"Bethany Hamilton simply does not personally want to accept transgender women as women."
But who would have ever guessed that the most controversial, the most polarizing surf figure in 2024 would be Bethany Hamilton? Certainly not me. I might have selected Zeke Lau, maybe even Zeke Lay but certainly not the inspirational shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton.
Though here we are in 2024 and it’s true.
The latest bit of contention comes from the most unlikely of places, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where the local women’s group tapped Hamilton as its keynote speaker only to ignite the simmering culture war.
The Oshkosh Women’s Fund’s annual Power of the Purse announced, “T’S TIME! We have exciting news to share! Our 2024 POWER OF THE PURSE keynote speaker is, Bethany Hamilton. Bethany’s story of overcoming obstacles and living with resilience, perseverance, and heart has helped her live an Unstoppable life. We’re thrilled for the community to hear her message – in hopes that it will inspire others to live unstoppable.”
What should have been a moment of joy for the town best known for making children’s overalls was, instead, twisted into a five-page online letter excoriating the choice, declaring that Hamilton is transphobic and not fit to stand at the lectern.
“We, the undersigned, are members and allies of Oshkosh’s LGBTQ+ community,” it began. “We are your neighbors, supporters, volunteers, and friends. We appreciate the positive work the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation and Discover Oshkosh does to uplift our entire community. We also sincerely hope we share an understanding of the importance of supporting and including the LGBTQ+ community in all facets of daily life.”
Also, “Hamilton’s boycott (against the World Surf League) is not motivated by concerns about athlete safety or maintaining the integrity of a professional sport. Bethany Hamilton simply does not personally want to accept transgender women as women.”
And, “It undermines their community partnership initiatives toward ending isolation and loneliness, promoting youth mental and physical health, and supporting parents. It also creates and enhances a direct platform for amplifying anti-transgender bigotry in our own backyard.”
So far, the Women’s Fund has not bent to pressure and Wisconsin State Representative Ron Tusler is even swinging in with support, declaring, “Cancel culture is just going way too far in this state. This poor girl who lost her arm to a shark at age 13 is now being attacked because she doesn’t want to compete against men in sports?”
Importantly, where do you stand? Should Hamilton be allowed to inspire or will her inclusion be a metaphorical lynching of the LGBTQ+ community?
Peter King, are you there? Please weigh in.
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Everybody just sat back and watched the downfall of the circus. This was the indigenous home of the bearded lady. Let’s make the circus great again!
I totally support the freedom — cultural and political — of individuals to be and do whatever they want, provided they aren’t committing acts of aggression against others.
Men in women’s competition, or locker rooms, is absolutely an act of aggression. Hiding behind LGBT+ rights doesn’t change that fact.
William Thomas is not a woman, for the purposes of swimming, just because he grew his hair out and called himself Lia. Everyone knows that is ridiculous. He just stole victories from women who trained their whole lives, and liked parading his cock around the locker room. Most of us call that “being an asshole”, not “being a woman.”
Bethany Hamilton IS a woman who got her arm eaten by a shark, and is still on the short list of women who surf good Pipeline, and with one fucking arm. And she’s a mother of 3, too. Actions, not just words.
I’m not religious, either, FTR. I’m just an atheist guy who has a Bio degree, and has competed in various sports, including on coed teams. I support my sisters in sports, friends over the years, straight and gay, femme and butch, and I also have mad respect for BH. If I lost an arm, I guess I always assumed my stand up surfing days would be over.
I had a college friend with gender dysphoria before it was cool, too. He went all the way, with counseling, then hormones, then surgery. He wasn’t doing it for fun. I understand that this is not easy for some people and I certainly don’t begrudge them peace and the pursuit of happiness.
But he wasn’t just putting on a wig to win powerlifting competitions, either. This actually mocks the people who really suffer from gender dysphoria which, as I wrote, isn’t fun and games.
My vote: Bethany talks, and bullshit walks!
Lesbian=Gay, Gay=Gay, Bi=Gay, Transformer=Gay, Queer=Gay, ++=Gay! They’re Not Gay, they’re Haters.
This relatively small handful of lunatics and drag queens (yes, drag queens signed that letter *with their drag names*, can’t make this stuff up) attempt to bully others into an apology they aren’t obliged to give. And then pretend to be victims and say they’re baffled why support for the trans community is waning.
Maybe stop with the bullying tactics and entitled antics?
I’m just glad I went pan nuetro
years ago…everyone looks the same to me now. Even Americans
there’s no future here~
sell t-shirts w/ a big vowel
Latin died…Al DeMiola survived…https://youtu.be/8cPCG6aX_5o?si=Xvm…
The numbers don’t lie – This thread is as popular as it is conflicted about its identity.
