Cori Schumacher

I have found that in (nearly) every conversations about and within surfing, the hierarchy of power and privilege is the single most often overlooked underlying assumption to each of these conversations. But I also believe that this open door, this obvious omission, allows the exact rupture needed for intense analysis and change to permeate the culture.

Every single one of our conversations in surfing, a global industry and activity, is literally drowning in a white, western, privileged perspective. This homogenizing gaze/perspective collapses conversations to such facile levels that few question features in surf media that beckon the claustrophobic, urban surfer on surf trips to empty waves.

This same homogenizing perspective collapses the future of women’s surfing to ‘more butt shots’ despite the reality that as the above mentioned call to urban surfers rings forth, surfers of privilege have been exploring freezing frontiers that demand wetsuits.

The surfosphere is replete with omissions that overlook socio-economics and the privilege of a pleasure seeking lifestyle.

What makes play and pleasure seeking even possible? TIME and MONEY.

Grind it down and you can quite clearly see the link between the privileged life of the ‘active human’ (s/he who can follow her/his dreams) vs. the ‘repetitive life’ of those who are less privileged, that is, those who work to simply survive.

Why is this more specific to surfing than say other areas of conversation? 

Given the fact that most other social institutions have been subjected to the sociological gaze/analysis, I’d say that surfing, as a fringe “sport” is actually more guilty of this lack than other social institutions, which makes the new surf academic literature/media that has been forthcoming over the last few years impressive and ground-breaking (e.g. following and deepening the interwoven veins Matt Warshaw himself made with the deconstructing gaze he wove through his 2010 The History of Surfing along with the groundbreaking 2005 book by Nick Ford and David Brown, Surfing and Social Theory, there now exists Surfer Girls in the New World Order, the first longitudinal, sociological study of women’s surfing, Empire in Waves, the first political history of surfing, and World in the Curl, an unconventional history of surfing focusing on colonialism, globalization, and politics. I have it on good authority, there is much more to come along this vein.)

Let’s break it down… institutions that have been subjected to the sociological analysis/gaze are as follows: government, education, family, military, religion, even art. Emerging social institutions that are finally getting their due? Media and Sports.

This is specifically why there has been so much emphasis on media analysis with such movements as Miss Representation and their recent, novel social networking app that allows women to call out media and adverts that are using sexism to sell product, and more care towards the NFL and their concussion “epidemic” (as if this hasn’t been an issue for years before this).

The connections are finally being made and surfing is set to get its due too, that is, the gaze that exposes all its privilege and power hierarchies. In addition, being born and cared for in a very whitewashed environment, the heart of the OC and whitebread Aus., I believe surfing is more, not equal or less, susceptible to the type of blindness I am referring to.

The further I dig into history, the more I realize how privileged it is to even be able to chase a dream! To have a dream!

To those who continue to ride the illusion of this privileged dream… watch out… the next gen knows exactly what you are selling and so do those writing the new narratives.