It will be crying shame if skateboarding goes the way that surfing is with regards to being as sexy and feminine as possible to market product and brands. I don’t think it will ever go as far as surfing but I definitely feel that it is happening more within skateboarding.
There are certainly more and more girl skaters that are pushing the boundaries for the most short shorts and low cut tops. I have respect for people doing what they want and dressing in a way which makes them feel good – it’s definitely the wearer, not the starer.
But…having said that, for me there is so much emphasis on style within skateboarding. So, therefore, that skimpy outfit / pretty aesthetic doesn’t sit well with me and my tastes when I’m watching skateboarding. Lacey rocked that X Games look hard and the confidence she oozed and the ‘I don’t give a shit’ feel makes her much sexier than the tight jeans & feminine top brigade any day. Her skating looked rad and much more powerful.
I think the feminine / girly image probably is a more marketable ‘look’ and did lead to the new partnership between Leticia and Nike and this helps to illustrate their interests in skateboarding. It’s all about the gain. It’s not as bad a the Kournikova model because she was next to useless and Leticia is definitely pushing the skateboarding boundaries. But I’m putting money on them building a team of female skaters that look a certain way and who they’ll use to market this skater girl image to impressionable teenage girls. With any luck they’ll have Leticia skateboarding in her ads but I won’t hold my breath. Lifestyling is probably the best we could hope for and another men’s mag shoot total worse case scenario.
I’m thankful to skateboarding for giving me the inspiration to still dress how I want and like that of a 15 year old boy. If it wasn’t for the feeling of being totally free when I’m out pushing, then I would most likely be repping M&S threads and trying to fit in with other 30 something year old women, all the while feeling totally out of place. Long live baggy jeans and white t-shirts.
Amen to that, especially the last line!
So now over to you? Is skateboarding the last scene where as a girl you can still dress how you like? And if so should that be sacred? Or are the brands right to try and bring more money into the sport by making it as universally marketable as possible? However much that might suck. Let us know in the comments section below.
And another reminder to GO SKATE WITH LUCY on Saturday in Brighton, wearing whatever the freak you want!
