Historically, skateboarding has been a male-dominated sport, but activism and entrepreneurship have been essential components of addressing gender inequality everywhere from the skatepark to skate competitions like the X Games, particularly among young girls and women. Women skateboarders have been integral to the development of skateboarding as a sport since its inception in the 1940s but didn't start competing until nearly 20 years later. Here is a brief history of us in skateboarding:

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1964—Patti McGee Becomes Sets a World Skateboarding Record

Patti McGee, the first female professional skateboarder, set the world record for the fastest girl on a skateboard—47 miles per hour—at Dick Clark’s World Teen Fair. She went on to win the first female national skateboard championship, and she appeared on the cover of Life magazine doing a handstand on her skateboard.
 

1975—Peggy Oki Joins the Z-Boys

From 1970 to 2000, women’s visibility in skateboarding saw many small victories. In 1975, Peggy Oki joined up with several other skateboarders to form the Zephyr Skateboarding Team (Z-Boys) as the only female member.

1988—Cara-Beth Burnside Becomes First Female Skater to Grace the Cover of Thrasher

Thrasher, a skateboarding magazine, featured the first woman skateboarder on the front cover: Cara-Beth Burnside.

1994—Cara-Beth Burnside Debuts Her Signature Skate Shoe

In 1994, Burnside collaborated with Vans to become the first woman to have a signature skate shoe. That same year, Thrasher featured the second woman skateboarder on its front cover: Jaime Reyes.

1996—Elissa Steamer Appears in Welcome to Hell

In 1996, Elissa Steamer was featured in Welcome to Hell skate video by Toy Machine... making her the first female skater to have a street part in a major skate video.

1999—Women’s Competitions Added to Slam City Jam

In 1999, Slam City Jam, the North American skateboard championships, added women’s competitions. That same year, Elissa Steamer appeared as a featured skater in Tony Hawk Pro Skater—the only playable female pro at the time.

2000—SKATE LIKE A GIRL

Skate like a girl is a non-profit founded by  Fleur Larsen and Holly Sheehan. The original intention was to build community and create space for non-male skaters. What started as a few meetup events in Seattle has grown into one of the strongest skate non-profits pushing for inclusion in Washington, Oregon, and the Bay area. They organize camps for youths and adults, regular meetups, and the annual WOF (Wheels of Fortune) events. They've inspired a wave of meetup groups all over the globe with similar goals of inclusivity.

2003—Jen O’Brien and Cara-Beth Burnside Push ESPN for Change 

The early 2000s saw major strides for female skateboarders. After being shut out of the first seven editions of the X Games, skaters Jen O’Brien and Cara-Beth Burnside pushed ESPN for inclusion, securing a women’s demo in 2002 and full-on women’s events in 2003. Vanessa Torres won the first women’s park gold medal here.

 

2003—Lisa Whitaker founded Girls Skate Network
A website dedicated to supporting the success of women skaters around the world. She launched Meow Skateboards in 2012, a brand “focused on having fun and creating high-quality products that will help support an all-female team.”

2005—Women Skateboarders Stage X Games Boycott

When O’Brien and Burnside found out that male X Games winners made 25 times more than their female counterparts, they organized a women’s boycott of the 2005 X Games and won equal pay in 2008.

2008—Burnside and Knoop Take Action for Representation

Burnside and Mimi Knoop continued to push for female representation in skateboarding. In 2008, the duo created the female-focused skate company Hoopla because other skate brands weren’t sponsoring women skaters. Their mission—to encourage girls to skate and provide a support system for female pros—led to sponsorships for women skaters from skate brands like Welcome, Plan B, and Enjoi and sneaker giants like Nike and Adidas.

2015—Leticia Bufoni Signed to Nike SB

In 2015, Brazilian skateboarder Leticia Bufoni became the first female skater signed to Nike SB, and was the first female skateboarder to appear in ESPN The Magazine’s annual Body issue.

2016—A Big Win at the Summer Olympics

In 2016, women’s skateboarding (and skateboarding in general) saw one of the biggest wins in the sport: the International Olympic Committee approved skateboarding for the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020, including women’s street and park skating competitions. During this same year, Lizzie Armanto became the first woman featured on the cover of TransWorld Skateboarding magazine. Nora Vasconcellos became the first woman to join the Adidas skateboarding team.

2017—Leo Baker Makes History With Nike

Leo Baker became Nike SB’s first openly trans nonbinary skater and designed the first-ever Nike skate shoe for women. 
See this article on Nike's website: The Future is in the Air: Leo Baker. Always Against the Grain

2018—African-American Skater Samarria Brevard Makes History

Samarria Brevard became the first professional African-American woman skateboarder to sign with a major skate brand (Enjoi). During the same year, Lizzie Armanto became the first female skater to complete The Loop, Tony’s 360-degree ramp.

2019—Nike Releases First All-Female Skate Video

Nike SB releases Gizmo, its first all-female skate video and a tribute to team member and women’s skate pioneer Elissa Steamer.

Now, children of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities, and orientations are watching, and the more they see themselves reflected and accepted in skating, the more they will embrace skating and push it to new and exciting places.

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2021—Skateboarding's first appearance in the 2020 Olympics and the winners are...
STREET: Momiji Nishiya of Japan (Gold), Rayssa Leal of Brazil (Silver) & Funa Nakayama of the Japan (Bronze)

PARK: Sakura Yosozumi of Japan (Gold), Kokona Hiraki of Japan (Silver) & Sky Brown of the UK (Bronze)

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NOTE: The excerpt above is taken from an article on the masterclass.com website, Girl Skaters Rise: A brief history of women's skateboarding with some add-ons.

If there is anything that I should add to this list or revise anything on the page, please let me know via the CONTACT page. Thank you!

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HOW WE CAN SUPPORT...

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• Acknowledge and support other skaters when you see them out skating at a park or out on the street

• Support skaters on social media by following or liking their posts/reels, commenting, or connecting with them via DM if you'd like.

• Support womxn run organizations/communities/magazines online and IRL.

• Attend meetups/events/camps/workshops organized by organizations such as Skate Like a Girl 

• Get familiar with the ams/pros in the skating scene through social media and broadcasted skateboarding events

• Understand the history of womxn in skateboarding, provided above :) or through your own research.

• Get to know the individuals that support the scene like photographers + filmers like Norma Ibarra, Raisa Abal , Monique O'Toole, and Shari White). Hit me up to add more fckn awesome talent to this list! 

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