Category: Environmental Justice
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Surfeminist Spaces
Originally written for/at The Inspire Initiative. “There is a place at the center of earth where one ocean dissolves inside the other in a black and holy love; It’s why the whales of one sea know the songs of the other, why one thing becomes something else and sand falls down the hourglass into another…
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Outerknown and Beyond
Shockwaves rolled through surfy social media Wednesday, July 15th as Kelly Slater launched the first line in his journey to transparency: Outerknown. For those who have been reading KS’ interviews since leaving Quiksilver and paying attention to the Kering Group’s 4 year shift to achieve industry transforming sustainability standards, while also keeping a finger on…
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Vans, Reef, and Anti-Gay Legislation
“There’s something very dangerous happening in states across the country. A wave of legislation, introduced in more than two dozen states, would allow people to discriminate against their neighbors. Some, such as the bill enacted in Indiana last week that drew a national outcry and one passed in Arkansas, say individuals can cite their personal…
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Monsanto vs. Surf Activists
At the end of March, Monsanto was taken to task by Kelly Slater (who recently left his longtime sponsor, and Monsanto-linked, Quiksilver), Cyrus Sutton and Kyle Thiermann on the company’s newly created Instagram account. In this conversation, Kelly Slater brings up GM cotton: “I will say that certain cottons, for instance, are proven to need…
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Kelly Slater’s Ethical Choice to Leave Quiksilver
Kelly Slater has exited a brand that has seen its fair share of dramatic push-back over the last year, from the uproar around the Roxy Biarritz Pro Trailer to the link I discovered between Quiksilver and Monsanto. Many are wondering why KS made such a drastic move. In my post, A Year in Review, 2013,…
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The Year in Review, 2013
This was a monster of a year for discovery and activism in surf culture. For this reason, I think it would be beneficial to highlight and revisit those topics covered this year that have been most salient, before we enter a new year. Please feel free to add to this list in the comment section…
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Selling Sex in Surfing: Opinion and Fact Collide
Beyond the opinions of whether sex sells or not, and all the attendant questions often overlooked in this simple cliché (e.g. What does sex sell, exactly? Does sex effectively sell every product/service? How does this marketing strategy impact society? Are men and women equally drawn to the sexualization of human bodies? Are men and women…
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Wetsuits from plants? Yes, says Patagonia.
Patagonia is up to its old antics, forging a sustainable and responsible path forward in the surf industry. This time they tackle the fossil-based wetsuit material neoprene, replacing the majority of their wetsuit material with a rubber gleaned from the Guayule plant. I hope they plan to make women’s wetsuits out of this material as…
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Gay Surf Narratives Matter
What does the swallow think of the pelican’s flight? Does Swallow wonder at Pelican’s lack of movement? Does Swallow gape at the protracted lengths of Pelican’s glide? Swallow’s agility and quickness allow it to escape hawkish predators Pelican does not fear. Swallow treats the updraft flurries of salted draughts that press against cliff sides like…
