Skate parks around the city have grown busy over the last half-decade. With over five skate parks in the city, Long Beach residents have more access to the solo sport than they did ten years ago.
Like most extreme sports, skateboarding has been dominated by men for most of its existence, with girls and women having to prove they can be just as great at riding the four-wheeled bored as boys and men. Just last year, professional skateboarder Nyjah Huston was quoted in popular skateboard publication Thrasher Magazine saying, “Some girls can skate but I personally believe that skateboarding is not for girls at all. Not one bit.” He apologized shortly after.
With time, women have become accepted in the realm. In the 1950s, when skateboarding first gained popularity, women weren’t seen much on the scene. Flash-forward to today and women’s skateboarding is an official competition in the X-Games.
There’s still a long ways to go in achieving full acceptance of women in the realm of skateboarding but with the existence of organizations like the Alliance and Girls Skate Network, there is hope for the future.
“I think the missing link right now is visibility,” said skateboarder and multi-media artist Mimi Knoop, in the official trailer for Underexposed, a documentary about women in skateboarding. The more women get out there and skate, the better the industry will become for women in the sport.
In the video above, VoiceWaves shadow local skateboarders Rebecca Syracopoulos and Tierra Cobb, who share their struggles in the scene.
