2010;Fendt & Wilson, 2012;Henderson, 2001;Knijnik et al, 2010;Lisahunter, 2017;Olive, 2015Olive, , 2016Olive et al, 2015;Waitt, 2008) aspects of surfing have been well discussed in the literature.…”

“…Much literature on female surfers focuses on the narrow, hypersexualised and damaging trope of the thin, blonde-haired, blue-eyed 'surfer girl' (Comer, 2010;Knijnik et al, 2010;Olive, 2019;Olive et al, 2018;Schumacher, 2017). However, the 'surfer girl' identity can also provide local practitioners with access to a powerful, global identity through which they can express confidence and assertiveness in their lives and the spaces they occupy (Comer, 2010;Fendt et al, 2014;Knijnik et al, 2010;Lavin, 2010).…”

“…However, surfing is more than a touristic practice and for Filipinas who surf, the sport provides opportunities and access to a powerful global identity-the 'surfer girl'. While the term 'girl' may be contentious, appearing as a regression of second-wave feminist gains (Comer, 2010;Gillis & Munford, 2004;Gonzalez, 2007;Roy, 2013), I use it here to encapsulate third-wave feminist notions of 'girl culture' and a certain feminine strength and cheeky playfulness (Comer, 2010;Fendt et al, 2014;Roy, 2013). Women who surf in General Luna embody fluid masculinefeminine subjectivities; develop multiple transnational networks with surf tourists and lifestyle migrants; and identify with the feminine strength and global confidence of the 'surfer girl' trope.…”