Thrasher magazine in the early 1980s was hit and mostly miss when it came to the representation of women skateboarders in their pages. The problem was that there was this fear around being labeled a poseur or a fraud that likely stemmed from the punk scene, which was always intent on rooting out folks who weren’t “hardcore.” And because both these youth subcultures were defined by young men, women (by default) could never be truly authentic. And it’s evident in the response to female skaters at the time (and their lack of coverage), that girls were mildly accepted as girlfriends but were rarely valued as simply skaters.
This isn’t to say that there weren’t good intentions by a few individuals. For example, in the January 1984 issue of Thrasher it was announced that the magazine was going to do a “Betty Hunt” in an effort to highlight female skaters. The first time the term “Betty Hunt” appeared was actually back in 1982 when Cyndy Pendergast wrote in with photos of her Chicago female skate crew on a street-skating mission. The idea must have stuck because two years later it became a thing!
The hunt starts out quite promising with a photo of “Sara” from somewhere in the province of Alberta, Canada ripping on a ramp.
But then things get weird and incredibly unappealing. The editors shared that, “We’re sick and tired of hearing you people whine about there not being enough women between our pages… Unfortunately, most young women don’t oblige too kindly to our ‘dirty-minded’ heavy breathing, slob staff photographers shoving a lens in their faces and clicking away, more often than not without film. So we’re instigating a BETTY HUNT… Looks count as much as originality” (49).
I’m frightened just reading this almost forty years later! Honestly, why would a female skater submit photos of themselves to be scrutinized by the readership and editorial staff of Thrasher? The skaters weren’t even given a last name and the write-ups are mortifying.
The complaints were valid because it was only within zines that you might find female skaters represented, and Thrasher wasn’t helping. In October 1981, there was a legitimate photo of Debbie McAdoo skating at her Ramp Ranch and then a vague group photo from the girl’s skate crew in Chicago from October 1982. Cyndy Pendergast said that she had submitted multiple photos (which she shared with me) and only the indistinct one was printed. Cyndy reported that in the early 1980s she had penpals from Florida and as far away as Scotland who were all female skaters and they would swap photos to motivate each other.
Finally, in April 1984 in the Trash section we’re introduced to “Wendi” from Houston, Texas. The absurd write-up goes, “Her blonde hair and green eyes go with her red Powell/Peralta stick and pink high top tennies. Rumor has it that this fifteen year old beauty can wail on lead guitar in a R ‘n R band and shreds the surf at Surfside Beach.” Notice how her profile photo vastly dominates the skateboarding photo?
A few stealthy photos of April Hoffman and Michelle Sanderson, while competing in freestyle, sneak into Thrasher for their June and July issues (you have to search for them… website bios to follow), but there’s no commentary or mention of them in the results listings.
And then, in August 1984, on the “Somethin’ Else” page there’s a so-called “Female Fanatic” who is featured and it’s a slight improvement since the skateboarding photos are dominant. The editors include two photos of “Lori” who lives somewhere near Columbus or Cincinnati, Ohio and skates every day. Thrasher wrote, “We hope to see more photos of Lori and other hot girl skaters in the future.” A cringe-worthy statement, but not exactly surprising.
The “Betty of the Month” concept did not fly because what self-respecting female skateboarder would want to put themselves up to that kind of scrutiny? All I have to say is thank God for Bonnie Blouin. Her “Skater’s Edge” articles from October 1987 – 1989 were the one redeeming aspect of Thrasher in the late 1980s!
So, I’m also declaring a “Betty Hunt” and if anyone actually knows Sara from Alberta, Wendi from Texas, Lori from Ohio I would love to know their skateboarding story.
Womxn Skateboard History 