Making Friends With The Neighbours

So, I've been thinking a lot about that clip of part of Anastasia Ashley's pre-comp warm-up. I'm sure by now you have seen it. It contains footage of her sort of dancing on the beach as she warms up. The moves she does involve lots of hip rotations and the person who put it together has set it to a song called 'Bubble Butt' (at least, based on the lyrics, that's what I assume it's called). This clip has been widely circulated on surf websites, blogs and social media, but I've decided that I won't post it up here because I think it's really creepy. If you haven't seen it, I'm sure you can find it if you really want to. The thing is, Anastasia Ashley can do whatever the hell she wants. I'm not saying her moves in this clip are my thing or that I think it does women's surfing many favours, but if she wants to do those moves on the beach to warm up, then that's up to her. She's doing a dance move and it's provocative. So...

Dear Sylvia, love Steph. from Morgan Maassen on Vimeo .

Neil Griffith (over at Modyssey)  took this image of a woman (Tiffany?) playing around on the Sunshine Coast.  Thanks, Neil.

Holy nose ride, Kassia Meador. I honestly don't know who took this picture, which makes me hesitant to post it. But it is uncredited all over Tumblr at the moment (which is something I really hate about Tumblr, actually), so here it is being blogged now too.  Because it's a really great shot.

Cape Solander, 13 May 2009. Sequence, Billy Morris via Coastalwatch . Layne Beachley is someone who just seems to rub people up the wrong way. And sure, I've seen her do some things and heard her say some things where I just thought, 'Really?' But I have also seen and heard many famous surfers do and say things that made me shake my head, so I don't really pay Layne's moments too much heed. But for some reason, other people do, and they really rub their dislike of her in her face. And the sad effect of this has been that she doesn't get the credit that she deserves for her role in  driving and building the profile of competitive surfing in Australia, and in particular the opportunities that many professional female surfers now enjoy. I wouldn't say she is the patron saint of women's surfing - not at all - but I would say that because people don't like her, they don't want to acknowledge her achievements and impact. She rips, she was worl...

Here are just a few images of some women whose surfing I admire and who have made important contributions to surfing and surfing culture over the last few hundred years. And I assure you, this list of women here, is the tip of a very big iceberg. Engraving of women surfing in Hawai'i. Isma Amor was surfing in Manly from as early as 1912. Isabel Letham was the infamous teenage girl taken into the surf with Duke Kahanamoku in 1915. She was an amazing woman. As part of a long and full life, she was the Director of Swimming for the City of San Francisco. She decided to teach surf lifesaving techniques as part of her program. She attempted to join Manly life saving club in the late 1920s, but was knocked back because as a woman she would not able to handle the rough conditions of the sea. What a crock of shit. (Note: Women were not admitted as members of the Australian Life Saving Association until the 1980s. For real.) Isabel Letham is a total hero. You can read mor...

Yeah they do. It's okay when it's with friends (like in this shot). (via my current favourite, the lovely Stillness )

I've already written about how  Melissa Combo is always one of the best and strongest surfers in the water. Her surfing and her style commands any lineup I've seen her in. This image is from Joni Sternbach's, Surfland , series.

(via Stillness )

Bec Woods is an incredible woman and surfer.

Cloudy Rhodes (via BWG Mag )

Yeah Carissa Moore! More images here at the US Open Gallery .

Jodie Barsby shredding in the Maldives. Photos via Jodie's blog .  Not sure of the photographer, but I think it is Swilly .  Sincere apologies for the limited info!

This video, Kelly Says, is awesome. Starring, filmed and edited by Hannah and Dannie in Newquay, it is (in their own words) a "what-u-mentary by two girl surfers who are not the best surfers by far... we're not the best filmers... and we quite often struggle to get the surf report right". Pretty much a bio for me too. In fact, watching this clip reminds me of surfing with my own girlfriends and all our own dork-iness. It's so great! You can follow them on Twitter:  @kellySaysSurf , and you can read a longer interview with them over on  Surfer Dad  (which is where I found this clip).

(via Parafina )

Since watching the debate about the apparent inability of major surf companies to represent women who surf as surfers, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for current images and clips that show how it can be done without having to sexualise the women. I mean, I've been keeping my eyes peeled more than usual. And since I've not been writing much of late, I'm going to try and reignite my energy for contributing to an ever-growing archive of awesome images and video and stories of women surfing on this blog, which was part of the original intention anyway. I mean, the way I see is that there are an ever-growing number of bikini-clad images, so the more images and clips I can point to that show women's surfing is awesome whether sexualised or not, the better. I'm going to start with, Say No More , which I saw over on Surfsister's always great blog . This film is  showing at Carlsbad Village Theatre tonight  and looks like its got some awesome surfing in it. Sa...

Thanks to Facebook (hi Dallas!), I just discovered a whole genre of surf erotica that I never knew existed. Obviously, if I'd thought about it for more than a second, I would have assumed this existed though. (Sorry for the Amazon promo. I'm to time-poor for photo editing today). This gay erotic novella is set on the California coast among college-age surfers. The story follows Joey Verona who is the second son in a highly conservative family. Joey has turned 18 and just had his first beer. He's on his way to college, mainly to get away from his super religious parents. Joey finds that life on his own is a whole lot more than he'd ever hoped. Little does he know it when he leaves home, but he also finds himself in bed with his big brother's best friend, Dusty. Thirteen tales of gay romantic erotica to make you swoon! Includes three stories never before published. Set in locations from Hawaii to Florida and New York to outer space, these stories will...

So, despite my promises, I have not yet commented here about the now-infamous promo for the 2013 Roxy Pro (shortboard) in Biarritz. (I'm not going to link to it here. If you want to watch it, you can look it up in the usual places.) A lot of other people have been talking about it though with especially thoughtful pieces by Bec Woods , Cori Schumacher , and Tetsuhiko Endo . As I've (slowly) gathered my thoughts on this clip, I actually have been talking about it in other places , and I have most certainly been talking about it with other women, especially other women who surf. One of the most telling moments was at a social event I went to where there were female surfers a-plenty. When I showed one of them the clip (a competitive female longboarder) she stared and gasped and kept turning to look at me wide-eyed and silent in disbelief. Then she turned the phone to the other women who all watched it one by one or in groups with the same responses - awkward laughter, head shake...

Gerry Wedd: Clever clogs. This would make a delightful companion to the one I already have . Hmmm... Check out more of Gerry's recent work  over on his blog .

I know I said I'll write about the Roxy clip, and I will. But in the meantime, this is hilarious. Nicely played, Phil Jarratt.