Review: Girls Can't Surf

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
The Depth Test

I was going to begin this review by saying 'Girls Cant Surf' wasn’t the film I was expecting, but that remark isn’t entirely correct.

You see, it wasn’t the content of the film that took me by surprise, but how it was delivered.

In the modern context, feminism falls into the culture wars, with climate change on one side and gender issues on the other. All the topics are embedded into two opposing camps, each of which offers their followers predictable and reactionary explanations.

Deep dives into history and discourse are rare, but ‘Girls Can’t Surf’ is one of them, and it’s a thoroughly engaging plunge.

Produced by Chris Nelius and Michaela Perske, the seed of the story germinated while Nelius was making his last film, 'Storm Surfers', when Ross Clarke-Jones and Tom Carroll shared stories of their ‘80s heydays. They regaled Nelius with tales from around the circuit; how there was an illusion of riches yet they still scraped their way around the world.

Nelius knew there was no way the women surfers made anywhere near the money RCJ and Tom made, so he asked himself, “How the hell did they do it? How did the women get around the world?" And so, with the curiosity of a journalist he went looking for answers and found himself one hell of a story.

The tale is essentially told via the big guns of ‘80s women surfing. Think Freida Zamba, Pam Burridge, Wendy Botha, Jodie Cooper, Jorja and Joleen Smith, and Pauline Menczer, as they describe their time on tour - a period that coincided with the first flush of money into pro surfing. 

Unlike the previous generation who all - the men and the women - did it for the love and were untroubled by money woes, the women of the ‘80s found themselves on the wrong end of every decision once money entered the game. What seems a simple goal - equality - becomes fraught with complexity as the women describe the cross currents that kept taking them under. 

Whether it be justifying their return on investment, crowd numbers, looks and marketability, or sales impact, the women had to do much more than simply surf well. Any number of reasons were proffered to keep women’s surfing as the sideshow to the main attraction of men’s surfing. Even the bikini contest copped higher billing at some contests.

From this vantage point forty years hence, it’s easy to forget how badly the system was stacked against the women - and by the same token, why society needs people ready to rattle the cage.

With the obstacles noted, Nelius and Perske begin a slow deconstruction of each, sometimes concluding without resolution, there’s no obvious right or wrong, only what the women surfers faced in order to be treated as equals.

In a recent interview with Swellnet, Nelius mused that the challenges the women surfers faced made them the charismatic figures they became. That may be so, but when Jorja Smith wells up while recounting the story of Megan Abubo earning six figures, the viewer gets the sense that maybe they’d swap it all if they could. Of course that’s all too simplistic, but nevertheless, the scene is one of the best in the film, with those tears saying more than most words could.

In the aforementioned interview, Nelius said he didn’t set out to make a “man-bashing” documentary, and by deftly keeping the spotlight on the women and their travails he’s done so. Large tracts of time pass with the sole focus on the hardships the women faced and not the structures that created them. This is not adversarial argument but something else, an invitation for empathy perhaps?

Three-quarters of the way into the film the story shifts into the ‘90s with the main players moving aside for Lisa Anderson, Layne Beachley, Rochelle Ballard, and Megan Abubo, who are the first females to enjoy lucrative deals - Wendy Botha’s Playboy deal notwithstanding.

Later still, the story is brought up to date when the World Surf League offers equal prize money to women surfers. Which wasn’t an altruistic move, as it’s sometimes painted, but done in response to a campaign for equality - the WSL buckled. More proof that change comes from rattling the cage.

With the goal of equality achieved - at least as it appears on the winners’ cheques - you could call ‘Girls Can’t Surf’ a redemption story, but unfortunately the real heroes of the film: Pam, Jodie, feisty old Wendy, Frieda, and the Smith twins - the women who fought the battle - aren’t the ones who receive the spoils.

Hopefully having their story finally told counts for something.

'Girls Can't Surf' is showing in cinemas now.

Comments

Gonesurfing's picture
Gonesurfing's picture
Gonesurfing Friday, 12 Mar 2021 at 3:24pm

Yeah I dont know about the whole thing. I saw their interview on ACA and it seemed liked they were whinging. Back in the day they were heros to girl surfers, myself included, and got all the fame and industry leads or perks because of it. They were turning up to coaching clinics, being on ads, in womens magazines. For surfing that was a big deal as surfing was an alternative sport back then. We wanted to travel the world and surf the places, like them. They paved the way. So why do they go on ACA and complain they were like a side show? Who cares. Its like a mens netball team, it is what it is and its not a sexist thing, its just where the crowd goes.

theblacksheep's picture
theblacksheep's picture
theblacksheep Friday, 12 Mar 2021 at 6:27pm

Gonesurfing have you seen the movie?

