Skateboarding Media and Gender
A Pop Culture Analysis
Fifty years of skateboarding in the United States has resulted in a lifestyle hobby today that is enjoyed by 9-million people.
A high premium can be put on the skateboard and its impact — from its fashion and social capital to its physical and emotional benefits for the individual. Video media about (and for) skateboarding provides useful text for considering a few popular ways that skateboarding is currently depicting what skateboarders do and who they are.
The substantial youth market being informed by skate media are ostensibly produced for a skateboarding audience. Skate media has been the principal way for skateboarders to share what’s happening in their communities. It’s no surprise that skateboarding’s largest media producers have the most to gain and lose from changes in how skateboarding is depicted.
While many non-endemic media producers seek to tap into skateboarding’s core, few claim to be skater-produced. Skate media comes from a range of industry sectors: energy drinks (RedBull, Rockstar), technology (GoPro, Sony), lifestyle fashion (Levis, Nike, Vans), and institutional (X-Games, Olympics). The most respected media producers within skateboarding are from producers that skate or are historically associated with skateboarding’s lore. Thrasher Magazine, for example, has long claimed to be “by skateboarders, for skateboarders.”
Skateboarding media is dominated by video and print, though skate cinema , literature, institutional publications, and academia are all on the rise. Skateboarders were early adopters of consumer video technology and used it to capture tricks, stunts, and share cultural signals. Video magazines were the principle publishing platform through the 1990s and the practice continues today on YouTube, TikTok, and on websites.
Who are these producers trying to reach with this content and what does it say about skaters?
It’s clear that lots of people ride skateboards for various reasons. About a third of all skateboarders ride frequently ( once every two weeks or more). The benefits are widely accessible and there are lots of introductions to skateboarding. Skateboarders’ reasons for skating vary and can be drawn from a range of claimed benefits:
Low Cost to Entry
Most skaters report being gifted their first skateboards. Beyond a functioning skateboard there are no further equipment costs. Aside from periodic wear-and-tear there no operational costs to riding a skateboard.Habitual Physical Activity
Voluntarily building a habit of physical activity in young people have far-reaching individual and community benefits.Risk-play
Offering safe ways for children to take chances and experience margins of success and failure is an essential component to healthy development.Mental Focus, Therapeutic Effects
The physical act of skateboarding requires concentration and mindfulness. The feedback offered by the skateboard is sometimes said to have soothing, uplifting emotional effects.DIY Ethos
Skateboarding puts a premium on the individual for attaining one’s goals. There is no way to buy an ability to perform a trick.Convenient Local Travel
The skateboard is well-suited for first- and last-mile transportation and can be carried anywhere it’s not needed.Occupational Promise
Skateboarding invites different forms of engagement: Videography, competition, construction, branding, and more.Learning Platform
Skateboarding is self-administrated laboratory for hypothesis, experimentation and testing.Performance Showcase
Skateboarding generally welcomes misfits and colorful characters. There is a home in skateboarding for show-offs.Sense of Community, Social Capital
Skateboarding offers a style that young people can identify and respond to. Skateboarders are sometimes considered the “cool kids.” For some, skateboarding is place for strangers to connect.
Skatepark as the Third Place
The skatepark can offer a safe and inexpensive place to be that isn’t home, school, or work.
Skateboarding represents an important opportunity for encouraging community-wide benefits like these. However, skateboarding is not often depicted as an inclusive environment welcoming to non-male participants.
Skateboarding and Boys
Skateboarding is popular in the United States in terms of its cultural contributions and as a hobby, lifestyle, and sometimes career. In spite of the wide-ranging benefits, studies show that less than one-quarter of all frequent skateboarders are women or girls. When an activity with so few barriers to entry and so many benefits are being distributed so inequitably in the community, I can’t help but consider what skateboarding producers claim who is and who is a skateboarder. It shouldn’t really surprise anyone to learn that skateboarding is considered a gendered activity. That’s not new… but it’s also not right. It deserves examination and, ultimately, interventions that will result in a healthier, more diverse, more inclusive lifestyle hobby.
The disparity is not unnoticed by women and girls who would have felt excluded from skateboarding’s exclusivity.
“Going to a skatepark or any space where the collective community of male skateboarders are all in one place can be intimidating for women and gender non-conforming peoples.” (Source: Skate Like A Girl’s Transenders)
With all of these benefits available, why don’t more young women and girls ride skateboards? Nike Skateboarding has joined others in producing diverse looks at skateboarding… but Nike’s videos, welcome as they are, does not erase the fact that Nike is representing skateboarding as a way to build brand association. Throughout the important video, Nike footwear is in the picture.
The skateboarding industry on the whole has been somewhat ambivalent to the disparity between men and women in skateboarding. Twenty-five of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame’s 130 inductees are women. In spite of the decades-long tradition, a female has never been awarded “Skater of the Year.”
23% Female
77% Male
This is the most common approximation of gender distribution being distributed by market research reports. The Sports and Fitness Industry Association also provides age data and claims that about half of all skateboarders are under 18 years old.
