Queering surf spaces

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In this episode, we discuss the development of the current heteronormative culture in mainstream surfing, tracking its historical connection to colonialism, Christianity, and capitalism, and how that's resulted in a space that's often very unwelcoming for anyone who isn't cisgendered and heterosexual. We then look at how queer surf groups have developed their own safe spaces, as well as how most mainstream surf organisations have failed dismally to do this. Case in point: we end with a short note on the WSL's controversial decision to include Abu Dhabi as a stop on the Championship Tour in 2025, and what it says about their commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Links below:

Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest - Anne Mcclintock:

https://www.routledge.com/Imperial-Leather-Race-Gender-and-Sexuality-in-the-Colonial-Contest/Mcclintock/p/book/9780415908900?srsltid=AfmBOorpef6Z_EQqHCbDEz3LpAMzbW6xLqad3yTHWoyCd79Ev8W1vda-

Ways of Being: A Thematic Analysis of Queer Identities in the Heteronormative Surf Space - Rachel Rouquet:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365361511_Ways_of_Being_A_Thematic_Analysis_of_Queer_Identities_in_the_Heteronormative_Surf_Space#fullTextFileContent

Women in Wetsuits: Revolting Bodies in Lesbian Surf Culture - Georgina Roy:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10894160.2013.731873

WSL's call to take surfing to UAE forces gay athletes like Tyler Wright to pay too high a price - Lucy Small:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/oct/31/world-surfing-league-2025-uae-abu-dhabi-move-gay-athletes-tyler-wright

F*ck you, Billabong. Seriously, f*ck you - Sarah Banting:

https://you.women2.com/f-ck-you-billabong-seriously-f-ck-you-84995f3d7946

Petition to remove Abu Dhabi from WSL calendar:

https://www.change.org/p/remove-abu-dhabi-from-world-surf-league-tour-calendar-support-your-lgbtqia-community

We received funding for podcast recording equipment from the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, at the University of the Western Cape, as part of the New Imaginaries for an Intersectional Critical Humanities Project on Gender and Sexual Justice, a project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Thanks to Christine King for our logo design. Check out her book, Stormcaller - you can buy it via her website: https://www.christineking.co.za/.

Karen Graaff is a Research Fellow, Women's and Gender Studies, University of the Western Cape.

Glen Thompson is a Research Fellow, History Department, Stellenbosch University.