Disappointed Surfer Girl

Dear Roxy,

So there’s been a lot of backlash recently about your Teaser for the Roxy Pro Biarritz, (and I’d have to say your PR blunder of a response on FB). And yes it was a “teaser” in all aspects of the word. You teased us with what you thought was a riddle, you teased us with lots of skin, and you teased us with the notion that you cared about women’s surfing. You’ve totally missed with this. As a female surfer, I hold Roxy up to a higher standard, and from what I’ve read I think everyone else who considers themselves part of the surf clan does as well.

Don’t get me wrong I get that sex sells, and I like to be sexy. I’m just disappointed that you didn’t make us look powerful and larger than life, and if anyone can, could, make women’s surfing bigger, it was you. Now I am not so sure.  You needed to represent us better. You could’ve been different and blasted the doors wide open, you could of created new rules and broken down the barrier that’s holding women’s surfing back, but instead you decided to go the easy route and feed us what we already knew, that female surfers are sexy because of how they look and what they wear. You should of shown us where the sexiness really comes from, the training, the hard work, the competitive drive. It didn’t have to be all dolphins and rainbows like the rest of your advertising, it could’ve been powerful and meaningful, and your community could have sung your praises but instead you sold out.

The fact that men took issue with this video should also clue you in that they apparently hold women at a higher respect than you do. I’m inspired by women who give it their all, who go out there and push themselves everyday to be the best that they can possible be. That’s sexy. Saying you paddle out and gave it a go is sexy. That’s where I assume your #DAREYOURSELF campaign came from.

We can be sexy without being objectified. Let us not only be feminine but also athletic, powerful, and competitive. This is about competitive female surfing getting taken seriously. I think we’d all be hooting and hollering if we saw your female surfer charging on the wave of her life. With all of your previous messaging you made it your mission to make surfing not about sex appeal but about fun, athleticism, and giving it your all. As a community we need to learn from this and celebrate women’s surfing for all the guts, glory, and tan lines that goes along with it.

Aloha,

Rachel