An affront to their involuntarily celibate ways!
This future we live in is a wonderful place, don’t you think? Sure there are wars and rumors of wars but there is also Internet accountability in the form of websites that exist solely to hold misogynists’ feet to the fire. The wayback machine, Apple News, Google Cache etc. If you happened to be following along this morning you’ll remember how I wept openly about missing out on a The Inertia piece on empowering women that was ruthlessly erased. I wondered why?
Are the editors at Venice-adjacent’s other favorite water lifestyle website incels? Could they be?
The answer, assuredly, is yes. For thanks to six of you I have been sent the disappeared story and it sings. Please read in its entirety here and find my favorite lines below.
In a sea of fifty or so middle-aged men from Japan, Israel, Europe, and Australia, there was enough male pattern baldness to rival the Trump administration.
When one guy paddled right past me and back up to the peak after taking a set wave? Yes. You’re damn right I dropped in.
It’s not as much an issue of respect, I find, as it is an assertion of belonging. It’s an expression of being a woman in the sea; that despite the barriers that stand in our way, we will remain powerful, as women of the waves.
You think I’m wrong for dropping in? You think I should wait my turn? You think I should follow the status quo of surfing etiquette?
Trust me. I’ve waited. Any woman in the ocean on a day with decent size, like today, has unquestionably waited her turn. We’ve waited in lineups that make us cry, on days when only the boldest among us would dare drop in.
We’ve waited while our brothers of the sea ogle our bodies and objectify the skin we surf in.
We’ve waited while aggro kooks drop in far too deep, knowing they’ll never make the section, all while we’re in the perfect position just a little farther down the line. All this because they would rather take a heavy lip to the face than back off and let a woman enjoy her ride.
Fuck you. We’ve waited. So you think I should wait my turn?
I think you should wait one goddamn second and tell me what it feels like to be the only woman at the peak in a lineup of fifty middle-aged men in swollen seas and heavy winds, 10,711 miles from home. Let me know how that tastes on your tongue.
Then you tell me to wait my turn.
I’m done waiting.
And I only wish the involuntarily celibate men who run The Inertia would have had as many guts as this author here to leave it up.
The worst comment on here is “she must be on her period.” Though I am entertained, such a statement only shows us how simple minded and ignorant you are and can be. I get it, she hurt your feelings because your surf etiquette says you shouldn’t drop in on someone else’s wave and clearly you can’t handle it. If you weren’t such a misogynistic dick, maybe she wouldn’t feel like she should drop in. In the end, it’s a statement – she made a statement. What are you all so afraid of?
Devil’s Advocate: Chas – isn’t the Inertia taking down this article the equivalent when Beachgrit took down that (second) story written by Mara Wolford, about getting drugged at Nias? …Just sayin’
She must be on her period
Wow what an entitled POS… I have surfed all over the place, have lived in over crowded localized breaks most of my life and I have never been to a spot where women don’t get MORE than their fair share of waves (granted I haven’t surfed Brazil or Australia)… women are usually being encouraged to “go for it” and wind up catching more waves than the average guy out there… perhaps Tara has such a bad attitude (as her writing suggests) that people grow frustrated with her burning them left and right and eventually say to themselves “fuck her”… her experiences are probably self-fulfilling prophecies
Hey shitbags, read this and hear a woman speak!
https://seamavenmagazine.co…
Ridicule of a set of indefensibly stupid claims in an article written by a biased, whinging, hypocritical idealogue should be not only expected, but encouraged. You can label these commenters “shitbags” all you like, but the article you shared the link to is as spurious and devoid of intellectual high ground as the dross quoted above. Written by another political activist out for the mystical equality we will find if only we make enough laws. (Yawn)
At least there was some decent humour in the comments. I can’t imagine how depressing the world must be for those that think that their little piece of it is especially unfair. Get over it, it’s not easy this life thing. For anyone.
Luke, thanks for the response. I truly appreciate the opportunity for dialogue. You definitely have a point that life is rough and humor is essential. That’s why Beach Grit is, in my opinion, the only respectable surf mag. That is, other than my own, which is where the article I shared is published. (I’m the author.) I am not out for mystical equality attained through law-making. I’m demanding respect, for myself and other people in the lineup who have been overlooked and shat upon for far too long. Thanks for reading!
Hi Molly,
I really do think that your, and even the intentions of the writer of the Inertia article are good. I just do not think that they are grounded in responsible, rational thought. Individual anecdotal experience is of very little (if not zero) use when it comes to making claims about the positions that different groups in society hold. And this is where the problem with identity politics, the type of which the Inertia article (and indeed your own) espouse are particularly misleading, and potentially deeply injurious to society.
