Girl's don't surf: The gender inequality of women surfers

Using postmodern feminism as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore how women surfers in Southern California experienced inequality. The literature reviewed---including research on the subculture of surfing, third wave feminism, women and extreme (action) sports, and women surfers---indicates that women surfers are still regarded as "other."; The findings of this study resulted in the following recurrent themes: (a) the challenges for women surfers in terms of intimidation, first wave anxiety, aggressiveness, and preconceived notions; (b) the surfing experience of a woman surfer in relation to surfing with men or surfing with women; (c) the new age of surfing with sub themes---how women are raising awareness about surfing even though men still have primary influence over the sport, and how women surfers are represented in the media.