50-50 Skate Zine: Skateboarding and Gender by Zanna of Portland, Oregon got here out in September 1999 and was 54 pages in size filled with knowledge, rage, activism, perception and skateboarding!
On the very first web page, Zanna highlighted a scathing letter from the Mailbox web page of Thrasher from August 1999 (difficulty #223) that condemned ladies skaters, specifically the Rookie workforce.
The letter captured the angle that many younger, entitled cis male skaters had within the Nineteen Nineties and divulges what younger ladies had been up in opposition to. “Brindle Pit” of San Francisco wrote “What I wish to know is, why do women skate? They may do a flip trick or a shove-it right here and there, however guess what? I bought some information for you: they nonetheless suck. The Rookie workforce? Who the hell are these individuals? Women ought to keep on with portray their faces and searching good for us males. Depart skateboarding for the boys. It’s our sport and it all the time can be.”
Happily, two points later within the October 1999 difficulty, Ally from Anchorage, Alaska had some phrases of knowledge for Brindle Pit, but it surely was clearly triggering for Zanna who composed their very own reply on web page 22 and on web page 27.
On web page 3, Zanna reported that “I’ve been skating for 13 years in a lady’s physique, however I haven’t all the time felt like a lady. Nothing makes me happier within the skate world than to see a lady on a skateboard, however I don’t often see myself in these women” (2). Zanna expanded on how irritating it was to be always reminded by male skaters of their gender and place within the hierarchy. Whereas Zanna appreciated skating with a crew of ten women at a rad session in Vancouver, “We knew who our enemies had been,—From the patronizing boys on the park to the blatantly sexist and anti-women skating professionals of the times (Colin McKay)” (2).
Zanna was hopeful due to the latest All Lady Skate Jam which drew over 85 women, however they had been nonetheless combatting graffiti on the skatepark that was sexist and fats phobic. “I like skateboarding – it will likely be near my coronary heart endlessly… I simply can’t sit again and watch women get steamrolled by the fellows, watch women get so used to it that they don’t even discover” (3).
The zine included a critique of the guide The Concrete Wave – the historical past of skateboarding from 1999 by Michael Brooke. And when Zanna wrote, “There’s sufficient woman skaters in historical past to put in writing an entire guide about them… however the place is all of the documentation?” (5) I bought shivers! I’ve all the time felt the identical method, and this sort of cry in the dead of night from 1999 actually motivates me to maintain going with this archive. Zanna then listed some names that now have bios on the location!
Seventies: Laura Thornhill, Ellen Oneal, Vicki Vickers
Eighties: Lori Rigsbee, Cara-beth Burnside, Leaf Treinen, Anita Tessensohn, KZ Zapata, Diane Veerman (Desiderio)
Nineteen Nineties: Saecha Clarke, Jen O’Brien, Jodi McDonald, Elissa Steamer, Jessie Van Roechoudt, Jaime Reyes, Sweet Kramer, Cindy Gorset, Faye Jaime, Van Nguyen
From web page 31 to 50, the zine reproduced the whole article from Punk Planet difficulty 25 (Might/June 1998) known as “Not simply boys’ enjoyable anymore: the rising women’ revolution in skateboarding” by Dan Sinker with images by Patty Segovia. You may truly learn the article on-line, scanned clearly for the web archive.
Zanna questioned why such improbable protection all the time appeared to happen in publications outdoors of the skateboarding business, which is a superb query! The Nineteen Nineties skateboarding business was creating obstacles for ladies and selling “attitudes of exclusion, sexism and homophobia” (7). Zanna defined that, “I’m not in opposition to ladies empowering themselves by pornography or nudity, I’m in opposition to the skating business utilizing bare ladies as a device of oppression in opposition to all ladies, particularly ladies who skate. It’s used as a device to maintain ladies out of the game, and the boys concerned sexist sufficient to assume that ladies shouldn’t be concerned anyway. No matter. All of it simply works as a steady cycle that perpetuates the truth that skating is all concerning the boys. I imply I nonetheless get the excuse from boys that women simply don’t look good with scraped up knees and bruises” (10).
“I really feel that it needs to be crucial that women all the time have a protected place to skate, to study, to fall, to tear. I really feel like when no boys problem the sexism that’s round them, they’re all accountable whether or not or not they’re those sporting the Roofies [grip] tape or writing the sexist graffiti. As soon as I used to be skating Burnside, and I noticed a poster taped up on the again wall of a unadorned lady on her arms and knees that stated one thing like greatest tits award or some crap. I instantly ripped it down and nobody stated something regardless that tons of men had been proper there. Do all of them like that shit? Do they assume it’s humorous – or cool – or respectful?” (11).