Jamyardy's picture
Jamyardy's picture
Jamyardy Friday, 12 Mar 2021 at 10:18pm

Equality ... so why do the mens have 34 competitors and the womens 17 ?

hoodyollie's picture
hoodyollie's picture
hoodyollie Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 7:16am

Cause girls can’t surf man

Simon Ashford's picture
Simon Ashford's picture
Simon Ashford Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 8:17am

Loved this film. So much more than a surf film. The surf is better for having more women in it.

evosurfer's picture
evosurfer's picture
evosurfer Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 9:36am

Really equality means equal dosent it so im all for it in fact in my world I see
only equality. To be fare though I live and work in a modern civilised western
world environment and no male is game enough to ever disagree with a female
of fear of loosing their job or being charged with something or other.
Only way to have real equality is to pit males and females against each other in
the same events. Woman say there ready for it they deserve it they earned it, its up
to males to drop the stupid statement of good for a female and being a gentleman
and let them go with the males. Now thats equality.
Im also under the belief that some guys on tour not up near the top or have a high
profile did it pretty tough as well. Where is their voice.

Hiccups's picture
Hiccups's picture
Hiccups Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 10:49am

"Im also under the belief that some guys on tour not up near the top or have a high
profile did it pretty tough as well. Where is their voice."

Do you also say "all lives matter" when people are discussing racial inequality?

ndjen's picture
ndjen's picture
ndjen Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 2:29pm

"Do you also say "all lives matter" when people are discussing racial inequality?"

I do. Because the logical anthesis is that some live don't matter.

Logic has never been the strong suit of the left. Feeling, yes. Walk across a bridge for
Indigenous people. Change the date of a BBQ. Knock down some statues.

Nice symbolism.

Address Indigenous DV with real strategies? Not really.
Many Indigenous issues stem from poverty. Better to march and change a date than create employment I guess.

How do I know? Err my kids are black. I kinda know what it feels like for your wife to walk into a real estate agent and there is nothing to rent. I walk in and there is.

All you can do is create opportunities for people. Creating a new thought police does SFA when a job can create generational change.

So yeah, I think all lives matter. And a lot more than a slogan. If they don't then I guess people are comfortable with genocide and other consequences.

evosurfer's picture
evosurfer's picture
evosurfer Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 3:53pm

Hiccups thats 100% correct who cares about individuals when the world is under
a virus attack a direct act of war from China that brings the world to a complete
halt ruins lives, businesses, families, world economy, travel and 100s of other things
and these clowns want to violently protest about that when all this is going on.
Fuck off with this shit I bet the family is pretty happy with 27million now.

Hiccups's picture
Hiccups's picture
Hiccups Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 5:15pm

I thought it was pretty clear what I was saying you thick cunt. You want a film about the struggles of low ranked male surfers? Go make one. That's not the conversation here.

bluediamond's picture
bluediamond's picture
bluediamond Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 8:00pm

+1 for this last comment Hiccups. haha. Gold.

servant's picture
servant's picture
servant Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 9:39pm

SMH

evosurfer's picture
evosurfer's picture
evosurfer Sunday, 14 Mar 2021 at 9:59am

listen up dip shit ( hiccups )the only thing clear here is you didnt read my whole story
you only picked up one thing and your trying to make it the focus of my world so you
tell me who the ignorant cunt is.

Hiccups's picture
Hiccups's picture
Hiccups Sunday, 14 Mar 2021 at 2:08pm

Oh no. I definitely read the whole thing. Word salad that it was.

Hot stuff's picture
Hot stuff's picture
Hot stuff Sunday, 14 Mar 2021 at 2:03pm

It really sucks to be a woman these days with all the guys acting like lil bitches all the time

Surfalot67's picture
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Surfalot67 Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 12:57pm

Best response Hiccups! You cant vaccinate stupid sadly

Hot stuff's picture
Hot stuff's picture
Hot stuff Sunday, 14 Mar 2021 at 1:44pm

That'll buy a lotta crack

ndjen's picture
ndjen's picture
ndjen Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 9:42am

