The hyper-sexualized image (and thus marginalized emphasis on performance) of women’s surfing can learn a lot from Ronda Rousey and the UFC.
If we are to be completely honest with ourselves we have to admit that women’s professional surfing lags considerably behind that of the men. When played out against a men’s event it is incomparable at best and embarrassing at worst. This is not to suggest that some of the surfing on the women’s tour isn’t impressive, because it is, but it just isn’t in the same league as the men. Unfortunately we – the industry, the fans, the athletes, all of us – are responsible for this.
The well-trodden issue which continues to hamper women’s surfing is of course the perpetual dilemma of how to market it without cashing in on the sex dollar. As an industry we tiptoe around the fact that sex is currently the most marketable commodity in the women’s game, simply because we are frightened to admit that it might be the only marketable commodity.
Look no further than the most recognizable female surfers in the world as an example of the dichotomy facing the industry. Rather than Keala Kennelly (Charger) or Tyler Wright (Radical); we have Bethany Hamilton (Shark) and Alana Blanchard (Ass).
It’s no wonder the athletes themselves are confused, unsure of how to sell their brand without selling themselves as sex symbols. This tragically ironic edit from French surfer Pauline Ado is a perfect example. The supposed idea behind the short clip is that we should take notice of her surfing, not her body. As she says in the clip: “Are we done with your crap? Can I go surf now?” In which case it begs the question as to why she has spent 30 seconds of a 50-second clip on gratuitous bikini and ass shots. Even the 20 seconds of surfing was done in the same tiny, pink bikini.
But perhaps the greater issue affecting the development of women’s professional surfing is the Emperor’s New Clothes tone of the coverage. Take Tatiana Weston Webb’s “10” for a sub-standard barrel in the recent Quik Pro France as an example. If you were to judge the wave on the post-heat gushing superlatives of the broadcast team alone, then the wave was a 10 point ride, an event win, and a resolution to world hunger all rolled into one. If you were to judge it by the standard of the men, it barely scratched the surface of a 6.5.
These issues aren’t the fault of the female athletes, of course, but speak more of the lingering sexism and deeply embedded weave of macho and misogynistic attitudes which are still laced through surf culture. This was exemplified in a post heat interview with Jeremy Flores (after his Round 2 victory at the Rip Curl Pro, Portugal) as he bemoaned his poor start to the heat and said he had to “stop surfing like a girl”. Amazingly no-one picked up on this, and so Flores’ sexist slur was allowed to slip unchecked into the surfing world as if it’s an acceptable critique of poor performance.
Fortunately, as proven by other sports, these attitudes can be unravelled.
Last weekend UFC 193 was hosted in Melbourne, Australia. This event was notable in UFC history for several reasons. Not only did it break the record for a single event attendance with a crowd of 56, 214, it also broke records for the amount of sponsorship money paid out to the athletes at nearly a quarter of a million dollars, and took gate receipts of 9.5 million Australian Dollars (not to mention the pay per view purchases of close to a million).
But these staggering statistics are notable not only in the context of the burgeoning (and somewhat surprising) popularity of MMA, but because much of this success is being driven by female athletes. The headline fight of UFC 193 was the bout between American fighters Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm. To the shock of the entire world, Rousey, the seemingly invincible poster child of the UFC, was knocked out by Holm. Joe Rogan has called this “the biggest upset in UFC history.” Not the biggest upset in women’s UFC, but in the history of the UFC, period.
The status that Rousey and her fellow athletes have achieved in an ultra aggressive, male-dominated sport is as stunning as it is unfeasible. Can you imagine a competitive surfing landscape where a women’s event is a bigger draw than the men? Could you envision a future where a women’s final at Pipe, for example, had a greater impact on the sport of surfing than the feats of the men? And if not, then why? What is stopping women from true equality in the sport of surfing, if not the deeply rooted stigmas within the culture, and the inherent feelings of inferiority amongst the athletes?
So how did Rousey et al smash through the gender barriers in a sport which was seen as the epitome of masculinity and physical strength? They did it by bringing commitment, physical conditioning and supreme skill into the Octagon. They did it by adhering to the same rules and same conditions as the men. They did it by carrying a fuck you attitude on their shoulders. And they did it by simply performing.
It is also worth pointing out that they have achieved success without feeling the need to compromise their femininity, and without shying away from the fact that they are physically attractive women. Rousey herself has posed for several risqué publications, and none of these have been to the detriment of the skill and commitment that she brings into the ring. If you perform at a high enough level then sex is no longer an issue.
These are all lessons that could be adopted in Women’s surfing. We can start by not forcing the women to compete in sub-standard conditions, or allowing them to opt out of heavy waves. We can help by putting them in the same situations as the men, giving them the opportunity to stand toe to toe with the industry and slug it out for equality, instead of lying down and tapping out to sexist expectations.
Let’s not become an industry which celebrates mediocrity. Let’s not slather lipstick on the pig and tell people how pretty it is. Let’s not swaddle our female athletes in cotton wool and superlatives. Let’s give women’s surfing the platform it deserves to showcase the incredible talent that is out there.
Are we really ready to concede that the culture of surfing is more primitive than fighting? It doesn’t matter that Ronda Rousey lost last weekend; if anything, it makes things more interesting. What matters is that Rousey and her competitors are revered and respected just as the male fighters are, and that everyone wants to see them compete, regardless of gender. The achievements of Ronda Rousey and the UFC have transcended “women’s sport” so that it has merely become “sport”, and isn’t that the ultimate goal?
