surfing subculture

8/10/2019 Surfing Subculture

1/18

SURFING SUBCULTURE

Jessica Zehr

University of Mississippi


2/18


3/18

Zehr 3

SURFING SUBCULTURE

Dud e, that was such a gnarly wav e!

Yeah man, so rad. Im totally stoked!

To many people, this may seem like a fairly typical conversation between two surfers. However,

this is a highly stereotyped view of those who are involved in the surfing subculture. Hollywood

and the mass media popularized this view of surfers through many popular movies and

advertisements. Given this stereotype, many people stigmatize surfers and do not view them as

typical members of society. Drew Kampion (2003:46) puts it well when he states that surfingtakes place beyond reach of the usual societal boundaries, so it has assumed an unusual

prominence in the collective imagina tion. It has a mystical aura about it, because the sport is

relatively unusual and dangerous, which sets those who partake in it apart from those who do

not. Surfers are also different from other athletes because the sport becomes more of a lifestyle

than just a sport, and therefore forms a subculture.

Though many people stigmatize the scene, it has not always been this way. Surfing began

as a sport in which kings participated, and it was a very important aspect of the culture in many

ways. The sport has obviously changed over the years, and the way it is viewed has changed as

well (Kampion 2003). I will begin the paper by discussing the history of the sport and how it

began, as well as how the sport spread to different parts of the world and how this changed the

sport. I will then discuss how one participates in the subculture and what it requires to become a

real member o f the surfing subculture. This will lead into my discussion of gender and my

examination of how women participate and are viewed in the scene. Next I will discuss the

stigma that surrounds surfers and the scene as a whole and why these exist, and finally, I will end


4/18

Zehr 4

with a discussion about the commodification of the surfing subculture and what that has done to

change the sport as a whole.

HISTORY OF SURFING

Surfing is an ancient sport that originated in Polynesia as early as 2000 BC. However, the

date of its origin is based off of accounts from European explorers, which may not be completely

accurate. It is more probable that surfing reached its full technical and ritual development

hundreds of years later (Reed 1999). Before the European s discovered and invaded Hawaii,

surfing was a central aspect of the culture. This makes sense, because the islands were

surrounded by water, and the natives derived much of their livelihood from this water, so muchso that the Hawaiian people were deeply entrenched in s urfing and the powerful energy of the

vast ocean that surrounded them (Kampion 2003 :34). It is also known that everyone in the

culture participated in this sport men, women, and even children. People of all classes were

able to participate as well from the island royalty to the commoners (Kampion 2003). At this

stage in the development of surfing, the entire community was involved in a so- called surf

culture it was not exclusive to one gender or social class. This demonstrates that surfing did

not originate as a subculture, but as a cultural way of life. Although surfing is considered a sport,

which implies that it is used as a pastime, the Hawaiians relied on the sea for much of their

livelihood and their relationship to the sea was probably the most important element of their

spiritual life (Reed 1999). Native Polynesians obviously saw surfing as more than a pastime or a

recreational activity it was more a way of life and even a ritualistic or spiritual activity. One of

the most important aspects of the culture was the crafting of a royal surfboard. There was a

special process in choosing the perfect tree and then praying and dedicating the surfboard in

several different ceremonies (Kampion 2003). The lengths to which these natives went to craft


5/18

Zehr 5

the perfect surfboard for their leaders show just how important surfing was to the civilization.

However, many aspects of the sport and culture would soon change with the arrival of Europeans

in Hawaii.