I now work in an industry dominated by women. Somehow this is perfectly fine. The group CEO sent an email around on women's day celebrating the fact that 75% of employees were female as were 70% of management. Diversity only works in one direction it seems. Of course if I were to logically note that a gender balance would be nice, I would be out of a job in 30 seconds flat. In another role I had an international PhD student who I discovered had claimed published papers someone else actually wrote, a scandinavian masters thesis he spent a year on but couldn't find and a master's degree from James Cook Uni which was actually just a group assignment. He knew I was doing the detective work and insisted on another supervisor. I agreed with delight. The racism word would only need to be mentioned and I was toast. Don't get in the way of the money train you bigot. This will only get worse. The thought police will smash anything but total leftism. I am so glad I am 5 minutes from retirement and honestly I will prefer to live in whoop whoop rather than be subject to urban chardonnay socialists who believe that rampant migration is so wonderful. It provides cheaper uber and childcare and different cuisine, cheap workers for their business and the overcrowding is not in their suburb. Time for my re0education dear leader. Will I be doxed for my different opinions?

Barney66's picture
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Barney66 Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 1:27pm

True that but it can't be said for being shouted down. It's a hard road to navigate as there's equal points either side & on both sides some are unwilling to accept facts or change

ndjen's picture
ndjen's picture
ndjen Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 2:14pm

I don't know what it is like in some industries but in the ones I have worked in they have been completely leftist. We once were able to voice a different opinion without it costing us our job, scholarship, sponsorship and endorsements. People didn't dox you and flood your letter box, email inbox and workplace with toxicity.

It really has gotten out of hand. This is only loosely linked to women's surfing. Like others I just think pay in sport is linked to bums on seats and pitching the old equality line is yet another piece of woke BS.

If we take that logic- we should ALL be paid equally for something that depends on
audience attendance (no matter how small) then where is the outrage for those who participate in long board or SUP comps? They make WAY less and less people are
interested in it then shortboard speed and aeros etc.

We can only enforce equality of opportunity in life- not equality of outcomes.

Seaweed's picture
Seaweed's picture
Seaweed Friday, 19 Aug 2022 at 6:55am

Na mate not bums on seats it’s products selling via exposure that contests are rated by and even though the women have proven remarkably successful at reaching target markets that have generated huge $$ for a long time it was only after decades of hard fought negotiations that they were finally payed what they are worth..sport is about $$ not spectators and the wealth must be shared.

old-dog's picture
old-dog's picture
old-dog Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 10:31am

All I know is when I was growing up in the 70s there was only one female who could surf a bit in the whole state ( hi Bev) and she was treated like a princess and all the guys thought it was fantastic that she surfed and encouraged her and she was gifted a lot more waves than a guy of her ability could ever have dreamed of. She was the only girl in the State titles and only had to dip her singlet in the water to get the title and trophy whereas the men's was a highly competitive elite level event. Even in the Aussie titles at the time the women's heats were a farce with most of them sitting in the channel if it was over 5 foot so no-one even bothered to watch as there was nothing happening. Also in the ACA interview they were complaining about sponsors forcing them to wear skimpy outfits , fast forward 40 years and all the girls surf in G strings, no one is forcing them to do this. The reason there are 34 men and only 17 women on the CT could be because there are thousands of males who surf at an elite pro level and only a handful of women in the whole world who have reached a decent level worth watching. If the girls truly want equality perhaps they should surf against the blokes and see how they go. BTW I'm not a male chauvinist, just a realist who tells it how it is. Cheers.

stunet's picture
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stunet Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 10:51am

Nah, you actually are a male chauvinist.

bluediamond's picture
bluediamond's picture
bluediamond Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 8:03pm

Oh my God, thank goodness you said that Stu. That had my eyeballs spinning reading that. Far out. They're all coming out of the woodwork on this thread.

Tooold2bakook's picture
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Tooold2bakook Wednesday, 17 Mar 2021 at 7:33pm

Agreed. This thread is a bit of a disaster. Disappointing to see where this community is at, how poor it is in understanding the fundamental issue and how much further there is to go. Makes the movie all the more important

servant's picture
servant's picture
servant Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 9:37pm

?

benjis babe's picture
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benjis babe Wednesday, 17 Mar 2021 at 9:06am

yes stu is right.. u r a chauvinist pig.... which hole did u crawl out of..there are so many chicks who shred now... u r obviously not a surfer u kook, maybe u should call yourself OLD DINOSAUR

Agitator's picture
Agitator's picture
Agitator Monday, 18 Oct 2021 at 9:23am

Ha I remember Bev....used to surf down at the Roy and Longy early 70's.

