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*This report is part of the literary journalism genre, which is why narrative resources were used throughout.
It was night, and the streets were slow. In the place where cars normally pass, there was free space, and just to be there, she glided. Without any rush, she zigzagged down the avenue. From one side to the other, crossing the traffic lanes, breaking the rules. Her hair back and the breath in her ear, the sound of the wheels on the asphalt. A street that was not hers, that was made for singular vehicles, for people who pass by without ever feeling the wind on their faces. The air that was not stepped on was hers, after all.
Behind came a car, to which freedom is said to belong. Freedom questioned by the girl who came and went. She, who is not in a place of her own, but who, by being there so much, makes this place her home. The driver does not interrupt. Absorbed by the grace of the gliding on wheels, he follows behind, very slowly, letting the street be hers for a little longer.
I heard this story from Laís. The day we met, we were hitchhiking and passing by the same street. A street I had never crossed in mid-air.
The year is 2020. There is fear on the street, fear in touch and in the threat of transit. The house has become small because of so much repetition, and, in the scroll from the cell phone, videos show the body in motion. A wooden board, sandpaper and four wheels: the skateboarding resurfaces as a libertarian act
Through social networks and after admission of skateboarding As an Olympic sport, the practice has become more popular in recent years. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have decided to invest in a skateboarding and put your balance to the test. Among the new fans are many women, who until recently were socially discouraged from practicing this type of sport.
But the essence of skateboarding has always been freedom. It emerged in the 70s from those who questioned, proving that there was existence beyond the imposed lines and rules. And just as the women's movement has been opening breaches in hard walls, the skateboarding feminine grows in Portugal creating curves where there were straight lines, reinforcing the idea that the skateboarding It's for anyone who wants it skate.
I sit on the floor of the skatepark improvised at Doca do Espanhol, in Lisbon. Around me are Meggy, Joana and Maria. The skates rest next to you, and the atmosphere is one of relaxed conversation, as if we already knew each other. The three founded, in June 2022, the first zine de skateboarding feminine of Portugal: the Betesga SkateZine.
«I did Erasmus in Barcelona, and there I had contact with the founders of some magazines skateboardingLike Dolores Magazine», says the designer graphic designer Joana Melo, 21 years old. When she returned to Lisbon, she decided to do something similar in Portugal, with the aim of creating a safe space for the practice and developing the female and non-binary community in skateboarding.
Until recently, the skateboarding was an activity considered masculine. Although there is no quantitative data that encompasses the entire community of skateboarding, 80% of skateboarders members of the Portuguese Skating Federation are still men. According to Carolina Barroso, 16, the lack of female representation in skateparks is quite discouraging. “Normally, there are one or two girls, if that. It’s very sad because we start to look at others and not recognize ourselves, not feel integrated. And then we start to think that it’s not for us,” says skater.
Margarida Santos (Meggy), 21, comments that she increasingly sees men encouraging skateboarding feminine, but it is still common for there to be people who are not receptive to meeting women in skateparks. This happens mainly because many of the girls are at an early stage of practice and, when faced with the hostile environment of skatepark, do not feel safe to train. The co-founder of Betesga says it took him a while to really feel at ease among others skateboarders. «Only when you reach a certain level do you gain more legitimacy to be comfortable in skatepark. Like: now I deserve to be here. And it’s not like that, but it’s the thought everyone has when they start out,” says Meggy.
© Viriato Vilas-Boas
It ends up being a vicious circle: because they still don't know how to walk very well, the girls don't go to skateparks, and for not going to the skateparks, they are unable to evolve in practice. «The boys say we are not doing well, but how are we going to get good if they don't give us space to skate?», asks Maria Santos, 18 years old, another co-founder of Betesga SkateZine.
This dynamic makes diversity among practitioners difficult. Viriato Vilas-Boas, president of the Algarve association of skateboarding Wall Ride, began to skate for 20 years and says that there has never been room for much representation. «I have always seen this absence. And when it was not an absence, it was a struggle. And when it was not a struggle, it was a stigmatization. Girls were either harassed or ridiculed.» According to him, this attitude distances women from skatepark, which makes it impossible to create a community. “There was never an anchor for the skateboarding feminine in Portugal, and that is what we are trying to create now”, he comments.
