By now, Bethany Hamilton has become a household name. If she's not a name you've heard of, let's refresh your memory. Bethany inspired the movie "Soul Surfer". In 2003, she miraculously survived a shark attack in which she lost her left arm. Despite being a young 13 year old, she fought through and returned to surfing just a month later. In 2004, she entered professional surfing competitions and is now occasionally seen participating in World Surf League's Qualifying Series and Championship Tour.
Maybe you haven't heard the many names of the women who affect the surfing world today— names like Margo Oberg, the first female pro surfer, Layne Beachley, seven-time World Champion, or Tyler Wright, the current World Number One. All these women and more have an influence on the advancement of the surfing community.
When surfing began to popularize, it was difficult for woman to find a spot. In Hawaii, princesses and queens were surfing. Somehow, all that got lost in history and women were seen as incapable. It was challenging for them to pick up a huge wooden surfboard, and they couldn't do much until the invention of a lighter, female-oriented board that was invented in the 90s.
The 90s saw a larger surge for women as more brands emerge with clothing and accessories enabling for better conditions. Brands such as Roxy, Hurley, Ripcurl, and O'Neill emerged with more advanced wetsuits and continue to improve the market for surfing every day.
The largest problem is that the women who use the brands do not get the credit or representation that they deserve. Instead, advertisements and representation are given to us by models. Instead of seeing strong women who can inspire us every day, we see blonde models lounging around by the pool.
Women receive less sponsorship and recognition than men do in the profession of surfing. The need for sponsorship is crucial when participants need to travel from country to country during the surfing season. It can become costly when you have 12 or more events in a year.
Somehow, the purpose of these brands has been lost. Wetsuits and bikinis should be about the flexibility and comfort in the water, and somehow it has become about how good the model in the advertisement looks.
Having the prettiest surfer on the cover of a magazine or advertisement for a bikini as she walks down the beach discredits the hard work it took to get to their position. Action sports should be about the talent and ability, not how cute the athlete looks at the beach.
Professional surfers are doing what they love and getting paid for it deservingly. It does not inspire young girls to see windows full of models sitting around and not even knowing if they can surf. It affects the brand and their legitimacy in the surfing world, and it blinds us from the serious skill of some of these athletes.
If a woman can prove herself to be as good as any male surfer, shouldn't we be emphasizing her talent and hard work? Until we change something about the way we send messages to young girls, we can not advance professional sports culture.