Seaweed's picture
Seaweed's picture
Seaweed Friday, 19 Aug 2022 at 7:13am

I wonder why so few women learnt to surf in those days. No I don’t actually I know why and it wasn’t just the lack of support available it was also a culture that discouraged women’s participation ( chicks don’t surf ) if you never heard or said that one id be surprised.( thanks occ. not) a younger brother would be offered opportunity while a younger sister would be ridiculed for expressing a desire to surf…thank fuck those days are over and surfing and the lineups are far better forgot it. And the best bit is the chicks did it for them selves while the chauvinistic dark ages of surfing either adapted and enjoyed or stagnated and lost relevance.

san Guine's picture
san Guine's picture
san Guine Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 12:47pm

Nice one Udo

Kevchecksurf's picture
Kevchecksurf's picture
Kevchecksurf Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 11:32am

Interesting the resentment that comes out here in the comments. Like most of the commenters I've yet to see the movie.
Im only a little ashamed to say that I do feel a bit of what is being said. I mean is it easier to make it to the top level in surfing as a male? I don't know. I certainly can't even get to the middle level.
On the other hand, I do see my female friends having to deal with a lot less respect in a crowded line up than I do.
I guess at the end of the day we can probably all agree that gender equality is nowhere near achieved in even the most 'woke' societies.
Celebrating the wins doesn't harm anyone

Equality for the talentless battlers will probably remain a pipedream

nextswell's picture
nextswell's picture
nextswell Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 1:32pm

Women’s surfing has come along in leaps and bounds in the last 10 yrs. However professional sport is purely a luxury. Those who somehow forge a career out of it are very lucky. How much someone is paid is purely driven by bums on seats. Women’s tennis is a great example ie women play less tennis but are paid equally (grand slams). In this case though they draw similar crowds to their male counterparts hence deserve the same pay packet. Unfortunately there are many sports where this is not the case. If there’s no audience , there’s no money.

ndjen's picture
ndjen's picture
ndjen Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 1:53pm

Exactly. Can anyone name a single male olympic gymnast off the top of their head?
Most will be able to name a certain Romanian girl- i.e. Nadia. Last I heard there was not
much audience for the Olympic male synchronised swimming team even if they bothered to shave their legs.

ndjen's picture
ndjen's picture
ndjen Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 2:00pm

There is hope that female surfing will finally get the glory and paypackets that it deserves. Just let the trannies enter. I mean, it is pretty much a non contact sport in heats based competition. So there is unlikely to be a female broken neck from the rampaging trannie prop forward on the burst.
So funny that female opportunities are being erased by males (well kinda males) once again. The women folk in my family are pretty outraged by scholarships being won by below average male athletes who decide to switch genders for a few years.
So much to look forward to in the new woke world.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 6:49pm

Yeah, nah.

I agree with your first few posts but the future of women’s surfing is red hot. I think we will all have our minds blown in the near future. It’ll be a quantum leap like we saw with the arrival of Kelly Slater in the men’s. The blokes had forged ahead in leaps and bounds- The Big Five ( Curren , Potts,Carroll, Kong and Occy) were exponentially better than the preceding generation but Slater and co went ballistic from there. I reckon the chicks are about to do the same.

I’ve not seen the movie but I appreciate that the ‘80s chicks wanted a recco for effort alone. This is sorta justified. Their actual surfing performances left a lot to be desired at the time. They honestly weren’t anywhere above the local ripper. No where near in many cases.

But this is evolution and a process and amongst their peers- women surfers- they were the best in the world and accordingly so were an inspiration to the female surfers to follow. Writing off the performance levels of the women surfers comparable to their much more numerous male peers is akin to dismissing the performance of Nat, Midget and Ted Spencer cause they didn’t surf as well as Carroll, Occy etc.

Horses for courses. Chicks are just people- some are great to surf with whilst some are just cnts. Credit where it’s due though, the 80s chicks were best in the world . The pay levels were commensurate with the saleability of their sport at the time and the performance levels attained but you and me aren’t paying the bills, we are just fellow surfers who should really take a back seat and applaud these chicks for doing the best they could do which just happened to be unprecedented, groundbreaking and inspirational to the legions of chick rippers who stand on their shoulders so as to see what they might all achieve in the future.

I may have been guilty of heading to the pie shop when the chicks paddled out in two foot beachies back in the day but I’ll never be the style of cnt who doesn’t appreciate the way my chick surfing mates of the time gobbled up every single minute of watching their 80s surfing role models set a new standard every time they hit the water.

