gender issues in...surfing?

Let's be honest- when we hear surfing, some of us (most of us) think of a male. In movies, magazines, on TV, everything media related connection usually shows a male surfing. And though I'm no expert when it comes to surfing, I can understand why the following article is disturbing.

In this article, the victories of a surfer is reported. A third year surfer won a Third World Championship. In the world of surfing, this is a HUGE accomplishment and something definitely to be acknowledged. As the article states, this is a "...remarkable feat of dominance for any athlete is any sport, an accomplishment that no other surfer has ever managed before." On top of this, this surfer was the first person to win a world championship in a "rookie year on tour", which took place in 2007. She won this championship three times in the first three years on tour. Needless to say, this is one fantastic surfer.

And one unknown surfer, because there was little to no media coverage on this. This surfer is named Stephanie Gilmore and according to this article, the media coverage would be going crazy over this feat, if it were accomplished by a male. Two to three million people are surfers and 25% of that statistic is women. Interestingly, this article touches on the fact that when women surf, it is considered a "lifestyle", rather than a sport, which is what it is considered when males do it. On top of that, men surfing is considered competitive while women surfing is not considered nearly as seriously. As per usual with marketing and advertisements, surfing women are shown as "bikini-clad, fun loving women, and it doesn't seem to matter if they surf or not."

Thankfully, there are steps being made in the right direction. Film makers are trying to show their support by making women surfer movies. Surfers, like Gilmore, are also working with this process and trying to get more respect. Respect they deserve.
Personally, I am not surprised by this article. All men sports in general are considered competitive and a sport, while women seem to be doing it for the enjoyment of the audience, to look pretty and sexy, and for the sport itself to not be considered serious. It's annoying and frustrating. Though I'm not sure if it's a good idea, maybe mixing females and males into the same sport would have more of an effect. What if we added a few females into the Phillies? How many fans would be lost? And why does it have to be this way? As a woman, I'm very frustrated by this article because even after all the process we have made, the long journey to absolute equality is shown in this article.
We all need to care because if we are an equal nation like we claim to be, this cannot happen. We've taken such big steps forward and come so far, we should not be degressing back to when women couldn't even vote. This effects all women because if we accomplish something amazing or outstanding, we deserve equal media coverage and praise for it.

What are your thoughts on this? A male's point of view would be interesting. Check out the article.

Audra




http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/22/unprecedented-feat-goes-unnoticed-by-many/