(Note that the report is paywalled.)
32% female
43% male
25% gender non-conforming
Yeah Girl’s participation survey paints a very different portrait of skateboarding. This is a good example of “depends on who you ask.”
If there is any skate media producer that claims to be an authentic source for skateboarding it’s Thrasher Magazine. Launched in the early 1980s, Thrasher quickly became the dominant brand in printed skate media. Thrasher was (and remains) a prolific producer of skate VHS and digital videos. If there is a question about what is and is not being represented in skate media, Thrasher is a great place to start.
In 2003, Thrasher Magazine organized a skate tournament called King of the Road that had teams earning points by doing things from a large list of outrageous, difficult, or humiliating stunts. The team with the most points wins a cash prize and is featured on the cover of the print magazine. The prize is prestige.
Analyzing a modern episode of King of the Road might offer some clues about how the self-proclaimed authority on skateboarding depicts skateboarders. The series has been produced in a variety of formats but for this purpose we will look at the first episode of the 2018 season. Because this is the second season co-produced by VICE Media, this is “season 2.” The video contest series has been occurring in the same fashion and published by Thrasher regularly since 2002.
The Analysis: King of the Road, Season 2, Episode 1
What do the folks at Thrasher Magazine have to say about what is skateboarding and who is a skateboarder? For this analysis I will be looking to see who is being shown, who is talking, and what is being said about skateboarding’s system of risks and rewards. In the interest of clarification I’m offing time-stamps for specific observations within the first 10 minutes of this video production.
0:00 Disclaimer Sequence
The disclaimer that the stunts we are about to see are performed by or under the supervision of professionals. Familiar warnings precede most media productions in the extreme sport - reality genre. In addition to warning people that the stunts are performed by elite athletes, it’s a signal to audiences that there are depictions of physical risk and injury. Disclaimers are often delivered before the title sequence and sometimes seem perfunctory, as if they discourage the reality that the producers are aiming to depict.
Andy Roy, KotR’s colorful MC, is a sort of cautionary tale; the enabling accomplice.
In King of the Road the disclaimer is narrated by the show’s colorful host Andy Roy. Roy is a slight man in his 30s, bald man that delivers his lines with an emphatic and gestural physical presence. His body is heavily tattooed and some will recognize a familiar punk-rock band logo across his neck. At the end of the disclaimer-skit, Roy warns viewers with a hazardous smile that there’s also bad language. It’s clear that the producers are establishing that we will be meeting some of skateboarding’s outrageous characters.
Roy wears a black t-shirt with Thrasher Skateboard Magazine logo emblazoned across the chest.
0:22 Cold Open
The show opens on an empty schoolyard. The hand-held camera is pointed at an embankment between the nondescript portable structures. Off-screen a voice says, “wow, there she is.” We see that they’re talking about a 20-foot concrete stairway. Almost immediately there are a half-dozen young men checking it out and beginning preparing to do tricks on it.
The young men are stylish and easy to see on screen. Skateboarding professionals in the scene are introduced with titles as they react to the railing that edges the embankment’s stairs. What is evident from this sequence is that these skateboarders have an uncommon way of looking at the built environment and teasing an idea that the trait that is unique to skateboarders (like sailors reading the winds). The sequence builds up to someone trying to do a trick on this very long, very steep handrail.
Skateboarding’s fashion is on display.
One scene in the cold open that I thought was interesting was the cut to six of the people looking at the stairs. Three of them are holding up their devices to record the attempt. They are standing roughly the same distance apart and all dressed in red, black, and/or white. One person appears to be smoking, a few hold skateboards, and there’s a Gatorade bottle on the ground. They linger at the best vantage point to this skate spot.
Jamie Foy, the performing athlete, wears a t-shirt with a skate-brand logo across the chest. The logo is so large and wide that his starts and ends on either sleeve. He wears a headband and there’s a scab on his elbow. Andy Roy is agitated with excitement. Foy skates towards then ollies onto the railing and begins the harrowing descent. All starts well but he picks up speed quickly and his arms begin to flail… cut to title sequence.
1:02 Title Sequence
The KotR narrative premise is meant to mimic a kind of mythical “skate road trip” that might be familiar lore to some skateboarders. The show incorporates a competitive structure that is repeatedly described as a battle, a war between the teams. Bloody palms and the words “bone-crushing slams” are phrases that stick out. Lots of people are shown falling off their skateboards. Some of the falls look dangerous.
The athletes are helplessly subjected to the show’s list of obstacles and challenges. Their uncertainty is accepted with light-hearted complaint. Cameras will be ever-present, offering a sense that viewers are “looking in” on how skaters act when they are together. Everyone appears to be having fun. The producers are presenting what seems like a privileged view of skaters being with other skaters.
Some of the tricks in the montage are shown in slow-motion. This editing choice signals to viewers that the show will be attentive to the physical parts of skating. We also get a montage of the responses that these tricks appear to elicit; triumphant cheers from one’s peers.