Pro surfing is a hoax full shitfight but the forward evolution of surfing performance is not. The two are not as intrinsically inseparable as the billionaire profiteers and the hagiographic Rumplestilskin surf journos would have you believe, but fact is when you group together a bunch of likeminded determined individuals - paid or not - you will get leaps in performance and this is the cold, hard truth of what these 80s chicks accomplished.

Hats off to these girls.

icandig's picture
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icandig Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 6:42pm

Thanks for improving my vocab Blowin.

hagiography
A hagiography is a type of biography that puts the subject in a very flattering light. Hagiographies are often about saints.

The two halves of hagiography refer to holiness and writing, and it is something written about holy people. Originally, a hagiography was a biography of a saint written without skepticism or criticism. A hagiography idealizes the subject and puts them on a pedestal. These days, a hagiography is not necessarily written about a saint, but it still idolizes the subject. A hagiography makes the subject seems like a hero, or at least a wonderful, nearly perfect person.

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hagiography

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 6:47pm

I’ll pass your kudos to Freeride. It was himself that introduced me to this beautiful word.

So appropriate when referencing the surfing media pre-internet.

Though much sucking, swallowing and defying does still occur in print and the less respected internet surf sites.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 7:37pm

Hats off to freeride for introducing me to 'stochastic' too.

Had to look that one up.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 7:40pm

What about petrichor, Zen ?

That’s a beauty and created by our very own CSRIO ......Yay Australia!

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 9:29pm

Had to look that up too and glad I did.

Cheers for broadening my horizons.

bluediamond's picture
bluediamond's picture
bluediamond Saturday, 13 Mar 2021 at 8:10pm

Funny reading how everyone says they should surf with the men to justify equality!!? Why do they have to even surf like men? Can't you enjoy watching them surf like women? They are completely different to men. Body shape and physiology, spiritually and mentally. So why should they have to try to 'prove' they can surf like a man?? Case in point, Steph. She surfs like a chick. And it's beautiful. And she gets paid gazillions to do it.
And the fact they have taken so long and 'sat in the channel' at surf events, probably has more to do with us as males than them as females. 'They' just wanna be surfers. Not chicks. Surfers. Like you and me. Got heaps of female surf mates. They are the absolute frothers!!

benjis babe's picture
benjis babe's picture
benjis babe Wednesday, 17 Mar 2021 at 9:11am

hear hear

truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 5:14pm

tbb is hearin' ya...
The most gutsiest call in Surf History is by #1 Gurl & no man will dare deny it!

" When you think about the most stylish male surfers - Tom Curren, Joel Parkinson - guys who, when you watch them are so fluid and seamless. They have a graceful touch. It's funny, people say to me, 'you surf like a Guy'. But actually, no, the greatest Guy Surfers, surf like Girls."...

Surf Queen's dawn patrol wake up call...
Double goofy footed guys are so gonna lose that dance off!

The Facts of Life prove that women have to be superior athletes when push comes to shove!
No Kingdom's wealth or warrior can retrieve the Chief's Bride from the tallest tree in the land!
Bundjalung Girls scamper 'cross tree tops...giggling & tossing pine cones at finest warriors.

Men built weapons to compensate, then hassled Chix to point them in the right direction.
Cave Chix : "OMG ...Please, just give the thing here & club me with the but end, already!"

Menfolk are growing tired of the women's Ultra Run around.

Ever seen a Men's Tennis Rally...neither has tbb!
Ever see Male Footballers string a set of passes...it's cringe worthy!

Women can take a dive every bit as good as man...but without spilling a drop!

Ever see a Man surf a wave all the way into shore ...what a wipeout that is!
How come Chix keep wiping out?...because Mermaids can live & breathe underwater!
How can Women surf without Leggies? ...because they can swim across oceans!

Only ever once did a man try to tackle a 'Balance Beam' (Ouch!) it wasn't pretty either.
Male Olympians still can't come to grips with the chix uneven bars...my brain hurts!

Men's poor showing at Show Jumping is down to Men skipping out on skipping.
Women Ice Skaters send men into a tail spin...(Pervy men collectively pass out.)

Judging (vs) Scoring (vs) Women (vs) Men (vs) Dance (vs) Art (vs) Sport
https://www.bustle.com/p/do-men-figure-skaters-have-different-scoring-th...

truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher Sunday, 14 Mar 2021 at 11:19am

swellnet celebrates International Women's Day > Women's Week > Women's Month

8th March swellnet crew celebrated Chiko Chix can't Surf Day.
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2021/03/08/woz-charter-f...