It was to build a support network and to feel more comfortable when skate that collectives and groups of skateboarding feminine and non-normative began to emerge in the country. The first of these was the Her Wheels, created in 2019 by Brazilian Laís Reis. Then came the South Girl Skate, in Faro, the Betesga SkateZine, in Lisbon, and the GirlSkate, in Barreiro. Little by little, these movements have given visibility to the community of skateboarders women and non-binary people in Portugal, bringing more plurality to the environments of skateboarding.
According to Liliana Rodrigues, a researcher at the Psychology Centre of the University of Porto and president of the feminist association UMAR (Union of Alternative and Response Women), groups like these are essential to breaking away from a rigid collective imagination. “Movements like these give us the opportunity to say that we have the right to be everywhere, including in the most subversive sports venues. The feminist movement, in particular, challenges gender stereotypes and enables us all to live in a much broader way than what we have collectively imagined,” says the researcher.
For sociologist and researcher Ana Lúcia Santos, the creation of these collectives also helps in the expansion of the practice itself, since more people feel welcomed to start skate. “Sometimes, we need these safe spaces to insert ourselves into certain contexts and then, little by little, open the circle,” he explains.
«It is necessary to highlight the skateboarding feminine now, so that there can be equality later. If there is no speak up, people won't be aware that we exist", says Joana, from Betesga SkateZine. "We want the scene to be equal for everyone because, in fact, we are all equal. But, if a scene is lower, you have to pull it up so that it is at the same level", adds Meggy.
Since the founding of zine, they have organized meetings of skateboarders, called skate jams, focusing on skateboarding feminine and non-normative. The goal is to make the presence of these people common in the environment skateboarding, so that, eventually, inclusion happens organically.
Betesga SkateJam at the Open Doors of the Belém Cultural Center. © Rita Carmo
It was early autumn, the sun was shining, but the wind already hinted at something that was coming. I arrived at the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB) and tried to find my way. Between the buildings, I saw people dancing in a free forró class, I found art exhibitions, books to read and a craft market. At the open house, the 2022–2023 season of the CCB, called Um chão comum, was being inaugurated, and, at the same time, the first major event organized by the company was taking place. Betesga SkateZine. On the day that one of the most important cultural centers in the country decides to breathe art outside, the skateboarding is present.
I follow in vague steps, I cross the exhibition of shapes painted by the artist Mariana Simon and, just ahead, I see a group of people looking around. About twenty individuals with their necks craned: something downstairs was catching their attention. In the background of the sound, I hear the sound of wheels and boards colliding. I approach the doorframe and crane my neck too. Down there, in the CCB ring, there are more than 100 skateboarders. They streak through the air as if they were in timelapse, in focused and repetitive movements. With the presence of the projects South Girl Skate e PushHer, in addition to brands such as CyberCafe, Pop, Saudade e Dilabor, skate jam da Betesga It created a bridge between the banks and one of the cultural centers in Portugal. The wind continued to announce the change, and the music was always playing. I go down the stairs and step onto a floor that has just found new audiences.
It's five o'clock in the afternoon, and the speaker announces the beginning of betesga jam, a one-hour session dedicated to skateboarding feminine and non-normative. Space opens up in the ring and, slowly, girls begin to appear with skateboards in their hands. If before they seemed few, it was because they were divided, practicing their maneuvers on the sides, around the track. Now, they were all in the middle. There were about 30 of them and, with time and calm, they became more and more comfortable with the opportunity to skate.
A girl with braids in her hair was running. She was throwing the skateboarding and caught it in motion: one foot on top, and the other pushing off. At high speed, he climbed the obstacle, gave a flip in the air and tried to land with his feet on the board. At the microphone, the speaker Bernard Aragão continued to give the hyping, naming the maneuvers performed and encouraging them skateboarders. The pressure was lost, and they all tried their tricks, pulling on each other and cheering every time someone landed on their feet. Some of the boys remained oblivious to the jam and continued to skate without paying them much attention. The girls appeared among the men's figures, as if they were in a protected space, but still apart from the whole.
I was sitting on the edge of the track, watching them do what they love, and after the end of the jam, I went to talk to some of them. Mara and Aurora were ecstatic with adrenaline. «It's really cool because it gives the girls time to have the courage to make their moves and try out their stuff. It's like a game: you go, try your trick and come back», says Aurora Santos. «And you get excited about the things that other people are trying [to do]», adds Mara Pascoal Lisboa.