Captain James Cook wrote the first descriptions of surfing from his early encounters with

the natives when he discovered Hawaii in 1778. The concept of surf riding was completely

foreign to these Europeans, for they had never seen anything like this before. They were very

shocked at what they were seeing (Kampion 2003). After Captain Cook, more and more

Europeans who were conquistadors, explorers, traders, and racists arrived in Hawaii bringing

many changes to the culture of the islands (Kampion 2003:36). One major detriment to thenatives was the numerous diseases that the Europeans unwittingly brought to the population of

natives who had no immunity from such maladies. From the arrival of Captain Cook, when the

population was around 400,000, to 1890, the population was hugely reduced so that there were

only 40,000 remaining natives (Kampion 2003). This lead to a direct decline of native influence

and culture in the newly European populated Hawaii. As mentioned earlier, many missionaries

arrived in Hawaii, and they were probably shocked at the state of the native people barely

dressed, running around, playing in the ocean, and worshipping Ocean Gods. Many of the ways

of life of the Polynesians were nothing like the Europeans way of life, so the missionaries set

out to change this. They confined them to modest attire, forced them to speak in a new tongue,

and discouraged them from casual sex, gambling, and playing in the ocean (Kampion 2003 :36).

The Europeans were changing a way of life on the islands, taking away some of the most

important aspects of the native culture.

Along with diseases and a new religion, the new Europeans brought their Western ideas

and judgments with them. Often, when the waters were perfect for surfing, all daily tasks would


6/18

Zehr 6

be immediately suspended, and the entire community would swim out to enjoy the waves. Not

surprisingly, the Europeans saw this as unproductive and lazy; it seemed as if the natives would

rather play around in the ocean than do the necessary daily tasks (Reed 1999). The Hawaiians

were not being lazy; they were just celebrating what they had been given a perfect wave to

surf. Since this was associated with their spiritual lives, they saw no reason to forgo this

opportunity to praise nature. According to Drew Kampion (2003:37 ), t he Polynesian

relationship to the sea was beyond European comprehension. To the islanders, the ocean meant

life and joy and freedom. But by 1900, disease, religion, and a new plantation work ethic had all

but exterminated Hawaiian culture and the ancient sport of surfing. Although surfing was on the brink of extinction, it was resurrected thanks to several haoles - white people or foreigners. Jack

London, a famous author, wrote an article about his experiences of surfing in Hawaii, which

brought some attention to the sport. Another prominent figure was Alexander Hume Ford, who

soon after created the first surfing club in Waikiki, Hawaii. It was named the Outrigger Canoe

and Surfboard Club, and its stated purpose was to promote Waikiki and Hawaii as the only

islands in the world where men and boys ride upright upon the crests of waves (Kampion

2003:37). Although this was good for the revival of the sport, it also demonstrates the beginnings

of the changes that the Europeans brought upon surfing. The sport was now being used as a way

to advertise a beach, and the Club clearly excluded women from participating (Reed 1999). Drew

Kampion (2003) also points out that this club was basically composed of only haoles. These

three aspects of the revival of surfing are the first signs of the European changes to the surfing

subulture.

Soon after the Outrigger Club was created, a group of mainly native Hawaiian surfers

came together to form the Hui Nalu surfing club. These two clubs often competed, which


7/18

Zehr 7

garnered a lot of attention from the general public and surfing was becoming somewhat popular

in Waikiki (Kampion 2003). Around this same time, thanks to a businessman named Henry E.

Huntington, who was searching for an interesting way to promote his Californian business,

surfing was beginning its move to the mainland United States. He decided to hire a very skilled

surfer from Waikiki, George David Freeth, to give surfing demonstrations in Venice Beach and

Redondo Beach in California, which attracted crowds of thousands of people (Kampion 2003).

These two events (Jack Londons Article and Freeths demonstrations) brought surfing back to

the public eye. It was something new and intriguing to many people, which means that it

garnered a lot of interest for those near the ocean, in both Hawaii and the continental UnitedStates. Another major figure in the spreading of surfing to the rest of the world was Duke

Kahanamoku, who began surfing in Waikiki. He is known as the father of modern surfing thanks

to his huge role in introducing the sport to many different locations. He began in Hawaii, but

soon introduced surfing to Atlantic City and Nassau in New York, as well as several beaches in