8th -14th March swellnet Stu continues celebrating Women's Week.
Girls can't Surf interview.
https://www.swellnet.com/news/talking-heads/2021/03/11/chris-nelius-dire...

March 2021 - swellnet Stu celebrates Women's History Month with Girls can't Surf (review).
https://www.swellnet.com/news/flyer/2021/03/13/flyer-dont-mark-it-your-c...

tbb salutes swellnet / crew for joining in celebrations & epic presentation of women's history.

International WOTDWM ~~~~^~~~~/|~~~~/(~~~~/(`~~~~/(C....../(C`..[ surf )~( chix )~{ party )~[ wave )

swellnet international women's party wave rolls on....

Surfchixflix Quiver
https://www.surfgirlmag.com/2021/03/surfgirl-movie-night-inspirational-w...

Pink Patrol Chopper Squad
https://www.westpac.com.au/news/making-news/2021/03/the-lifesaver-flying...
Ironwomen...our saviours.
https://www.surflifesaving.com.au/news/women-surf-life-saving-choose-cha...
OZ wide Think Pink Patrols
https://timesnewsgroup.com.au/surfcoasttimes/news/lorne-slsc-pink-patrol/

WSL
https://www.worldsurfleague.com/posts/464296/today-and-every-day-we-cele...
Powerful Women
https://www.espn.com/espnw/story/_/id/31010434/how-world-champion-tyler-...
(Quarantine- Caught Inside 2) Interview #1 Plumber.


Brave Hearts battle Sea Monsters
https://www.surfgirlmag.com/2021/03/brave-hearts-female-surfers-and-the-...

Roxy celebration


Pacific Women
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-08/pacific-women-surfing-breaking-st...
PoshChixSurf
https://www.surfgetaways.com.au/

Grans can't booger!
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/boogie-board-fever-silver-haired-17520...

Why do women Quiver?
https://www.surfgirlmag.com/2021/03/board-talk-with-marie-chauche/
Catwalkers
https://magicseaweed.com/news/how-women-have-shaped-and-been-shaped-by-s...

Go Gurlz!

bluediamond's picture
bluediamond's picture
bluediamond Sunday, 14 Mar 2021 at 1:18pm

Some great links TBB. Cheers!

Hot stuff's picture
Hot stuff's picture
Hot stuff Sunday, 14 Mar 2021 at 1:54pm

Girls should be paid double what guys get.
Why?
No reason.

Gowsa's picture
Gowsa's picture
Gowsa Monday, 15 Mar 2021 at 12:10pm

I enjoy watching the Womens surfing but if its Equality they're chasing then take off the pink colored Glasses and follow the Money. Im pretty sure Male Models dont earn 10% of female models because the commercial economics arent there.
PS: Why do women get same prize money in Tennis yet only play 3 sets instead of the Mens 5 sets. Way more advertising money money in 5 sets

groundswell's picture
groundswell's picture
groundswell Tuesday, 16 Mar 2021 at 2:27am
savanova's picture
savanova's picture
savanova Tuesday, 16 Mar 2021 at 7:38am

Female pornstars earn 5x that of males. Just saying

poo-man's picture
poo-man's picture
poo-man Tuesday, 16 Mar 2021 at 7:56pm

Its a tough one the equal prizemoney for women surfers in events if you're a sponsor or an organizer. I totally agree with the sentiment of it but with most surf events at lower levels the entry fee makes up a big chunk of the income of the event supplemented by some sponsorship dollars. Some recent events that I've been connected with have had 12 women entrants and around 60 guys. So the guys entry fees contribute a big chunk towards making it viable. And because the guys effectively subsidise the girls prizemoney it results in a lower ranking for the guys event and less prize money for them. In an ideal world we'd have roughly equal numbers of entrants then there's no problem but until that happens the guys will continue to subsidise the girls. It's all OK at WSL level where they just seem to find money for all this stuff but I'm talking about events just below QS level where sponsorship dollars are extremely hard to come by these days

benjis babe's picture
benjis babe's picture
benjis babe Wednesday, 17 Mar 2021 at 9:21am

well poo man it still cost us the same amount to enter the contests as the guys, my petrol bill is same as the guys, my accommodation costs are the same as the guys, and my food also costs the same as the guys and these days the girls division sells out quicker then boys division.... yes sponsorship dollars are hard to come by but so is my hard earned dollars that I spend attending these contests....