I mean, the fact that the author went straight to what was an attempt to injure the egos of balding men with her first line ought to give an indication of the puerile core of her grievance. And you yourself open up with a generalisation about the potential lack of intellectual prowess in the surf community! My issue with what I understand of her thinking, and yours (based on your own writing) is that you are in fact widening divisions with this kind of gender tribe rhetoric. We don’t need women to start behaving like bad men to have a win in society. We need men and women to behave better, and we need women to recognise that most men in fact DO behave reasonably and positively towards women. I didn’t say we are perfect, please understand.
My suggestion is, rather than repeating poor behaviour, call it out. Appeal to other men if some twat drops in or snakes you. Embarrass the tool that is behaving poorly. And if the number of allies the snake in question has are such that you gain zero traction? Well, frankly, welcome to what surfing is like for all the other men who aren’t in a clique of local rippers or old pricks. It’s no different for us either. That’s how it is, and I don’t see how reducing your own ethics to their level will solve anything at all.
Shit behaviour in the surf isn’t a gender thing, it’s a greed and ego thing. Layne Beachley torched me at my local just as guiltlessly as Tom Carroll. What can you do but your best to carry on and get over it?
Before we delve into politics, let’s get one thing straight: the tone of my article was light, at times sarcastic, and meant to get a point across — as were my previous comments in this thread. I urge you not to take things like my joke about the dumb surfer stereotype so seriously. It’s tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating. You yourself brought up the importance of humor in these dark times. Of course, I knew not everyone would like it.
Now that I understand where you’re coming from, I’ll set sarcasm aside and try to level with you. You are absolutely right that everyone is dealt challenges. Greed and ego and bad behavior prevent you from getting your waves too. There would be no point in a social movement against asshole surfers. There is, however, a point in calling out sexism, which is a barrier to access that you have never had to face. Systematic oppression directly impacts the everyday experiences of women in the workplace, the lineup, and elsewhere.
If you can’t wrap your head around it or you disagree, well, who the fuck cares? You’re the kind of surfer who plays by the rules and respects others, and if we encountered one another in the water I would definitely not drop in on you. I’m sure we’d get along just fine!
“they would rather take a heavy lip to the face than back off and let a woman enjoy her ride.”
I’ll never do that! I’ve never done it! I’m always happy to let a woman enjoy her ride! I’m a grown man, I know how valuable it is. Those middle age guys weren’t middle aged, only teenagers would prefer to take a heavy lip on their face rather than let a woman enjoy her ride! Wankers!
Such bullshit. When someone is getting a Ph.D. and has the economic mobility to go surfing in the Maldives on holiday, they no longer get to play the victim card.
So does this mean that in her book anyone who identifies as a woman gets carte blanche to drop in whenever they want?
Aren’t we all waiting though? Woman or Man, whoever paddles out at this line up of “fifty middle-aged men”will be waiting. But what do I know I’m just on the squatty potty.
Tara, you know, the next time your man leaves the toilet seat up, don’t complain. Just drop-in.
There were actually quite a few good comments made on that piece and they actually really deleted the whole article? I thought they were the ‘protectors’ of free speech?
ha
Meow!!!
Anyone else remember when The Fonz jumped the shark on his motorcycle?
“When one guy paddled right past me and back up to the peak after taking a set wave”
Just where is it you’re sitting Tara?
She doesn’t need to concern herself with surf travel. Turns out California has some of the most democratized breaks in terms of male-female. Lots of females hold it down and get respect. But, if you’re not on the peak, you get no waves – male, female, kid, androgynous hipster, etc. So democratic!
Tara thinks she’s breaking new ground here, when in fact, Mermaids have been kicking ass in the ocean for like…forever.
https://www.thestranger.com…
See…I TOLD YOU!
Did anyone capture that?
Does the ‘wayback machine’ still exist?
Edit: I just checked and the archived pages only go til last year.
If only we had “UN” to bring about world peace.
It sounds like she’s describing what happens to everyone. She should be rushing the peak and taking her waves the way men do. The timid fall back on complaining and name calling and never get what they think is theirs, the other just go get it. Her logic might apply to her local break where people share out of respect and status but when traveling you have to fight for immediate respect by proving yourself capable of the competition otherwise you are immediately downgraded and paddled around. Same as if you take waves and fall continuously. Spots where people are paying big money it’s ever more dog eat dog. It’s simply not a sport for the timid so get in there and mix it up or sit back and watch… this applies to men and women.
The comments section on the inertia article are a real treat. She responds!
Thank you for writing this. I surf in some spots known for being heavily localized. Guess what, I have never been harassed or had a reason to be rude to anyone in the line-up. I don’t drop in, no one drops in on me either. I am not an interim subscriber and I am not going to become one.