California, such as Corona Del Mar. He even appeared in the Olympic Games in several

swimming competitions, after which his popularity skyrocketed. Duke was then invited to put on

several surfing demonstrations in Europe and even Australia. He often provided these people

with their first sightings of surfing. Thanks to Kahanamoku, many people were intrigued and

fascinated with this sport and in many of these places, he was the beginning of their own surf

cultures (Kampion 2003). Although the sport underwent some changes, surfing would have been

extinct without them and without the help of those who reintroduced the sport. Key figures like

Jack London, Henry E. Huntington, George David Freeth, and Duke Kahanamoku were

necessary to the survival of surfing. Without them, surfing would probably still only survive in


8/18

Zehr 8

small pockets of native Polynesians, if it even managed to survive at all. The resulting popularity

of surfing is what has caused the development of the surfing subculture in todays society.

QUALIFYING SURFING AS A SUBCULTURE

Just because a sport is popular does not automatically qualify it as a subculture. Surfing is

different from other sports in many ways, and has many reasons that it can be classified as

having a specific subculture. According to Ross Haenfler (2013:3), a subculture is defined as

being a social subgroup distinguishable from mainstream culture by its non-normative values,

beliefs, symbols, activities, and often, in the case of youth, styles and music. There are many of

these characteristic patterns that distinguish individual surfers from other members of a society.Stephen Wayne Hull, a sociologist who studied the surfing culture in Santa Cruz, California, was

able to definitely determine that surfing constitutes a subculture. His findings conclude that

surfing has established stable, stratified patterns of interaction, a specialized culture in the form

of language, material symbols, knowledge, norms and values, several institutional forms such as

the Western Surfing Association, specialized media, economic interests, and a homogeneous

population segment (Hull 1976). He claim s that the culture of surfing, unlike many other sports,

demonstrates all of these qualities, which are qualifying traits of a subculture.

Traits of the Surfing Subculture

Stratification : is defined as being a way of rank ordering people based on

characteristics deemed important by that society (Haenfler 2013 :38). This is apparent in

the surfing scene because those with more skill have more privilege, prestige, and respect

from others than those who are new to the sport (commonly referred to as kooks ). Hull

(1976) says that as the kook becomes socialized into the finer points of the surfer


9/18

Zehr 9

subculture and his skills improve, he can expect to slowly achieve greater status among

his fellow surfers.

Specialized Language : is very widespread throughout the culture, and specialized to the

point that an outsider may not even understand a conversation. French gives an example

of such a conversation: as the peak moves over the outside shelf and starts to feather,

hand in unless there are eight foot sneakers, because the peak holds and holds until,

nearly vertical, it hits the inside peak (as cited in Hull 1976). Along with this surfer

jargon, surfers are expected to know the proper surfer folk tales and all of the important

figures in surfing (ibid.). Material Symbols : Hull (1976) discusses the im portant symbols of surferhood. A very

outwardly app arent symbol is surfers car. Respected forms of transportation include

vans, such as a Volkswagen, a pickup truck, often with a shell covering the bed for

transportation and sleeping, or an old, inexpensive junky car. Forms of transportation

that are frowned upon are large SUVs that require lots of gas, or any type of expensive

sports car. Another important symbol is the surfboard. If the surfer has a very old or run-

down board or one that is not of the current shape and style, it is clear that he is a either

old fashioned or a kook. Surfers with high prestige have up-to-date styles of surfboard

from a well-respected manufacturer.

Norms and Values : are important among surfers. A central value to surfers is the need to

find a perfect wave, which is the main goal behind surfing. Kampion (2003:117) points

out that surfers are people who appreciate travel, because to surf is t o seek, and to seek

is to roam. A surfer is constantly searching to find a good wave [which] might require

traveling a good distance (ibid.). Surfers also possess a strong sense of territoriality


10/18

Zehr 10

when it comes to their surfing spot. They want the spot all to themselves and their crew

of surfers, and prefer that no tourists or beach goers invade their territory (Hull 1976).

