Abstract
Skateboarding is becoming increasingly influenced by females, both in terms of brand consumption and also participation at various levels and roles (Atencio, Beal, & Wilson, 2009). This view seems to support an emerging trend of female participation within lifestyle sporting cultures, as recently noted by Wheaton (2013). Yet, despite the seeming growth of women and girls within activities such as skateboarding, critiques surrounding the ascendancy of male power still hold purchase given our recent experience. For instance, during one visit to a skate park event held in our local community, we observed that there were no women or girls skateboarding while nearly 50 young men and boys navigated this public skate space. Another visit to a different skate park in our region revealed how only young men and boys actively used this space during a Friday night. Indeed, our third researcher, who is female, felt uncomfortable amidst the males’ activities and their conversations; she soon left. These compelling examples (and several other similar experiences) suggest that a more nuanced evaluation of women’s and girls’ participation in skateboarding is required at the micro-level of everyday practice.
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Notes
- 1.
The names of this park and the city have been changed to protect the anonymity of local skate participants, and no direct webpage reference is provided for key descriptions.
- 2.
Names have been changed in some cases to protect anonymity. This practice was enacted on an individual case basis following consultation with the participants.
- 3.
In subsequent work, we will also develop analytical lines focusing upon the role of fathers more extensively within youth skateboarding.
- 4.
According to Skolnikoff and Engvall (2014), ‘helicopter parents’ are those that ‘hypermanage their children’s lives and take great measures to organize all activities involving their children’ (p. 137); the authors suggest that this type of parenting style often occurs within the realm of youth sport and physical activity.
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Atencio, M., Beal, B., McClain, Z., Wright, M. (2016). ‘No One Wants to Mess with an Angry Mom’: Females’ Negotiation of Power Technologies Within a Local Skateboarding Culture. In: Thorpe, H., Olive, R. (eds) Women in Action Sport Cultures. Global Culture and Sport Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-45797-4_9
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