poo-man's picture
poo-man's picture
poo-man Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 9:05pm

That's awesome if the girls division sells out quicker than the guys. Maybe we've got a long way to go in NZ then. The biggest contest on the NZ circuit just happened on the weekend past and there were 24 girls and 70 guys. Still a bit of subsidisation going on here

truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher Tuesday, 23 Mar 2021 at 10:21pm

28th Sept 2020 GCS Pod.
https://womensagenda.com.au/podcasts/layne-beachley-surfings-greatest-ta...
Tue 9th Feb Gold Coast (GCS Early Screening)
https://hota.com.au/cinema/girls-cant-surf/

Chix discount Fee recap from....swellnet
Women's past lower pay skipped equal onto now Woman's higher Prizemoney
https://www.swellnet.com/comment/reply/513336/722762

tbb is a proud amateur Bodybasher boasting equal zero pay since 1864.
Any Athletes needing a flying Circus to dumb down their surfing are worth less again!
So just how do Huey's jobseekers get paid more to lounge on a better couch each year!

benjis babe reports on equal Membership fee / Comp prizemoney structure.
tbb can back that up...there is a steady middle ground where this does occur.
It's certainly not the norm but tbb agrees that some chix may indeed surf in equal format.
Also respect benjis babe to example & share such rare equality...(Good Stuff!)
Note: tbb's research is confined mostly to Oz + World in general Surf Chix

How this occurs! Oz / States Clubs set own fees that vary from town 2 town.
Different Craft Styles / Gender are costed differently depending on club agenda.
tbb has not seen it yet..but would & could see some clubs charging more for women.
eg : Basherz (Male) Standard Pool fee > Chix boards 90% extra [P] + Insurance + washing
Consider Councils may lower Lesson permit fees for a less macho WSR tourism promo.
5-10-15 years past to now has changed a lot & will change a lot more again

2020 / 21 Entry Level > (Surf Fees / Prize Money) > Pro.

Pregnant Women are restricted more each day from most Surf / Wave Pool activities
Surf Performance Centres - Equal Fees
Surf Lessons - Equal Fees / Women's Only [L] is a huge growth Market
Camps ( Strictly Women's Only [ Safe ] Secret Spot Resorts) Massive Surf Market.
https://www.thethreetravellers.co/womens-surf-camps/
Theme Park / Municipal Wave Pools - Equal Entry Fees +(Swimwear / Alcohol restrictions)
Olympic Wave Pool : Chix Day gets 20% off Dip'n'Sip (A Non Drink Spiking Event!)
Olympic Wave Pools (Promote Alcohol + G strings) Prohibited in all Civic Wave pool / parks.

Surfing Clubs
Girls Only Boardriding Clubs have steadily increased in last 10-20 years.
Mixed Clubs (1979 GC / tbb's NBBC Chix ran own Comps)
Why NBBC... Because they were stoned outta their minds with zero agro.

Mixed clubs offer cut price chix deals to keep them in the clubs.
Club Memberships - Chix 25-50% off to equal > Changes/varies widely.
Comp Fees - Chix 30% off to equal > varies widely to reflect sponsor make up.

WSL exhibit price codes by Girls ability > body shape drop outs (re: SLSA)
It's good Oz Health Policy to increase female sports in this age range!
The base level Price is kept low to keep Girls from dropping out of surfing!

QS- 3,000 - $100 Women > $200 Men
QS- 6,000 - $100 Women > $250 Men
QS- 10,000 - $150 Women > $325 Men
QS- Free licensing deals for Girl's Comps for same reason (Good Health policy)

WSL membership - $150 Women > $250 Men ( Same! Keep the girls healthy)

WSL Max Prizemoney $100,000 (33.3% Women / 66.6% Men)
WSL Min Event Prizemoney $10,500 Women > $10,000 Men
Women surf Less often against less competitors to win WSL Event
Women surf less heats & comps to win a WSL title.
Women are valued more highly by earning more appearance money

Note women waste no time capitalizing on any shortlived advantage.
Catalyst for Exclusive Price range settings in "Gurlz Rule Secret Spot Camps"
WSL is planning to cure impure Gurl Power hiccups
However! Equal = Events / Waves / Venues / Competitors plans slowed with covid.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Wednesday, 17 Mar 2021 at 9:52am

Anyone else seen the movie yet?

turk's picture
turk's picture
turk Wednesday, 17 Mar 2021 at 4:19pm

watches movie: wow we've come a long way.
read comments: wow we've got a long way to go.