Homogenous Population : among people involved in the surfing culture. Generally,

surfer crews are composed one specific type of person: a young male, with shaggy hair

bleached by the sun long but not too long a tan, muscular body, wearing surf trunks or

a wetsuit while at the beach, and Levis and Hawaiian print shirts with flip flops while

away from the beach. The surfer has an appearance of carefully foster ed casual,

ruggedness [that demonstrates] the independent, masculine, back to nature image

most surfers have of themselves (Hull 1976).

GENDER AND SURFING

As mentioned in the previous section, the typical surfer is a young male, and there is a

sense of masculinity and danger that pervades the entire sport of surfing. Until recent years,

women were not included in the scene usually they were not welcomed to join at all and

surfing remained a predominantly male sport until the late 1990s. This male centered view of

surfing was completely different from the origins of the sport, when all sexes participated

equally. We have the Europeans to thank for this they saw surfing as an activity that brought

evil and sin to the community. The missionary Sheldon Dibble said that surfing resulted in the

constant intermingling, without any restraint, of persons of both sexes and of all ages, at all

times of the day and at all hours of the night ( as cited in Booth 2001). The Europeans obviously

did not think it was appropriate to allow men and women to interact for long periods of time.

This was due to the fact that Europeans simply viewed gender differently than the Polynesians

did. The Europeans had morphed the definition of gender into something very important in their

society, and they obviously placed a lot of significance upon these classifications. Polynesians


11/18

Zehr 11

did not have this construction of gender in their society, so women and men were not viewed

differently. Imagine the Europeans horror when they encountered naked people of both sexes

playing together in the oceans. Surfing was seen as something that had to be stopped

immediately. The near extinction of surfing occurred soon after, and when it was resurrected, the

sport was completely transformed and women were no longer included. Although there were

several notable exceptions, a woman surfer was a rarity and was never a part of the subculture.

The exclusion of women from sports was common in the early and mid 1900s, and it

complemented the view of women during that time period: frail, delicate, passive, and neurotic

as compared to men (Booth 2001:7). This is known as female exscription, which is a process thatleaves women out of certain subcultures and leads to a primarily male scene (Haenfler 2013:64).

A well- known surfer, Buzzy Trent, stated that girls do fine when it comes to housework, raising

children, [and] doing office work and implied that women should not attempt to surf at the level

of men, saying that girls are much more emotional than men and therefore have a greater

tendency to panic. And panic can be extremely dangerous in big surf (as cited by Booth

2001:3). As shown by Trents quote, men in surfing believed that skill, muscular strength,

enduranc e, cunning aggression, toughness, and above all, courage were necessary to be a

successful surfer, and that women simply did not have these traits (Booth 2001:6).

Because women were usually excluded from the water sport, their role was to be a

passive onlooker who stayed on the beach, sometimes even b eing used by surfers as props.

This means that male surfers who wanted to impress their friends would bring an attractive

woman with them to the beach to sit and watch while he surfed. He was then able to brag about

being with that woman, in order to make other men jealous (Booth 2001). This was common for

women in subcultures they were not usually welcomed as members, and were often seen as


12/18

Zehr 12

accessories to the males. Another role of women in surfing is to be used as sexual commodities

in various surf related media outlets (Booth 2001:7). Women were used in advertisements for

surfer clothing brands, but were objectified and used only for their bodies potential to att ract the

real (male) surfers. Sociologist Leanne Stedman noted several techniques used, such as in an

ad when the models head had been cropped out completely, she had her back turned fully to

the camera and her swimsuit hiked up (as cited in Booth 2001:7). The woman was not even

displaying clothing that was being sold; she was just a decoration to the other male models in the

picture. This is an example of such an advertisement, although it is not the same one discussed.

As you can see in the ad, the woman is just a sexual accessory to the male surfer something to

grab the viewers attention. Although women were regarded in this sense in the surfing subcultre

for many many years, the view of women has recently changed. Women are now regarded not

only as props, but also as legitimate surfers and competitiors. Lisa Andersen was one of the first


13/18

Zehr 13

well known and successful female surfers, who won four world championships. She was a huge

inspiration for many women and youger girls, opening many doors for them along the way.