In just one hour, the atmosphere has completely transformed. The girls talk to each other and feel safer to skate even in the jam mixed, with the boys. The skater Carolina Barroso celebrates this moment of unity: «At every event I go to, I meet new people and I meet girls who make me proud because I see in them the same spirit, which is the spirit of skateboarding», says Carol. «It's really cool because they're spread throughout Portugal, and here we are all together», agrees Aurora.
Madalena Galante, 15, is the girl with the braids. She is very happy with the skateboarding under his arm and comments, with a smile in his eyes, that he had never done a maneuver like that on such a high obstacle. He says he has no difficulty in skate with the boys, but understands the importance of giving women space. «Events like this help a lot because girls start to see that skateboarding It’s not just male and we can also walk very well,” he says.
I talk to Merry at the foot of the improvised track. The noise of the maneuvers was loud, and we spoke loudly. At 22 years old, Maria Roque is one of the teachers of skateboarding da Pop Skate Shop at Parque das Gerações. At Joana's invitation, Merry helped organize the event and, as she spoke, she couldn't contain her joy. "Wow, it's been incredible! It was the first time I've actually seen girls at a party." jam with the boys!», he shouts in my ear.
Carolina Barroso and Madalena Galante. © Thais Espezin / Betesga Skate Zine
According to skater, contrary to what some people may think, create a section just for the skateboarding feminine and non-normative is not an act of segregation. «Having a jam This does not mean closing the scene, it is the opposite of that. We are placing a minority group, which has never had a voice, in a safe space. To then be able to open up the possibility of coexistence", says Merry. For André Filipe, director of the documentary Push Her about skateboarding female in Portugal, this is a big step towards effective inclusion. «It is important that we create these spaces now to gradually break this protective bubble. This way, the next generations will come with a different vision and, who knows, one day the kids will say they want skate like a girl,” he comments.
At the end of the day, men and women skated side by side. They explored the obstacles as they wished and were not ashamed to try their maneuvers. The skateboarding There, skateboarding was the only place, a place for expression and artistic creation. The CCB was alive, young, and full of creativity. Sofia Mântua, Communications Coordinator at the Belém Cultural Center, was surprised by the event and lamented the stigma that still surrounds the practice. “Our goal is always to use our influence to break down walls,” she says, confirming future partnerships with the community. skateboarding.
A year and a half ago, the skatepark Faro was completely different. Located on the outskirts of the city and haunted by abandonment, few people felt comfortable being there. Today, the situation is different. Since the founding of the association Wall Ride, in June 2021, the scene of skateboarding in the Algarve has become a national reference. Inspired by the method Do It Yourself (do-it-yourself), the association's president, Viriato Villas-Boas, joined other skateboarders to create actions around the practice, in order to show the community the positive impacts it can bring.
Through a partnership with the city council and some individual supporters, the association has held events in Faro and the surrounding area with the aim of destigmatizing skateboarding and encourage the practice. In addition, they renewed the skatepark, created a headquarters for the association and began giving classes to children. With a meticulous organization, they divided themselves into nine departments, including South Girl Skate, whose main objective is to ensure that women and non-binary people feel comfortable and welcomed in the community.
For the association, the women's movement is a fundamental part of the evolution of skateboarding in Portugal. Not only to attract a greater number of practitioners, but also to break gender stereotypes and make the skatepark in a more plural and receptive place for anyone who wants to start skate. Catarina Florido, director of South Girl Skate, says that the change is already quite visible. According to the report made by Wall Ride, since the creation of the department, there has been an estimated 200% increase in girls and gender minorities within the skatepark. Catarina highlights the importance of having more female representation in a predominantly male activity, especially for future generations. According to her, this increase is even more evident in WallRide Skate School, in which, for every three students, two are girls.
Filipa Godinho (Pipa), 23 years old, had the habit of entering skate shops. Even though he thought he would never have the courage to buy a board for himself, every now and then he found himself admiring shapes and other accessories of the skateboarding. Wheels, bearings, trucks and sandpaper. It was a world of fascination, which she watched from the outside, without even imagining herself starting to practice. «I came from a very small environment, and there was never this scene of girls getting involved in sports, especially in skateboarding», says Pipa.
