March is International Women’s Month and the 8th of March is the one day a year where women, queers, non-conforming bodies and allies internationally march, protest and revolt against the social and political struggles faced by ‘woman’ identities. It’s loud, disruptive, public, dynamic and thrives from DIY community engagement, sound relatable? 

The Rotterdam-based skate collective, The Baby G Experience SB (Baby G) teamed up with other local feminist collectives to organise skate-related activities between the 7th through to the 10th of March in honour of International Women's Month. 

As Maen Hammad, Palestinian skateboarder, says

“Our culture, our practice, and our politics takes shape from the streets. We are witnesses to the systems [...] and political agents of the space we inhabit.”

Through skateboarding, our passion for the streets goes beyond setting, but in turn becomes a “concept of justice”.

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It may seem redundant, the age-old story… But, women, queers and non-traditional bodies are still marginalised in socio-politics, which inevitably domesticates subcultures such as skateboarding and its ethos. On the 8th of March, Baby G held a radio show, where Colombian participant Valentina Díaz, initiator of Sobre Ruedas Girls, mentions the unjust (fiscal) prize distribution for girls participating in skateboarding contests and how she managed to democratise the situation. Similarly, the American Girl’s Skateboarding league, including pro-skaters like Mimi Knoop and Elissa Steamer, with the initiative of Cara-Beth Burnside, American pro-skateboarder, Boycotted X Games in 2005. Why? Simple. To demand the equal distribution of prize money as the male contestants. 
If it were not for the political and collective action of this boycott, the American Girl’s Skateboarding League would still be winning $2000 for every $50,000 the American Boy’s Skateboarding league won.

As a community, we cannot ignore the sexist and violent contributions of works such as Destroy my Face, by Erik Kessel in Breda’s Pier 15 Skatepark, where the faces of women who had plastic surgery done were placed as flooring at the park, which communicated destructive and violent incentives towards women. Nor can we ignore the microagressions made by local skate stores dismissing orders for gender-inclusive shoe sizes. The sexualisation of women in skateboarding is unfortunately no surprise either. Sponsored Spanish skater, Jaime Mateu, and his infamous “boob-grab” is praised by (non)skaters around the world, thus emphasising the International importance of International Women’s Day/Month in seeking justice - through the thing that takes a hold of us most - Skateboarding.

Baby G strives to push away from the constructed binary, us and them. Their aim is to enhance equity in the Rotterdam skateboarding scene by positioning women, queer and non-traditional skateboarders as their main target audience and media representatives, taking major influence from Dolores Magazine. They focus on supporting all attendees at their open skate-sessions and host free beginner lessons, as well as host screenings and jams. 
Swedish pro-skateboarder, Sara Muehler comments in an interview with Jan Kliewer “female skaters are the only real underground skaters left, facing many of the obstacles older skaters still romanticise, like being an outcast” to later enforce “I think one effect of skateboarding being so big now, is that all of a sudden the women have become more interesting than the men. Because they haven’t been exposed as much.” 

In the case for Baby G, recognising street politics and skateboarding’s conventional DIY morale, International Women’s Day is crucial in raising awareness and bridging the gap that separates male and female skateboarding. Instances of misogyny are relevant and pressing, not only internationally but also on the local, Dutch domain. Highlighting New Wave and De Rollende Mina’s as prime Dutch examples of community centred and inclusive Skateboarding Collectives. 
This year, The Baby G Experience SB hosted their first edition of International Women's Day activities. Baby G allied with Feministas en Rotterdam, a Latin feminist collective organising a protest in the renown Rotterdamse skatespot Schouwbergplein. They also joined Radio Worm and Radio Echo Collective, contributing to Fem Fest with a live broadcast show on Skateboarding from The G Experience. This is the rundown of what happened from the 7th to the 10th.

07/03/24

On the eve of International Women’s Day, the cultural centre Worm allocated a studio space for collective banner making together with Feministas en Rotterdam. 
Paint, fabric, cut outs and music. Dialogue, chanting, catharsis circulates the studio as the girls prepare their banners for the 8M protest. This was the final gathering before the big 8M. People are tired and overworked but spirits remain high as catharsis is about to come!

08/03/24

On the day of, in a quaint cabin in the centre of Rotterdam, minutes away from Westblaak Skatepark, surrounded by brick patched cellar type walls were 5 skaters sharing some pieces of their minds live on Radio Worm. For their annual Fem Fest, Worm collaborated with Radio Echo Collective transmitting Feminist Frequencies. Baby G had to pull through and invite Negara Feghir (AF), Flo Verhulst (NL), Léa Shamaa (LB) and Valentina Díaz (COL) to share their experiences in skateboarding from their socio-cultural backgrounds. Although the aura was a bit timid at first, soon the skaters began opening up and sharing experiences as if they had known each other for years.
Connections were made with one anecdote bouncing onto the next, laughter rolled and shoutouts were made. Valentina Díaz in Colombia attended through video call, explaining her position as a role model for girls in Bogotá, Colombia. Stating everything she does for skateboarding is in gratitude for everything skateboarding has given her. 

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Listen to the broadcast by clicking on the link above!

After the allocated 30 minutes of open skateboarding dialogue, the hunger for skate arose, and just like that the crew picked up and moved to West Blaak. The weather was on their side. A dry park, sun hitting down warming the park just enough to allow the crisp spring air cools a shredding skater down. 
By 17:00 the 8M protest organised by Feministas en Rotterdam was about to start. As a teaser, Baby G hosted an open skate session, with guidance and boards for beginners.  Meanwhile the attendance of protesters grew and by 17:30, the protest officially began… The boards became our drums as women and allies chanted for intersectional resistance. 

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09/03/24

The Saturday that followed left Baby G with an emotional hangover and therefore activities had to be kept simple. They hosted a screening of Skate Dreams which brought close friends together, to eat soup, burn popcorn and try to see who could calculate trick combinations on the screen fastest.

10/03/24

Sunday comes around and so far there has not been a drop of rain. During the transition from winter to spring, in The Netherlands, that’s a win. Regardless of the threatening grey sky, Baby G with the help of their friends took their pink DIY kicker out and seshed at Letters Spot.

No promotion had been made to the fact that Baby G had some prizes to give away. Some blocks of Graquax, their home-made wax and a t-shirt which says “Skate and Ovulate”. The distribution of prizes was simple, show your dedication to your trick regardless of your level, and send it!

After two hours of back and forth with a slab of concrete, Lola got her first boardslide and won the “Skate and Ovulate” tee. Her first skate prize was a surprise! It was a wholesome way to conclude the weekend.

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The effect International Women’s Month had on the local scene could, even for a small moment, linger in our socialisation processes. Only skaters can make skateboarding prosper. 

After days of activities, skateboarding, and intense organisation prior to the events, it was the  moment to take a deserving break from hosting. The Baby G Experience SB aims to continue linking socio-politics to skateboarding, and promoting the tender elements of the community with hopes to foster equity in the current Rotterdam skate scene. Without the input of other collectives, and the skaters themselves - moments like these would not exist. To opportune the words of Maen Hammad, community and resistance is in the ethos of street skateboarding. One day is not enough, one weekend is not enough, equity will become the standard. We Skate and Destroy The Patriarchy unconsciously, every time we pick up our boards. 

Check out the video recap of the event here.

Words and photography by Graquandra, filmed by RoseMuis, edited by Lea Shamaa.