Therefore, this article is many things all at once, it’s Transformative, transatlantic, transpacific, transactional, transferrable, transgressive, transcribable, but 100%, absolutely, NOT – Transgender!
Well.. maybe <0.1% to 0.6%.
no awards given/
Progressivism has become parody of itself.
for the rest of you people, Motel Six is just down the road~
retarted mysogomy will not be allowed here…Beth loves her real dad…The Pope~
RIP Sinead O”Brian~
Da Hui Shootout I only watchedMarzo’s heat, longboard and sup.. Found the last two interesting..
Bethany said that she does in fact have a problem with born males competing in women’s sport. But you are correct that she is a friendly, sweet person. Her faith most definitely has much to do with here decision making but it is a stretch to say that she feels it is unfair for males to compete in women’s sport because she is a Christian. Many non christian lesbians agree with her stance on that issue.
Trestles is literally an insult to the sport.
I told you so – after veering wildly out of her lane with her declared WSL boycott and denunciations of transgender people in a surfing context, Bethany Hamilton is now entering politics.
I guess she has to do something to earn money after Rip Curl wisely cancelled her contract. Her ultraconservative Taliban-level right-wing Christian fascism will play well with many Trump-voting Americans, who like their elected representatives to be dumb, racist and ultraconservative Christian religious fanatics.
She will do well in mainland America politics, you read it here first.
So much conjecture …she needs $’s? ,
she needs to do politics for ?
She’s ultraconservative Taliban level right wing Christian Fascist….and in your humble opinion wants to appeal to trumps voting base?
How about she has strong beliefs , and has rejected sponsors/$’s for her beliefs?
1) Yes – four kids, living on Kauai is very expensive.
2) Because this kind of Christian fanatic strongly believes everyone has to believe what they believe, not only because they are infallibly correct according to their Christian Bible and if you don’t believe what they believe, you are going straight to hell.
3) Yes – the appeal to dumb Trump voters is obvious
4) She was one of Rip Curl’s most valuable sponsored athletes – until she opened her mouth. They dropped her, not the other way round.
Fuck off you faker wannabe. We all already know about how much you hate Bethany.
She’s more a man than you’ll ever be.
Making threatening comments, again?
Don’t you have other places to play and other things to do?
Here’s me – I am not faking anything. Never have, never will.
https://www.eos.surf/encycl…
You think only Trump voters are capable of realizing that biological males don’t belong in women’s sport? It’s well over 50% of Democratic voters too. We’re not all in your bizarre, antiscience cult.
1) so you know her financial status , and she needs a high income to support her family?
2) She has taken a moral stand based on her beliefs ….haven’t seen her preaching about the “evil” Transgender’s….which seem to correspond with a lot of non-Christian’s here?
3) Real Christians do not follow Trump!
4) Nah she quit…….
3) Real Christians do not follow Trump!
Ummmm – I think that statement is conclusive evidence you know nothing about American politics – best to not comment if you are out of your depth.
4) Nah she quit…….
Not at all – Bethany objected to a transgender person appearing in Rip Curl’s marketing and advertising materials and made her objections clear.
A multinational corporation like Rip Curl, that sells products to a wide variety of people of many different ethnic backgrounds, national affiliations, religious beliefs and sexual preferences, cannot retain on salary a spokesperson who is a religious bigot. Full stop. They (correctly) cancelled her contract.
As you know very little about Christians , and their respective offshoots in forming 1/2 baked versions of Christianity….white evangelist’s etc who follow Trump are not real Christians!
Ah and I love US politics , and have studied for over 40 years…
If you knew the marketing director of Rip Curl , who told you that she quit…well she quit!
everything you have aid is just your personal conjecture!
Rachel Maddow called…
…as your ultraliberal Chavez level left wing islamo facism, will play with many Biden voting Americans, who like their elected representatives senile, incoherent, cognitively disabled, corrupt, racist liars and ultra marxist atheist fanatics.
see how that works?
hey man,
remember when we used to buy blanks from FH, take them out to Kawela and have Irons shape them for us and then airbrush and glass em’ ourselves with the FV crew?
from what I recall I was one of the first surfing photos you ever snapped…at NB Kaneohe.
simpler times, yeah? Ballroom Blitz!!!
let’s catch up next time you’re home.
Yes, many good days at KMCAS North Beach with SW winds –
Rick Irons tried to vibe me out of taking photos while he was shaping – said things like “You are going to get foam dust in your camera!”
Was paranoid of revealing his shaping secrets –
yes many good times not just at KMCAS.
it was you that introduced me to soggy milk toast and as I was thinking back, you were there when I lost my virginity; well not in the room but next door with Dixie. Punahou carnival pickups. HA!
