Our culture is steeped in misogyny, and it’s so prevalent that it often goes unnoticed, especially to boys and men. With more women and girls involved in skateboarding, we need to wake up to the fact that our culture has been, and often still is, problematic. It isn’t enough to just be neutral, but to learn, grow, and extend the respect that we’ve collectively withheld for so long. When women talk about their negative experiences with men in the skate scene, it’s our job to listen, and speak up so that those experiences need not repeat. It’s our job to call out ignorance and sexism, even when there are no women around to hear it. And it’s most certainly our job to look at ourselves and be willing to challenge our own behaviour and beliefs. This doesn’t mean being ‘afraid’ to say or do anything—it means taking a good hard look at what it is we’re saying or doing, and how it might be time to make some changes, both in ourselves and in our community.
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