by Laurel Kim (Class of 2019, History major)

The phrase, issues of access or barriers to access, implies an existence or presence of hurdles and obstacles.  As IWS investigates women’s issues of access to the realms of surfing, Institute Gulf Coast embarks on a similar task of analyzing the obstacles to accessing the Gulf Coast and to the offerings of the Gulf Coast such as a relationship with its different types of bodies of water.

In both investigations, certain barriers or obstacles that create the issues of access are more evident than others. Identifying barriers such as the transportation obstacles to bodies of water and the economic disparity that prevents people from being able to afford the necessary equipment and/or to afford to spend the time to bodies of water calls our attention to certain socioeconomic inequalities. However, by only considering these evident forms of impediments to the literal act of interacting with bodies of water, we fail to understand access and its full depth.  Having access implies more than just having the choice; having access to a relationship with bodies of water means more than having the freedom and the option to engage in a relationship with bodies of water.

Issues of Access as Invisible

On February 28, 2018 in Sacramento, California, the 13th Annual Green California Summit, organized by the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and sponsored by organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund, brought together environmental community allies and legislative leaders to plan for 2018; the Summit’s theme was: “Continuing the Promise — A Green and Equitable State for All Californians.”  At the Summit, there was a panel discussion called “Equity and Coastal Access: Overcoming the Intangible Barriers to California’s Coast.” In the discussion of invisible barriers, the members of the panel shared about their encounters with certain barriers either through their work or through their own personal experiences.  This panel discussion was composed of the following individuals: Olivia VanDamme (Operation Manager for City Surf Project), Dr. Krista Comer (Director of Institute for Women Surfers), Jennifer Savage (California Policy Manager for the Surf Rider Foundation), and Marley Reynosa (Program & Events Manager and Lead Surf Instructor for Brown Girl Surf).

Each of these individuals’ work revolves around the social, environmental, and economic politics of access to coastlines, beaches, and surfing; hence, the Green California Summit panel was equipped with individuals who were well-versed on topics regarding histories of access to the coast. The types of barriers that the panel members discussed ranged from the literal obstacles—such as the lack of surf equipment and the inability to travel to beaches in California—to the not-as-evident obstacles such as the invisible barriers.  As VanDamme from the City Surf Project phrased it, the purpose of the panel was to identify and realize these invisible barriers—to delve “into the unconscious bias that we have about the stereotypes and what comes up for us.”  Dr. Comer from Institute for Women Surfers provided a way to understand and discern “unconscious bias” during her brief talk about IWS’s work concerning women surfers’ access to the legendary big wave contest at Mavericks.  In a recollection of an encounter with Jamila Hubbard from Brown Girl Surf, Dr. Comer shared:  “the ways in which access isn’t simply this obvious thing—women surfing in a contest—but it has to do with:

what’s in your mind
what you think you could do
what you think you’re not supposed to do
who’s supposed to be there
all those kinds of issues.”

In other words, the invisible barriers to access alert us to how we think and what forces affect the ways we think such as imaginative narratives that construct understandings of the self, space and place (Panel).

Access as Belonging

By sharing about her background and experiences with water and surfing at the “Invisible Barriers to Access” panel, Marley Reynosa from Brown Girl Surf provided a demonstration of how unconscious bias operates and prevents access through methods of alienation.  Reynosa grew up with the desire to have a relationship with nature and achieved that by swimming in the ocean. She studied for 5 years at college in southern California—and essentially lived in the hub of southern California surf culture. Year after year her friends would invite her to the US Open of Surfing, which was just miles away from her campus in Huntington Beach.  However, year after year, Reynosa would decline. In the panel, she explained her reasons for declining by expressing the thoughts that came to her mind each time her friends invited her.

I didn’t belong there.
That wasn’t a place for me.
That wasn’t my culture.
I could just not imagine that I would fit into that setting.

Reynosa attributed the lack of belonging to “all the images in surf media,” which “were of people who did not look like me [Reynosa].”  Although Reynosa, an Afro-Caribbean woman, did not directly cite specific examples of “surf media,” films such as Endless Summer and Gidget and other mediums of imaginative narrative circulation, immediately come to mind.  Popular culture like films, television shows, and advertisement create and sustain images and, thus, facilitate an imagining of who belongs where.  Considering the pervasive image of the “quintessential” surfer as a blond hair, blue eyed, tan young man that Endless Summer and countless other forms of surf media endorsed, it comes to not a surprise that if Reynosa were ever asked why she was so hesitant when it came to engaging in surf culture, she would respond, How would’ve I known if all the beaches were filled with people who didn’t look like me?  