I ran into Rick a few years ago at church. reminded him that he used to shape our boards. he got a kick out of it.
you gonna be home for the WSL event? be good to catch up.
PS- proud of you and your success. long way from our days in Karcher’s class.
Women are firmly in their lane when they point out that it’s unfair to be forced to compete against biological males. You’re deranged.
You obviously missed my point completely – I am not anti-science at all, far from it.
Bethany’s reasoning for rejecting the participation of transgender people in a surfing context has NOTHING to do with science – and everything to do with her extremist Christian religious beliefs.
I sincerely doubt she knows or cares what the science says, as she thinks she knows what GOD says – and to her and people like her, that’s all that matters.
I am anti religion, not anti-science. Got it, sweetheart?
Thanks for clearing that up, pumpkin, but I already realized you’re a misogynist and a prick.
No one has mentioned….
Wisco invites a surfer to travel to speak at a small town (I assume) conference on anything…. how much do they pay Hamilton to speak? Have they heard her speak before? Insta post is far less than Keynote Speaker.
Shes not just a surfer, shes a great inspiration to come back from a terrible adversity.
Are you serious? She’s a public speaker. There’s a ginormous worldwide industry for public speakers, of many sorts, and it pays well. She will no doubt have an agent who seeks out and takes bookings for her.
She’s now completely limited to conservative groups and “anti-woke” groups though as she’s taken a tough stand on trans women competing in women’s sport.
If you could separate men and women’s tours, limit the men to 16, you could give a 72hour notice to be at Kandui… ostensibly, the guys are already on Bali or Sumatra anyway. One day required to run, pick the eyes out of it, a tiny proportion of the contest infrastructure necessary too.
Run the tour like a surf trip. Respects the sport, the locals at the venues and surfing becomes the most photogenic sport known.
Now you’re talking. Although, the key to this would be helping local contests to build into this. That way you avoid the horrendous reaming local authorities will give an American domiciled ‘Tour.’
The premise is predicated on the audience being flexible with the one day run. I am. If not, package the day in a nice two hour special, great by me. Cut all the fucking jibber jabber out, maybe play music and keep score on the Chyron on the screen. No waiting for sets, no human interest bullshit about how cool Torquay is. Just surfing.
I wrote this a dozen years ago, maybe 20 years ago, but it doesn’t fit the narrative of this lumbering, fat, inagile production that stumbles on itself with too much free time.
How many trips have you gone on that had 6 days of perfection in a row? That’s why your boat moves around. On land, you’re moving to another swell or wind angle.
And how many contests have been fucked by passing on great Friday conditions to conclude on weekends? Anyone remember Pipe two years ago?
One day, pick the eyes out. Done. No massive scaffolding, no VIP tents… it’s literally clumsy now.
swell run a rarity for sure, but in the late 80’s I lucked into a trip to mex and got great waves for 10 days straight. b2b swells with perfect winds. so many waves I had to take a down day. waves ranged from 10-12 ft to smaller days at 6 ft.
broke 3 boards.
best surf trip ever.
I get where you ate coming from but worst idea. The last thing we want to do is promote surfing to attract more punters.
There are literally no men in womens shortboarding. (competetive longboarding is a joke anyway and doesnt count sorry sasha jane) . So until that happens you are all just bigots trying to rationalize your prejudice against lgbtq+ people by creating an imaginary future problem with no evidence to support it will actually happen. Thats also known as a slipperly slope fallacy. You’re all just cuckservatives who are probably involuntary celebates and if not your wives are cheating on you and your kids hate you.
Cheer up luv
Its the best time in history for your crew.
thats also called a red herring fallcy or an attempt to change the subject. Only reasons I can think of are youre too fuckin dumb to come up with a real response or you just know you’re wrong. “And when you close your eyes at night and are tortured by your subconscious for the evil thoughts you have, it will be with dreams of drag queens and t girls they you are tortured with.”
Oowee, gimme some of those dreams!
You’ll go to bed early….
it’s his schtick, perpetual contrarianism.
and he’s pretty good at it, but it’s obvious.
I didnt even say anything bad or insult anyone. I just said whats true, its the best time to be queer ever, you cant deny it.
You wish!!
Weird way to tell on yourself man
That cut deep
The fact that you people try to point out that ‘there are no males competing’ so hard only shows that you KNOW it’s unethical.
When you travel off the beaten, you find yourself in situations that are challenging. Sure, you duck a few to see if you’re game and eventually go, fly home proud that you climbed another rung….. but something keeps nagging at you…..
It’s that guy that you don’t know his name that was toying with the same conditions. Dude has it dialed, tagging shit I’m running around. Threading impossible needles before he goes to work pouring cement.
Those guys are everywhere.