Is Female Empowerment and Togetherness Doing More Harm Than Good in Boardsports

Don't wrap us up...

We are not fragile, we are independent and strong and we should not feel that we cannot just get on and get involved like everyone else.

With absolutely no disrespect to girls communities, associations and groups who work hard and do a great job to encourage more girls into our sports – it is worth considering when the last time your local cable park or kite spot held a ‘Boys Day’ for boys who are a bit nervous about looking like a newbie at the cable.

Coming from within...

I love riding the cable and I love riding with friends, and of course a lot of my friends are girls, but the people that push me are those riding better than me at a level I find accessible, and those that make me laugh are those that ride or fall flat on their face with a smile, irrespective of their sex.

Both a girl or a boy has the power to make me feel more confident and strong although the truth is this is usually something that comes from within, from how I feel about myself and my riding.

You CAN go it alone...

Often I ride with people, but then just as often I put my music on and I ride for me, focussed on my own goals and my own progression without the distraction of others. There is always a balance, but if I felt I could not push myself without the support of my fellow Sista’s I would have placed unnecessary obstacles in my path.

You might nod and agree and call it common sense, but the most common reason we hear for girls not going to the cable park is because they do not want to go alone.

By pushing female togetherness and empowerment we must be very careful that we don’t in fact do the opposite of what we are trying to achieve and end up further cementing the stereotype that we are not strong or independent on our own and in order for us to improve it must be done together with all of us wearing pink unicorn helmets (that is not to say there is anything wrong with a pink unicorn helmet).

Who do you need to be awesome?

This in no way means we are pushing for companies to stop making female specific products when there is a clear need for them and we are not saying you should abandon your female friends, do uni-sex competitions and not acknowledge us as girls (although some equal prize money would be a monumental leap forward).

Maybe it is time to stop being the ones who depict ourselves as NEEDING each other in order to be awesome, because you do not, you are awesome all by yourselves just the way you are.

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Published on: 24th July 2017