I notice that Leo Baker is featured in the title sequence. (He was also one of the onlookers in the opening sequence.) Leo happens to be a professional skater, trans male, and advocate (and sometimes champion) for more diverse representation in skateboarding.
The sequence ends with a group shot of all the participants (and then some) cheering at a skatepark.
2:40 Meet the Creator
The show’s creators and hosts are introduced. All three men dress similarly. The creator, Micheal Burdett, presents himself as the harried organizer of the chaotic event. He is relatively soft-spoken and less flamboyant than the two hosts.
3:10 Meet the Host
Jake Phelps, the cohost, is a well-known in skateboarding for his gritty expressions of skateboarding. His introduction scores a cultural boundary when he explains that “this is skateboarding 101. All of the rest of it can suck my m** dick” as he flips off the camera. Andy asks off-screen if he has any weed. The camera is on Burdett’s reaction as he looks away patiently.
Jake Phelps commands the screen while Michael Burdett looks on from behind.
Later we see Phelps lean over a skater and remind him what’s at stake in performing well in this competition. Who benefits most from this encouragement is unclear. The implication seems clear. Phelps presents himself as the older version of the youngster; they are dressed almost identically and there are qualities to the scene that seem paternalistic.
A fatherly Jake Phelps coaches a contestant.
3:30 Meet the Teams
The teams are organized by brand sponsorship. Each team is described by the narrator in terms of its advantages and characteristics.
The Deathwish Skateboards team is introduced with a heavy metal riff and described as “the hard-partying, most drunk, most stoned, jumping-off-stuff team.” Yet amends that reputation by sharing that some of the most notorious perpetrators have “totally gone sober.” One of these people describes his sobriety as “a beautiful change.”
The members or each team are introduced with a short montage of skate tricks, physical acting, and something showing the skater’s personality or character.
The Creature Skateboards team is captained by an experienced professional skateboarder. He is characterized as having a sometimes intense process of preparing for a challenging trick. This process sometimes involves displays of violence against his equipment. Burdett calls him an “emotional skater” and the athlete describes these episodes as “complete meltdowns.” (7:12)
One of the participants punches his skateboard in frustration.
The last skater on the Creature team is introduced with a litany of nicknames that he’s been called by people about his appearance. Another for his tendency to wander off in supermarkets. One skater’s style is praised as “blue collar.” (12:10) One skater, after praising Jamie Foy’s abilities and bravery, says…and he’s fat.” (6:12)
The skaters are younger than the hosts and appear to be in their early 20s. Most of them are listed as an “amateur skateboarder.” A conventional interpretation is that the amateurs are not paid. While the season is offering $10,000 cash to the winning team, the coveted prize is the hype and being put on the cover of Thrasher Magazine – a small expense for a magazine that would ostensibly need a cover anyway.
The last team is introduced as a “kinder, gentler, sweeter side of skateboarding,” fun-loving and colorful. (9:56) Andy Roy greets them light a drill sergeant; “You guys better trip it up because this is a war! This ain’t like hugs and f*** kisses! This is a battleground, right here! Muscle it up!”
The Enjoi Skateboards captain describes himself as the “old crusty dude” because he’s been on the team so long. He says of his team, “I feel like we’re the oddballs here. Everyone is so gnarly here. I don’t feel like we’re gnarly.” He mocks the term by denouncing light beer.”
Throughout the introductions we see skateboarding laid bare. There is Jake Phelps the gatekeeper Andy Roy the savage, and Michael Burdett the ineffectual administrator. Under them are 20 young men and boys vying to live their dreams of being a professional skateboarder. The episodes demonstrate how much they are willing to risk for that privilege.
What we don’t see are any women or girls.
Reflection
It’s easy to conclude that to anyone that was unfamiliar with skateboarding, King of the Road would present a specific kind of person that is involved with skateboarding; young men being encouraged and recognized by older men.
Throughout KotR certain values are being expressed that might have resonate with audiences differently depending on their gender and personal relationship with skateboarding. The text coaches viewers through brand identification and personification, for example, by having each team fielded by their sponsoring company.
Gendered activities punctuate this (and every) episode of KotR. Feats of strength and almost reckless bravery are applauded. Fears and doubts are conquered. The editorial treatment of the stunts is made to emphasize aspects that make them seem dangerous, stressful, and intense. The willingness to risk physical injury for a team victory is on full display. The all the while skateboarding’s self-proclaimed gate-keeper declares that this is “skateboarding 101.”
Further Reading:
There are excellent people, organizations, institutions and brands working to create a more inclusive and diverse environment within skateboarding. I would encourage anyone to learn more about these inspiring and important groups.
Chandler Burton, skateboarding and drag (video)
Betty (HBO series)
Skateism, progressive skate mag (site)
Yeah Girl Media, women-centric skate production (site)
Skateistan, international skateboarding for good (site)
Exposure, women’s skate event (site)
John Rattray’s Why So Sad (video)
