Does gender change how a skater is seen?
Written by Emilie Burn
When I got my first skateboard at 16 years old, I never really thought about what the gender divide would be like within the sport. Honestly, I didn't care, I just wanted to skate, so that's what I did. I made friends pretty quickly and felt at home in my local skate community; everyone was so welcoming, and all the older guys were always happy to lend a hand. Once I put my mind to something, I don't stop, so I became comfortable on my board fast. I was skating every day and progressing quickly. A couple of months in, when I realised that skateboarding was definitely my thing, I took a step back and realised I had hundreds of new skater friends, many who inspired me, but I didn't know a single other girl. To this day, I hear comments like "it's so nice to see a girl having a go" or "oh, you're actually better than me." I know people mean well, but it shows I'm being judged not as a skater but as a girl who skates, which is not the same thing — yet many claim that gender doesn't affect how your skating is viewed.
The "skater girl" style is popular, and a lot of girls dress like it, but when it comes to actually skating, the Pinterest skater-girl clothes aren't very practical. We all know that what you wear does not define you, but apparently it does. While skating, I wear everyday clothes — shorts, tees, skirts, tank tops — nothing revealing or inappropriate, but clearly not what all the other skaters wear. The slurs I get called regularly are horrible. I've probably been called every derogatory name under the sun. I get whistled at constantly, but never by the real skaters. It got to the point where I couldn't go to the skatepark without my guy friends, because I would get chased around by boys saying revolting things and constantly making disgusting jokes — but when the guys were with me… nothing. I was so frustrated because all I wanted to do was skate, and I couldn't, because of how other people treated me. It wasn't just my local park either; it happened multiple times at multiple parks with lots of different boys. I never really cared about what I was called, and I would just ignore them, but when it started to border on harassment and began affecting my skating, it really got me down. Although, in my experience, no skateboarders have been a part of this, I've found that very few intervene or try to combat the hate. For me, their silence isn't neutral — it implies they agree and don't want to fight for equity. I feel we need everyone if we want to make the change, so that every skateboarder is simply a skateboarder.
Eventually, I met a few girls who would come skate with me and my mates, which was so nice. One of the scariest moments I experienced was when I went skating with one of the girls, and we were supporting each other to learn tricks — holding hands for drop-ins, hugging to celebrate lands — and I was told this was "gay" and "pathetic." These people then started throwing rocks at us, saying we didn't belong at the skatepark. I got hit by one and left the park crying, because I wasn't able to skate and it wasn't fair. But I never gave up, because they aren't going to win. Recently, I've seen more and more girls beginning to skate, and we are slowly starting to see change and create a community where we can grow, support, and inspire each other.
I started posting my skating journey on social media so that I could have a log of my progress. I was never bothered about likes and followers; I just wanted to share my clips with friends and keep track of my journey. I received a lot of DMs and comments — so many lovely, encouraging ones, but also ones calling me "attention-seeking" and "performative." I received a lot of hate on my content, and some comments about my body and the way I look. I can't lie and say these don't affect me, but I always go back and look at all the positive feedback I've received and focus on my progress. Recently I started gaining followers and traction, and I was stoked that people were enjoying my videos and wanted to follow my progress. I then got told "it's only because you're a girl" and "nobody would care if this was a guy," but this annoys me, because I'm not claiming to be a pro. I'm not trying to be the best; I'm just creating genuine videos of my new tricks. If I could inspire one girl to start or keep skating, and not give up because the world feels different for them than it does for their guy friends, I would be satisfied. There are only two women who inspire me and whom I can really relate to, and I would love to influence the next generation — not so that I can show off my tricks, but so that other girls know what they can achieve. I coach kids who are just starting out in skateboarding, and my goal is to show them where determination and perseverance can get you.
After more than a year of skating, and overcoming so many obstacles, I am finally starting to feel recognised for my tricks and skills, and not always my gender, so I know how far resilience can take you. Do you ever think there are so few professional girl skateboarders because it is so much less accessible, and it is way easier to give up than to battle through everything?