When women surf the world’s biggest waves: breaking gender barriers

Abstract

This article analyses the struggle for the inclusion of women in competitive big-wave surfing through interviews with professional big-wave surfers Bianca Valenti, Keala Kennelly, Andrea Moller and Paige Alms. These women co-founded the Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing (CEWS), which advocated for inclusion and equal pay in competition for women in big-wave surfing. The survey highlights the resistance to their integration in this male dominated sport. Their bodies in movement, true tools of performance essential to establish their legitimacy are constantly being questioned, as they challenge the gendered hierarchical boundaries and essentialist (fundamental) arguments that contribute to keep them out of and/or alongside big-wave competition. Moreover, the performance of men and woman had been becoming increasingly similar in tow-in surfing, until winter 2019–2020 when the biggest wave of the year was surfed by a woman, proving women’s legitimacy in this male-dominated sport.