Many more prominent women were seen in the surfing scene soon thereafter. This lead to a huge

boom in womens surfing in the 1990 s (Kampion 2003). Successful women surfers now had the

respect of male surfers, and were more included in the sport as a whole. However, this does not

mean that women and men are now equal when it comes to surfing. The sport is still extremely

unbalanced when it comes to number of men in the sport vs number of women in the sport.

Many women surfers report that they are usually one of the only women in the ocean while

surfing. It is also said that many girls who want to get involved in the sport find the great numberof males intimidating, discouraging them from joining. Although women are now more

respected, that does not mean that they are not objectified and used for their sexuality in surfing

media (Booth 2001). There will always be some correlation between female surfers and

sexuality, however; that cannot be escaped when beautiful women are riding the waves in

minimal clothing. Overall, surfing has become more inclusive and accepting of women in the

recent years.

STIGMA AND SURFING

Stigma is defined as a discrediting attribute or mark of disgrace that lends others to see

us as un trustworthy, incompetent, or tainted (Haenfler 2013 :94). In the case of surfing, surfers

would be stigmatized by being members of a tainted group. Surfing was initially stigmatized

by the early Europeans who first encountered surfing. As mentioned previously, they viewed it

as immoral and wrong, although it was a spiritual experience to the native Polynesians.

However, the Europeans associated surfing with nakedness, sexuality, [] shameless

exuberance, informality, ig norant joy, and freedom all of which are in opposition of their


14/18

Zehr 14

religious views (Kampion 2003:36). The Westerners overlaid their own views about how life

should be lived onto the Polynesians, which resulted in great amounts of judgement and stigma.

After the renaissance of surfing in the early 1900s, surfers were still stigmatized, but for

different reasons. When surfing was first introduced in the United States, it was initially

regarded as rebellious, even radical , by both surfers and outsiders (Reed 1999). The lifestyle of

a serious surfer was one spent constantly in the ocean, travelling around the world in search of

new waves to ride, often sleeping in cars and on beaches, saving every possible cent for the

necessities food and surfing equipment (Reed 1999). Because of this way of life, there is little

room for an occupation and surfers will often work at jobs which maximize their free time ifthey work at all (Hull 1976). A nine to five, five day a week type of job would not be acceptable

to a surfer. Along with this, skillfull surfing requires a dedication to nonproductive activites

which does not rest we ll with American economic ideologies (Reed 1999). Lots of time is spent

waiting in the water for a good wave, surfing wave after wave, day in and day out. This

impression that surfers are not productive members of society, and are people who spend the

majority of their time in leisurely pursuits has lead many people to stigmatize the surfing culture.

Hollywood has also enforced this by portraying dedicated surfers as societal dropouts (Reed

1999). Many Americans have values that laud people who are productive, hard working, and

successful members the working force. Surfers are almost the opposite of this, so it makes sense

that the general population would see them as a deviant or tainted group. They directly

opposed the traditional sedentary masculine roles of father, homeowner, and breadwinner

(Reed 1999). The subculture was full of people who rejected normal society and chose to follow

their passions, living their lives around the ocean, even though surfing provides little in the way

of accomplishment or achievement in the traditional sense (Reed 1999 ). Although society has


15/18

Zehr 15

stigmatized surfing and surfers for much of their history, in the recent years, surfing has been

incorporated into the mainstream culture, gaining massive amounts of popularity, and losing the

majority of the stigma that surrounded it in the process.