One day, however, I was flirting with a board in a skate shop and heard about the Wall Ride. She found them on social media and talked to Viriato, who encouraged her to go to the school's classes. Pipa finally acquired her first skateboarding and began taking classes at the association, she and the children. Over time, she became involved in the project and, today, speaks with great admiration of the work they do. «I don't think even they realize the importance of what they are doing. If it weren't for Wall Ride, I would never have started riding skateboarding. "
In addition to the practice, Pipa says he found a group of friends there, especially from South Girl Skate. According to her, when the department was created, there was little gender diversity in the community, but due to events and awareness raised through social media, more and more skateboarders women started to show up. “There were very few of us, but we soon realized that we wanted to move this forward. So, people started to loosen up more and invite people, even from other parts of the country. It’s incredible, we’re all pulling in the same direction,” she says.
South Girl Skate
I take mine skateboarding under my arm and I wonder what is the right way to do it. It is my first time and, besides being scared, I carry a helmet and all the necessary protections in my backpack. I arrive at skatepark and I see the headquarters of Wall Ride. Parents look for their children who have just left school, while boys and girls walk nimbly through the obstacles on the track. It is a hot Saturday, a day for meetings.
After some time, the first one would happen jam night of the South Girl Skate. I carried mine skateboarding newly assembled from one side to the other, without finding, within myself, the strength to try. But as the night drew on, the skatepark It emptied out and more girls appeared. Catarina encouraged me to get on the board for the first time. I was shy, but she held my hand, explained the basic movements to me and always reminded me to bend my knees.
With the sky dark, Viriato and Catarina turn on spotlights on top of ladders, improvising the lighting of the dance floor. Music fills the air, and I see a world I have never seen before. Everyone has something of the other in them, and they see themselves in the skateboarding as a whole that is one. There is laughter, maneuvers, falls and people sitting around just talking. I smile. I practice my line movement and laugh at myself for not being able to make the turn. But no one cares and when my eyes meet another girl's, I find a place of encouragement there.
In total, seven women showed up. Some were regulars, others not. Emma Adams, 39, was unfamiliar with the project and decided to show up after seeing it advertised on social media. “This kind of movement is really cool for motivating women and making us feel like we have a community,” she says. It was a moment of communion: we all sat on the steps of the skatepark, they told me stories and laughed with each other. Ella Munn-Giddings, 32, is from England and has lived in Faro since 2017. She speaks to me in a foreign Portuguese and tells me that she played Tony Hawk Pro Skater, but that only started to walk skateboarding during the pandemic. When he met the South Girl Skate, the enthusiasm for practicing became even greater. «I feel more comfortable trying new things with girls, because they are much more supportive [in solidarity],” says Ella.
After we all walked skateboarding, each in their own way and rhythm, Viriato arrives with four boxes of pizza and we go to eat at the headquarters of Wall Ride. The light was low and the atmosphere was light. Alexandra Barros, 21, skater and co-editor of slime zine, comments that, before the association, he would never have imagined being able to ride a skateboarding at night so peacefully. Pipa agrees and says that, despite the scene of skateboarding in Faro still being quite small, the work done by Wall Ride has built a welcoming environment for everyone. Meggy and Maria da Betesga SkateZine are an example of this: the two travel frequently to Faro, just to skate with the other girls. “It’s amazing because everyone gets along with everyone. Boys with girls, different age groups, genders, sexual orientations and religions. I had never been in contact with so many different people,” says Pipa.
In the book Skateboarding and Religion (2020), the researcher Paul O'Connor brings the practice closer to skateboarding of religion. Being a lifestyle sport, skateboarding goes far beyond tricks and maneuvers. It presents its own universe, in which one usually immerses oneself fully. skateboarding It begins to become an important, if not central, aspect of a person's identity, motivating a kind of devotion. And because it is so intense, it is quite common for practitioners to want to build a career through it.
Especially after its popularization in the 90s, the skateboarding created a unique and autonomous industry around it, estimated to reach three billion dollars by 2028. This complex industry has allowed skateboarders to obtain a financial return without necessarily having to participate in competitions. Whether through sponsorships or recording calls video parts, videos in which a group of skateboarders is invited by a brand to show his skills on the board.
However, for women, these opportunities are much scarcer. According to Laís Reis, skater and the only female judge of the Pro Skate League In Portugal, it is still very rare for brands to include women in their teams. And when they do, they only meet the minimum quota. Laís explains that this narrows the possibilities for women skateboarders who want to pursue a career. «For us women, the path is still to participate in championships. I hope that one day it will be different, because many women do not want to compete and prefer to make videos, but there is not much support in that sense». André Filipe, from the project Push Her, comments that, in addition, brands function as gatekeepers of the community. Therefore, it is essential that they include skateboarders of other genres, so that this presence is normalized.