Reynosa’s initial hesitation towards surf culture demonstrates how racism operates as a kind of intangible barrier.  According to “Beaches as Spaces of Democracy: Center Hosts Women Surfers Conference,” a recent UCLA Coastal Access Report found that “barriers to beach access show specific class, racial, and geographic profiles.”  Additionally, in Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and The Future of American Politics, social scientist and youth ally Cathy Cohen provides an authoritative and empirical analysis of the complex state of black youth in America. Cohen offers insight into their experiences of alienation and encounters with stereotypes.  In regards to access, Cohen states, “Even young black people with privilege and access talk about how they believe race and racism structure and limit their experiences…” (Cohen 141).  Applying Cohen’s insights to Marley Reynosa’s talk, it is possible to say that in Reynosa’s case, the image of the white blond hair blue eyed surfer and the politics surrounding this image function to “structure and limit” Reynosa’s access to surf culture.  Thus, there is an implicit white imagination governing the act of surfing and its culture.   

Furthermore, the culture in which Reynosa grew up contributed to this feeling of displacement and alienation from California surf culture and the coastline in general.  Being from the Dominican Republic, Reynosa explained that “we [Dominicans] live with our backs to the ocean.” A fear of the coastline was instilled into her culture, which Reynosa attributed to the historic claims made by the first Spanish invaders.  Additionally, Reynosa pointed out that most of the beaches in the Dominican Republic are crowded with foreigners and belong to foreign powers due to resorts and tourism. Hence, through a cultural fear of and economic removal from the beaches, Reynosa was conditioned to feel a sense of disconnectedness and alienation from certain engagements with the coastline.  Ultimately, Reynosa reflects on how unconscious bias affected her sense of belonging in American surf culture and demonstrates the ways in which invisible forces, such as racial unfriendliness, create barriers or obstructions to access. Although Reynosa had literal access to beaches and coastlines, this fact did not necessarily mean Reynosa had access. Just because Reynosa had the choice or the option to go to the beach and engage in surf culture, other invisible barriers such as realms of imagination formed by forces of alienation and removal (Panel).

Access as Awareness

As Reynosa had to work through her own unconscious bias that perpetuated her hesitation towards engaging with surf culture, I also had to work through and confront my own unconscious bias towards the Gulf Coast and Houston in general.  During the kayak tour, one of the guides, Ricco, provided multiple myth-busting facts about Houston; by learning new information about Houston, I realized how my own prejudice against and misinformed understanding of Houston and the Gulf Coast region in general was created by larger forces and stereotypes.  For instance, Ricco mentioned that, despite being frequently associated with obesity, Houston is one of the most active cities in the United States. Additionally, despite being associated with concrete and strip malls, Houston has hundreds of miles of navigable waterways.

I found these facts to be surprising due to my unexamined notions.  Yes, Houston is a hub for its oil and gas industry; it is not as obvious as it might be in other places that have access to outdoor activities. Dr. Comer pointed out how these preconceived notions are products of being trained to have disdain for certain regions, but celebrate others. If I did not become aware of my own regional disdain, and my presumptions about Houston were not corrected, I do not think that I would have tried to find kayaking opportunities in Houston.  As a result of the field experience, paying close attention to potential issues of access revealed how access implies more than having options; having access involves having the mental and psychological awareness and motivation to participate.

Concluding Thoughts

Overall, although there are multiple forms of barriers that prevent access, especially in regards to having access to the waterways of the Gulf Coast and to the Pacific coastline, the way we understand and identify barriers deeply reflects the way we define access.  Recognizing barriers like economic inaccessibility and geographic obstacles addresses the societal disparity that prevent basic access—that prevent the abilities to even have literal choices. Confronting these evident barriers is necessary, but the conversation cannot end there.  Having complete access does conclude with granting the availability of choices. Realizing invisible barriers like unconscious bias reveals that the imaginary realms also participate in a politics of place – such as regions of belonging and regions of disdain. Hence, having access implies more than having an equal availability of options; it indicates an awareness of various public dimensions.  Thus, the concept of issues of access involves both the visible and invisible barriers that prevent access both literally and ideologically.

Works Cited

  • Cohen, Cathy J. Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics. Oxford University Press, 2012.
  • Comer, Krista. “Beaches as Spaces of Democracy: Center Hosts Women Surfers Conference.” Beaches as Spaces of Democracy: Center Hosts Women Surfers Conference, The Bill Lane Center for the American West, 15 Dec. 2017, west.stanford.edu/news/beaches- Spaces-democracy-center-hosts-women-surfers-conference.
  • “Equity and Coastal Access: Overcoming the Intangible Barriers to California’s Coast. California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, 13th Annual Green California Summit, 28 February 2018, Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento, CA. Panel Conference