Surfing and Contemporary China

“Parents, Me & X-Sports”: Mapping the BMX Culture in Contemporary China

“…There is an expanding and collective scholarship examining the socioeconomic aspects of X-sports as they move to increased institutionalization, commercialization, transnationalization, and professionalization (Edwards & Corte, 2010;Kusz, 2003;Olive, 2016;Rinehart, 2003;Rinehart & Sydnor, 2003;Thorpe, 2014;Thorpe & Dumont, 2018;Tomlinson et al, 2005;Wheaton, 2013Wheaton, , 2015. However, there is little literature covering these sports in Asia, including China (Thorpe, 2014), which addresses skateboarding (O'Connor, 2016; Thorpe, 2014), Roller derby (Pavlidis & O'Brien, 2017), and surfing (Doering, 2017;Evers, 2017). This article is original because this is the first study that maps the culture of freestyle BMX, while using it as a representative X-sport in China.…”

“…The past decade has witnessed the accelerated growth of BMX and its associated industries in China, especially following the global extreme sport industry's shift in recognition of China away from simply a major lifestyle sports equipment manufacturer to a potential consumer market (Evers, 2017;Thorpe, 2008Thorpe, , 2014Zhen & Liu, 2005). The BMX governing bodies and the media have invested substantially in raising the profile of freestyle BMX on the local stage.…”

“…A unique and very powerful family discourse dominates X-sport participation and career choice. Even though most riders state that their families can financially afford the cost of a BMX bike, given the more recently emerged and yet-to-be-defined Chinese middle class for many enthusiasts, there is only a small informed (e.g., knowing about possibilities for a successful career in X-sports) support network that could help sustain continued participation (Evers, 2017;J. Wang, 2008;D.…”

“…I proceed with the term "X-sports" (Jixian yundong) as this is how Chinese enthusiasts refer to these sports. The term emerged in the Chinese vernacular following the entrance of the Asia X Games and became an allembracing label for the lifestyle "culture industry" in China (Evers, 2017;Zhen & Liu, 2005). This Chinese terminology reflects a risk perception of the sports at the stage of their establishment in China.…”

Maintaining Masculinities in Japan’s Transnational Surfscapes: Space, Place, and Gender

“…Our study of Japan fits well with how surf tourism and surf culture are being examined outside North American, Australasian, and Western European contexts (for a summary, see the Introduction of Hough-Snee & Eastman, 2017). There are varied and complex histories that comprise global surf culture today, involving co-constituting and conflicting local and global tendencies (Anderson, 2014; Comer, 2010; Evers, 2017; Laderman, 2014; Usher & Kerstetter, 2015; Wheaton, 2013). Such dynamics play out in relation to multiple social identity axes of gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, (dis)abilities, religion, and sexuality (Thorpe & Olive, 2016).…”