Catarina Florido. © Bruna Soraia
Without open doors, the skateboarding female will continue to be minimized. If there is no prospect of growth, girls are more likely to give up on the idea of being a skater professional, since they do not find support for this. «People get confused because they think that we only want equal rights, but that is not the case. We want equal opportunities. I do not need anyone to do anything for me, I just want the same opportunity», says Laís. According to her, there is still a huge disparity between men and women in skateboarding, especially in Portugal. «When you don't go through this difficulty, you think it doesn't exist. But I see it. In the championship, for example, in open male, all skateboarders have sponsorship, while in the women's category, there are only two or three", says the judge.
Margarida Cepeda, 16 years old, wants to make a living from skateboarding. Although she doesn't like competing that much, she realizes that championships are what will give her visibility to grow and open professional paths. In recent years, she has dedicated herself more intensely to skateboarding, participating in international competitions and recording videos for social media. Little by little, it has been gaining more prominence and support from brands, but indicates that, when it comes to encouraging skateboarding In the women's competition, Portugal is far behind other countries. "If we were in the Netherlands, we would already have huge sponsorships, but I think we are doing the right thing. By going to championships abroad, people will start to realize that there is skateboarders women here in Portugal”, he comments.
– Lais Reis
Rafaela Costa, 17, is an exceptional case. Considered one of the biggest talents in Portuguese skateboarding, she reached the quarter-finals of the World Street Skateboarding in Rome and went viral after becoming the first woman to do a flip at the MACBA blocks in Barcelona. Today, she is sponsored by major brands and has taken Portugal's name to other corners of the world. In November 2022, she was one of five skaters invited by Etnies Skateboarding to a girls session in California. Rafinha, as she is known, says that she never imagined she would get to where she is today. "Before I started skateboarding, I had never even left the country, and the first time I did was to skateboard. Those things left a huge impression on me," she says.
Madalena Galante. © Thais Espezin / Betesga Skate Zine
I don't need to look at the map to know the way to Parque das Gerações. I get off at São João do Estoril station and follow the boy to skate on the side of the road. It was the first day of the last circuit of the Pro Skate League and, upon entering through the gate of skatepark, I find myself in a very different environment from the jams I have attended. With more space and structure, the championship shows a more organized version of the practice. There is a raised bench for the judges, sponsor banners and stands for the public to watch the competition.
On the track, I see many girls practicing their tricks. One of them catches my attention. She is a small girl, with curly hair and a cheerful demeanor, her name is Valentina dos Santos and she is only seven years old. I talk to Bruno Valentim, her father, who stands at the edge of the track, watching his daughter's movements. He says that he has always been interested in skateboarding and that's why she decided to give her daughter a board when she turned five. Valentina fell in love with the practice and says she dreams of being one skater professional. His great inspiration is the Brazilian Rayssa Leal, silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. Driven by his daughter's enthusiasm, Bruno gained the courage to start skate, and the two have been taking classes together ever since. “You have to have a routine in skateboarding, and I could never reconcile that. But when I saw that in her, I wanted to try too. I never imagined I could go down a ramp with skateboarding, and now I can. Just because of her,” comments Bruno.
For the family of 12-year-old Matilde Ribeiro, sport has also brought many transformations. Three years ago, when their daughter asked them for a skateboarding For Christmas, João Pedro Ribeiro never thought that a simple gift would have such a big impact on his life. Matilde is currently ranked first in the national rankings and aims to reach the Paris Olympics in 2024.
– Monica Isabel Ribeiro, mother of Matilde
A little shyly, she tells me about her plans and projects in skateboarding and for a second I forget that I am talking to a 12-year-old girl. Extremely focused, Matilde practices frequently and goes to international championships to expand her skills. According to her parents, she has matured a lot since she started skateboarding and has even improved her academic performance.
We chat at the foot of a track in Parque das Gerações. They are relaxed and know many of the competitors who walk back and forth with the skateboarding under his arm. João says that he always viewed the practice with a bit of stigma, but that they discovered there a community that is like a family, where everyone supports and cheers for each other. “We have something here that unites us all, and that is what is important”, he concludes.
– Natália Sanchez, president of Gender Equality Commission da World Skate
When it appeared, the skateboarding was far from being a sport. It remained a lifestyle, an activity close to art and self-expression. However, with the development of the practice and the popularization of championships, skateboarding has been expanding and also getting closer to this concept. Today, it is an Olympic sport. And even though this generates discontent on the part of many skateboarders, this inclusion brought several benefits to the practice. Mainly, with regard to skateboarding female.