billythekid's picture
billythekid's picture
billythekid Wednesday, 17 Mar 2021 at 3:39pm

So sick of the whole issue.....couldn't give a *&%!

evosurfer's picture
evosurfer's picture
evosurfer Thursday, 18 Mar 2021 at 12:22pm

Lets face it girls can surf I dont even mind it and some surf OK about dozen rip
but in reality most are very ordinary as are a lot of males but as long as they enjoy
surfing thats great.
The issue is that the boys paved the way for professional surfing along with pretty
much everything then the entitlement girls come along and want it all straight up
because they are girls and the way commentators pump them up is on another
level of ridiculous. Tone a few things down on all levels keep it nice and it will
all work out in every bodies favour.

DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE Sunday, 21 Mar 2021 at 7:01pm

I have watched the movie.
No surprizes there.

Or that its always going to be a rich, fat , white mans world we live in.
And thats because that is what the rich, fat white greedy man wants.
Whilst the majority of people believe that we need heaps of shiny things, big bank balances and your missus has to look like Barbie to be beautiful, for your life to complete. That helps his cause.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Sunday, 21 Mar 2021 at 7:24pm

Zzzzzzzzzz

Blingas's picture
Blingas's picture
Blingas Sunday, 21 Mar 2021 at 8:28pm

Erin Brooks is like 14 and can surf way better than I can....sigh.. some girls can surf really well. Did I miss something?

DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE Sunday, 21 Mar 2021 at 10:08pm

Don't bother watching the movie Blowin. You'd be bored with that too.
Some of what I wrote summarises some of which those women went through and what women still face today.
Like it or not.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 4:54am

You seem to be confused. My boredom has nothing to do with how I feel about women or women surfers and everything to do with brainless twits like yourself. You think sexism has anything do do with the colour of people’s skin? The head of British and Australian state is a woman. I could begin to mention the ways women are routinely and traditionally subjugated by other races but you’ll probably just bleat some more and bother the editor with your whining.

Learn some history. Or even learn about current events.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 9:59am

and now she's doing 60 minute interviews talking about how she sucks her own butt plug. yeah baby

Robo's picture
Robo's picture
Robo Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 10:10am

Apparently got $1M in the first month with her website, some desperadoes out there needing to pay for that.
Her brother is a tosser have had first hand experience at Keramas a few years ago lol.

Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67 Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 1:30pm

Tweed Breed. Different conversation and one the surf media sycophants won't report on - how Billabong in particular hang people out to dry and turn a blind eye to abuses...RIP AI.

suchas's picture
suchas's picture
suchas Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 2:05pm

Escapes from the" terrifying" surf industry to find solace in adult porn? How bad was the surf industry??If that caravans rockin, don't come a nockin (without a credit card)

DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 9:49am

History shows that the colour of your skin does have an impact on your life. (wrongly)
Currently women do struggle with equality. (wrongly)
Or have I been living on another planet away from creatures like yourself who with their self confessed higher intellect and derogatory remarks.
Which incidentally is part of the reason we do have these issues, because you cannot consider yourself equal with others, or think you treat people equally whilst doing those things.
If ever we sort things out, people can look back in history and see its those things that were wrong too.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 10:09am

Yes, you must be living on another planet if you think that white men are responsible for women’s subjugation as opposed to the fact that it’s not the colour of the man but whether they are a fck wit or not that determines their behaviour towards women.

But sure.....I’m the problem.

DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE's picture
DBEARINDARE Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 11:28am

The comment I made originally about white men was loosely based at best. Surely you dont think that I believe this is solely a problem white man has caused.
I think that at the very least, the problem we currently have with most issues stems from respect. (lack of it)
Which when you make dismissive and derogatory comments of someone that you don't know by any means (me), proves that.
So as much as you may not like to hear that. Yes you are adding to the problem.
I am not here to cast judgement on you, and I would appreciated the reciprocation of that respect to me.

Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67 Monday, 22 Mar 2021 at 1:35pm

Too many people commenting without having seen the movie. Go see it FFS! Its a good tale other than Nick Carroll, who's just weird and very convinced of his personal importance to surfing history. My partner was like "who is this tool laughing at the roof?". Other than that it's a well crafted doco and tells the story it set out to tell, that without these trailblazers the Steph's of today wouldn't be where they are now, no matter how good they are. Respect.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Sunday, 28 Mar 2021 at 3:31pm

https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/champions/world-champion-surfe...

Still a champion!

How about locking in an interview with Pauline SN?