“It’s such a paradox,” she says, “Because on one hand the ocean is this wild, open, free, beautiful space, and then on the other hand it’s this very territorial and hierarchal space.”
Because of all of this and more, Langen launched the San Francisco-based organization, Queer Surf, which offers lessons, meetups, and retreats for LGBTQ+ people interested in surfing. The goal is to create a safe space where queer people can learn to surf, as well as to build an active queer surfing community.
“The industry was and still is very heteronormative,” she says, “definitely still sexualizing women for marketing, and it was no different then. If you were trying to get sponsored, you needed to be sexy. You needed to surf well, but mostly you needed to be really marketable to a broader audience. So there were a lot of queer and gay women on the tour, but it was definitely hush hush.”
But the culture of the beach still presents its challenges. Langen says they have faced aggressive and angry men in the water who have yelled at them and told them to get out. Even in 2020, she says, this is still happening.
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