A number of days later, Zanna was again on the park and this time there was graffiti that stated, “No Fats Chicks,” which prompted Zanna to vary it to “Fats Chicks Rule.” One other skater blew up in Zanna’s face, saying that the assertion needed to be painted over, which resulted in violent threats. He then rounded up 10 to fifteen guys to chant, “No fats chicks” again and again with not a single man coming to Zanna’s protection. The entire expertise made Zanna really feel like they’d zero allies. “I nonetheless heard all of them the best way up the hill as I rode away in concern, anger and disgust. I didn’t return for a lot of days… not cuz I wished him to win, however as a result of I felt actually violated” (14). Zanna was uninterested in preventing the great struggle and feeling alone.
“I’m uninterested in defending my very own existence on the skatepark so I can merely exist” (15). So as to add damage to insult, the skatepark graffiti was complimented with “an enormous drawing of a unadorned lady along with her legs over her shoulders, an unlimited cunt and tits, and a fucking pumpkin for a head. A pumpkin” (17). Zanna defined that “Burnside has this historical past of belonging to the boys as a result of the boys constructed it. There may be this power there prefer it’s their skatepark” (18). Zanna ended up creating an artwork piece concerning the graffiti conflict for the native skate store and at last in late Might 1999, Zanna and their good friend painted over it.
Zanna supplied some protection of the 1999 version of the All Lady Skate Jam on the Gaslamp Quarters on September 12th and stated “this occasion is a should for any woman skater that may get down there… I really feel this is without doubt one of the greatest locations to be as a lady skater… and that at some point of the 12 months that all of us get to skate unharassed [sic] and completely supported is so highly effective” (24). The one downer was Tony Alva being an boastful prick on the microphone, commenting on the ladies’ clothes and look. When Zanna and different skaters confronted him, “he will get again on the mic and complains about how he’s being censored, and he’ll say no matter he needs, he doesn’t care if it’s sexist, cuz he doesn’t give a flying fuck… he actually stated that into the mic on the All Lady Skate Jam. Issues solely bought worse… with things like it’s the woman with the great strikes not the most important boobs that’s gonna get first.” Good lord!
Zanna was pissed as a result of, the AGSJ “needs to be a spot free from all that shit… a protected sanctuary.” The refined sexism of Tony’s feedback grated on Zanna as a result of “What is going to it take to mobilize women to struggle for a protected house? What is going to it take for skater boys to see that it’s not okay… and that they should take care of their internalized and blatant lady hating and sexism… They’ve a lot energy on this scene as a result of they’ve all the time been on high. Tony Alva didn’t should struggle for illustration… and since he’s a legend he in all probability doesn’t get questioned… effectively Tony it’s time to unlearn all that your business has taught you, it’s time for ladies too” (26).
All through 50-50: skateboarding and gender, Zanna consists of actually cool lino minimize art work and in difficulty 4 of Villa Villa Cola (1998) Zanna’s art work was featured. The Villa Villa Cola zine was created by twin sisters Nicole and Tiffany Morgan, and their crew of associates based mostly in San Diego beginning in 1997, and Zanna was a giant fan of the manufacturing.
I ponder if Zanna is Zan Gibbs as a result of on the NYU library web site there’s a Zan Gibbs who donated the Riot Grrrl assortment? The summary says, “The Zan Gibbs Riot Grrrl Zine assortment consists of zines collected by Gibbs whereas she was concerned within the Riot Grrrl motion within the early to mid-Nineteen Nineties, in Washington, DC, Vancouver, BC, and Portland, Oregon. Whereas dwelling in Vancouver, Gibbs began the Canadian model of Riot Grrrl Press, distributing zines by the mail all through Canada.” It is smart, since there’s reference to Vancouver and Portland on this zine.
The biography explains that:
Zan Gibbs grew up in Montreal, Quebec earlier than shifting to Washington, DC when she was 13. She was launched to the Riot Grrrl motion within the early Nineteen Nineties in DC by way of the punk rock music scene. She attended her first Riot Grrrl assembly on the Optimistic Power home when she was 16, and remained energetic within the motion for over 5 years. At 18 she moved to Vancouver BC, and along with her already in depth zine assortment she started the Canadian model of Riot Grrrl Press, distributing zines by the mail all through Canada, whereas Riot Grrrl Press USA dealt with the distribution in all places else.
When Gibbs was 22 she moved to Portland Oregon, and targeted on beginning a queer youth drop-in middle for lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth 24 and beneath. She helped discovered after which labored at that at-risk youth middle for 12 years, and earned a bachelors diploma in social work. She at present works with low-income adults in sponsored housing, and is contemplating getting a grasp’s diploma in public well being.
I feel it’s a match, however hopefully I can verify straight from the zine author. And, if you happen to ever wished to view this zine, 50-50 Skate Zine: Skateboarding and Gender your self, there’s a replica positioned in New York within the Columbia College Library, Barnard Zine assortment with the decision # Zines Z25s. It’s also possible to view the PDF I created, which has many of the pages besides the Punk Planet article.