In the 1990s, the Riot Grrrl Movement, which originated in Olympia, WA, in the Pacific Northwest was a rallying cry for female punk musicians who were sick of the sexism and misogyny rampant in the punk scene, that created unsafe and toxic environments for women. They communicated their manifesto through DIY zines and at their concerts featuring the likes of Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heaven’s to Betsy, etc. And, their vision for an equitable society that valued the contributions of women was echoed throughout North America with local Riot Grrrl chapters organizing and meeting.
This vision had a profound effect on female skateboarders, and there are many cross-over Riot Grrrl skaters like Ramdasha Bikceem, Kym Agresti, and Renee Tantillo, who often created zines. And, it turns out that the Riot Grrrl vision crossed oceans, as seen in the zines Train Trax (1997) and Betty (1998) by “Penny” of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Penny gives a shout out to Riki Tiki Taniwha, K.A. Lee of Wellington, Helen S. of Invercargill (who acknowledged Rebecca, Sally Bear, and Debbie of Invercargill), “Isis” from Napier, and “Liz.”
*A special thank you to Michelle Pezel, who owns copies of these zines, which are now digitized on the Zine page.
In Train Trax, Penny clearly states her goals (which she presented in an ad in Flying Fox zine #5):
- To expose female skateboarding talent
- To help define and strengthen the girl skate culture
- To encourage and inspire girls to skate
- To encourage networking and communication
- To organise stuff
- To actively work towards getting more support for skating
- To promote pro-girl / anti-sexist ideas in general
- To give updates on the attitudes of cops / council
- To give updates on the attitudes towards girl skaters
There’s also mention of a female skate collective and zine in Australia called The Big Stack as Penny’s inspiration. There was an address and email shared, in an effort to build a network (25 Wilton St, Woollongabba, Queensland, Australia zeb@thehub.com.au). Penny said, the zine evolved from a female-focused festival at the Paddington Skate Park / Neal Macrossan Park and there was even “a special guest appearance by the infamous Bones Brigade.”
Penny wanted to understand “why are there are more boys skating than girls? Why? It’s the same with music in the punk scene… What’s up with that, it’s ridiculous, cause neither skating nor making music is gender related – you don’t need a cock to rock! It’s not like boys are born with better skills than girls. So why is it?”
Penny concludes that it’s all about social conditioning and how girls are pushed to be obsessed with beauty, their bodies, getting boyfriends, being submissive and taking second place. On the flip side, “girls have the freedom to cry and be sentimental and loving, boys are taught that if they cry they’re a pussy, nancy boy or a wuss… girls are discouraged from being assertive or tough with taunts of ‘butch,’ ‘dyke’, ‘dog’ and ‘you alienate the boys.’”
Penny dreams of alternative society without fear where boys can wear skirts, where girls can freely walk down the streets without fear of being raped, and not be bombarded with toxic messages about their weight. It’s a fantastic editorial, and I recommend that everyone read it to get a sense of how young women in the 1990s processed the world around them.
Penny then reviews an American zine called Do It Yourself by a Riot Grrrl named Jenna from Sarasota, Florida, who offered a male reader some feedback on how he could contribute and demonstrate that he was anti-sexist. Penny enjoyed the introduction to Riot Grrrl and the concept of Riot Boi since an equitable society is a communal effort.
And then comes a rhapsody on Bikini Kill! Penny writes, “How can I begin to explain how wonderful Bikini Kill are? Kathi! Tobi! Billy! Kathleen! Their songs send chills up my spine. They make me feel really strong and empowered… There’s nothing truer and more accurate than Bikini Kill lyrics. The pissed-off feelings you’ve had inside you, all the frustration and anger and insecurities which you couldn’t explain to yourself, all gets explained for you by Kathleen.”
There’s more info on learning how to ollie, and ideas for fun things to do when it’s raining like practising on the carpet, watching videos, etc.
Penny couldn’t resist but duplicate the “Manifesto for a Nu Skate Movement” by Michelle Mae and Addendum by Tobi Vail of the Riot Grrrl band, The Frumpies. It came from Grand Royal magazine in 1996, after the band was featured in Thrasher magazine (July 1994). This was a great way to infiltrate the pages of male-dominated publications and get a message across, that they were tired of female skaters being an oddity and “We are sick of being insulted by the usual boy criticism / suspicions / disses” as skaters and musicians.
Rookie skateboards in NYC also gets a shout out. Penny notes that, according to Catharine, the name Rookie “represents the sensation of being new; of immigration, and individuality,” and she’s very keen to interview the team. A skateboard shop called “Bunny” was selling both Rookie and Poot! clothing lines.
Penny shared how Layla Gibbon from Chimps zine in Brighton, UK, interviewed 50 female skateboarders with special attention to the reactions that people had to their existence. “The reactions girl skaters illicit range from shock and curiosity, outright distaste, jealousy from skaters’ girlfriends…” and comments like “You’re only skating cause you’re out for some dick” and “The only time girls should be in skate magazines is if they have their tits out.”
In her closing statement, Penny explains her dislike for terms like “girl skater” and “girl band,” although understands that because she’s a novelty the rationale for using these references. It was a rough time, indeed, but wonderful to read Penny’s words and how she tackled some of these attitudes and myths.
Penny follows up Train Trax with Betty zine in May 1998 since she liked the name better since her goal was to confront how hurtful the term “Betty” is when guys say it in an attempt to “pass us off as dumb and undermine us and make us seem pathetic cause they feel threatened.” Penny decided to reclaim the term “cause Betty rules!”
Penny expands on her frustration with the way “girl” is always tacked on to terms like skater or musician, and how sometimes these labels feel limiting, like it’s a job title when she also considered herself a vegan, an activist, and guitarist, etc. She also explores an attitude that a female skater will automatically “suck” simply because they are a beginner, and this pressure to be “good” to prove the guys wrong. She writes, “stop sending us vibes so we can get on with uninterrupted skating.”
Betty does a great job explaining the basics of a skateboard, how much each item might cost, the basics of foot positioning, pushing, pumping a ramp, and slamming, and skating lingo. The message is super positive, including the benefits of skateboarding for transport (it’s fun, fast, environmentally-friendly!). There’s more contributions from skater friends, zine reviews, including another issue of Chimp.
Overall, I loved the emphasis on “how-to” tutorials and the way Penny attempted to build community and a network down under! Anyone know Penny’s full name or backstory?
Womxn Skateboard History 