At the request of the International Olympic Committee, the Gender Equality Commission of the international federation World Skate, with the aim of ensuring the same prizes and conditions for the male and female categories. In Portugal, the national coordinator of Skateboarding Technical Committee, Paulo Ribeiro, confirms this uniformity and guarantees that the Portuguese Skating Federation promotes gender equality.
According to data made available by the federation, there was significant growth in skateboarding female in Portugal. While there were only 16 girls competing in the Pro Skate League from 2018, the year 2022 had 120 skateboarders female, which is equivalent to an increase of 650%. However, despite this progress, female participation is still far below that of men, representing only 7.4% of the 1604 competitors.
For Natália Sanchez, president of the Gender Equality Commission of World Skate, ensuring the same conditions in the championships is not enough. When the disparity is structural, the work must be done from the ground up. «It is very simple for us to impose certain gender equality rules, but then there is the other side which is the part that needs to grow from scratch. It is not possible to have more women in competitions if there are not more girls in skateparks or taking classes in schools”, he explains.
In order to empower women, the commission travels the world to conduct technical courses teaching skateboarders organizing championships, opening schools and acting as judges in competitions. Argentina, Uganda and Mexico were some of the countries visited. Natália says that it is very important to have more diversity in backstage of the championships. «Women also want to be in those places, but you have to give them the confidence that they can get there. If you go to a competition where there are speakers women or a panel of judges with gender diversity, you start to think that you can be there too”, he comments.
According to the president, the main objective of the Commission is to normalize the female presence in all areas of skateboarding. “This should be something, as we say in Spanish, given by hecho, something that just happens. But we’re not there yet. We have to remember that sport is genderless,” says Natalia. While the creation of an equality commission is necessary, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Margarida Cepeda didn't have her headphones on. They had broken the night before, and now she couldn't do any of the tricks in the competition. best tricks. He only had one round left and, to continue, he would have to get everything right. But, without the headphones, he couldn't concentrate, because it was the music that set the tone for his movement.
In desperation, he improvises. With his cell phone in his hand, close to his ear, he presses the play and run in the skateboarding. She leaves the ground, moves her entire body, and time stops to observe her gestures. Her hair up high, her hand at chest level, and the look of someone who is at home. The board spins with a kick, and she returns to Earth with the mastery of someone who dances. skateboarding It is an extension of herself, and it is music that brings the two together.
Margarida reminds me that, in skateboarding, style is important. It is not enough to know maneuvers, you have to do them as part of who you are. And you can only do that when you feel truly comfortable. According to a study done by the University of Southern California, 76% of practitioners ride skateboarding to have fun, which helps relieve stress and develop creativity. For Joana, from Betesga, skateboarding feminine and non-normative brings more freedom in this sense. «I, perhaps, will never in my life be able to send a kick flip. But I think we girls have that thing: if we can't do this, then how can we come up with another maneuver, another way? And so it ends up being much more fun," says the skater.
South Girl Skate
Laís Reis comments that, with more women on the scene, men are slowly starting to explore more. “I feel that it’s a lot of pressure for them and, little by little, I see them freeing themselves, even in the way they dress and express themselves,” she says. For André Filipe, skateboarding feminine has regained the true meaning of skateboarding. «Honestly, I didn't really identify with the attitudes of the community and, with the girls, I found my safe place. The essence of skateboarding, in reality, is in them,” he says.
The call skatefeminism, a term coined by Canadian researcher Steph Mackay, is a movement, sometimes unconscious, that has been breaking gender stereotypes, opening up a spectrum of expressions within the community. In Faro, the first action of the South Girl Skate was painting the LGBTQIA+ flag on skatepark. "We want to create a safer space for everyone, including people who identify as neither men nor women. Basically, it's a bit like feminism in skateboarding. In the real meaning of feminism, which is equality for all”, comments Catarina, director of the department.
"We are just starting out here. We can't talk about it. skateboarding feminine and not talk about intersectionality, for example," comments Merry. According to skater, with the expansion of skateboarding and with greater receptivity from practitioners, she begins to see more diversity within the skateparks, showing that the practice is open to everyone. «For me, the skateboarding is coming back. That, for me, is returning to the essence,” he says, with a smile on his face.
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