COMMODIFICATION OF THE SURFING SUBCULTURE

As with many other subcultures, a rise in popularity was soon followed by mainstream

commodification. This is defined as the process of appropriating, p roducing, marketing, and

selling a former underground or authentic cultural expression (Haenfler 2013). Mass media

knows exactly when to jump in and begin this process in order to maximize the benefits. Much

of this was carried out through the creation and dissemination of surf wear, especially forfemales. Krista Comer (2004:239) discusses how since the early 1990s, the figure of the new

surfergirl has become progressively more valuable to fashion companies, and more recently,

could be said to proliferate well beyond th e world of fashion advertising. This process began

first in clothing companies that were already established as surf wear businesses. Before the rise

in popularity of surfing, these companies aimed solely at male surfers, as seen earlier in my

discussion about gender and advertising. Now, these businesses discovered how to succesfully

market to younger girls, eseentially introducing surfing to a whole new gender and age group.

After this occurred among many surfing companies, other corporations realized the value of the

surfergirl image and began to use it in their advertising as well companies such as Target and

Newsweek (Comer 2004). This commodification has lead to the further popularization of surfing,

and now, surfing is used to sell countless products, services, and places.

CONCLUSION

Surfing has experienced countless transformations throughout its history, morphing from

a spiritual ritual practice of native Polynesians, to an American sport and pastime with a


16/18

Zehr 16

subculture full of deviant members, and finally to a widespread symbol of happy, sunny places,

and relaxed island mindsets. Th e image of the mythical surfer lifestyle: the freedon and joy of

movement, the living out of an automobile, and the roaming, in the case of surfers, from surf

break to surf break, even from country to country has captured the curiosity and intrigue of

many youth over the course of many years, eventually bringing surfing to mainstream popularity

(Reed 1999). The pertinent issues in this subculture, gender, stigma, and commodification, are all

linked and work together to demonstrate how the sport of surfing has managed to survive and

even thrive through the many tranformations throughout its history.

TO LEARN MORE

Dogtown and Z-B oys

Directed by Stacy Peralta, 2002. Sony Pictures Classics.

A great documentary about the beginnings of skateboarding and surfing.

Surfer

Distributed by GrindMedia. http://www.surfermag.com/

A popular magazine among surfers that covers every topic imaginable within the sport.

Women in the Sub-Cultu re of Sur fi ng

By Cori Schumacher, 2012.

http://www.genderacrossborders.com/2012/02/07/women-in-the-sub-culture-of-surfing/

An article published by Gender Across Borders: A Global Voice for Gender Justice, which talks

about the hypersexualization of women in present day surfing.


17/18

Zehr 17

Stoked! A H istory of Sur f Cul tur e

By Drew Kampion, 2003. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, Publisher.

This book is a great general overview of many aspects of the culture. It is also a good source of

hundreds of pictures of surfers and surfing from its earliest days to the present day.


18/18

Zehr 18

RESOURCES

Booth, Douglas. 2001. From Bikinis to Boardshorts: Wahines and the Paradoxes of SurfingCulture. Journal of Sport History 28,1:3-22.

Comer, Krista. 2004. Wanting to be Lisa: Generational Rifts, Girl Power, and the Globalizationof Surf Cult ure. Pp. 237 -271 in American Youth Cultures edited by Neil Campbell. NewYork: Routledge.

Haenfler, Ross. 2013. Goths, Gamers, and Grrrls. Oxford University Press, Publisher.

Hull, Stephen Wayne. 1976. A Sociological Study of the Surfing Subculture in the Santa CruzArea. MA Thesis. San Jose State University. Web. Accessed 28 March 2013.http://www.lajollasurf.org/srf_thes.html#intro

Kampion, Drew. 2003. Stoked! A History of Surf Culture. Layton: Gibbs Smith, Publisher.

Reed, Michael Alan. 1999. Waves of Commodification: A Critical Investigation into SurfingSubculture. MA Thesis. San Diego State University. Web. Accessed 28 March 2013.http://www.elcamino.edu/Faculty/mreed/general/Thesis/thesis.htm

Reef: Bobby Martinez Advertisement. Reef.com. Accessed 28 April 2013.http://jtm2865.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/reef-ad-explored/

surfing subculture

Documents