Cori Schumacher

At the end of the month, I will be headed to Saas Fee for the Women in Boardsports Retreat where I have been invited to be a keynote speaker.

I am really enjoying putting the presentation together and gathering my thoughts on:

Women’s action sports as the sports of the new feminine and the new Feminism. More girls and women than ever are interested in boardsports, but are boardsports companies and media currently living up to their potential to positively affect young girls and women? Or are they continuing to sell trivializing, minimalizing and objectified images of women, albeit lightly powdered with “empowering” rhetoric? Using surfing as an example, we’ll explore how advertising can impact females, especially young girls, and discuss the consequences of commodifying boardsports for women as “fashion” versus “a healthy and empowering activity.” We’ll look at the difference (if there is one) between how women and young girls are marketed and marketed to and we will also discuss sponsorship as a means to enculturate future generations. Finally, we’ll break into small groups to brainstorm ideas on how to transform our respective sports then share these ideas with each other as a unified group before finishing. -from my summary statement to WIB

Pro Chat: Cori Schumacher. Cooler Magazine Interview, preview of what is to come at the WiB Retreat.