Looking in The Mirror: Sexuality in Skateboarding

On September 27, 2016 the skateboarding world changed forever when one of the most beloved professional skateboarders in the world, Brian Anderson, announced in a video to the public that he is gay. The 25 minute documentary-style video from Vice Sports, starts with friends, fellow pro skaters and industry figures speaking of what comes to mind when they think of Anderson and his impact on the history of skateboarding.

“He had a shaved head and he had his flannel and he was just burly like a monster human being,” professional skater Omar Salazar says in the video. “That was just the most manliest figure I had ever seen.”

In this candid moment of reflection Salazar spoke in reference to how Anderson looked when he did the trick that would define his entire career moving forward, Frontside Bluntside down the ledge at Hubba Hideout in San Francisco. As the video goes on other pro skaters like Frank Gerwer, Guy Mariano, and Mike Carroll used words synonymous with strength and traditional masculinity like power, aggression, explosiveness, and determination to describe him and why the skate community has grown to revere his style of skating so much.

Shortly after it cuts to Anderson who frankly says, “My name is Brian Anderson, I’m a professional skateboarder and we are here to talk about the fact that I am gay.”

Since going public about his sexuality the skateboarding community has rallied behind him in solidarity to show support and adoration for a man many of them grew up idolizing. Skaters young, old, black, and white took to instagram, twitter, and facebook to pay their respect and congratulate Anderson on his bravery in coming out in a sport and culture that has a history of being inherently homophobic.

“Things are different now,” says local skateboarder and San Francisco State University student Brandon Nguyen. “The feedback from B.A. coming out was really positive and I feel like that was always there but it just needed the right person to shed light on it.”

Historically skating has been a countercultural bastion perfect for self-proclaimed outsiders, weirdos, rebels, and general non-conformists. Going against societal and cultural norms has always been a point of pride for the skate community. Whether its crossing and unifying racial lines or socio-economic lines skating has always embraced it’s “come as you are and you will be accepted.” attitude.

Despite being accepting of so many people, personalities, and backgrounds the skate community has displayed a consistent level of homophobia, insensitivity, misinformation, or general apathy to the LGBTQ community through it’s marketing, product graphics, and it’s general expectation for skaters to show masculinity and toughness. Some of the most glaring examples of this include Big Brother Magazine’s controversial March 2002 “gay issue” which featured openly gay skater Jarrett Berry skating down a rail in ass-less chaps, Tim Von Werne’s career being cut short due to his identity as a gay man, skateboard pioneer Jay Adams going to prison for his role in fatally beating a gay man to death in 1982, and Big Brother’s now infamous rainbow rollerblade sticker which helped coin and perpetuate the saying “What’s the hardest part of rollerblading? Telling your parents you’re gay.”

Since its inception in the early 70s skateboarding as a community and industry has subtly and not so subtly reinforced the notion that at its core its an inherently tough sport that has no room for any sensitivity and weakness, real or perceived.

Eventhough skating has served as a refuge for non-conformists and societal “outcasts” from all walks of life, Brian Anderson’s coming out begs the question — why did it take this long for a top professional skater like Anderson to come out as openly gay and be accepted?

The answer to that question in some skaters eyes is straightforward. Gay skaters like Anderson and others chose not to reveal their sexuality because 30 years ago, skateboarding similar to society overall simply was not ready to accept and embrace the idea of one of their peers having a sexual identity that was different from theirs.

“I think back then there was a very different perception of gay people. They were seen as flamboyant and kind of fruity or whatever,” Nguyen says. “To be a skateboarder you had to be super gnarly and almost kind of punk. You really had to be a man’s man to skate because you fall a lot, you talk shit, and you drink.”

According to Nguyen, skaters in the 80s and 90s were more closed off to the idea of gay skaters because skateboarding at that time was defined by its sense of toughness and strength and gay people in their opinion could not fit that mold.

“Skaters looked at gay people like they are feminine and can’t hang while doing this mans sport. I can totally imagine some kid in middle america with frosted tips saying ‘Oh there’s a fag sponsored by Birdhouse? Fuck that.”

While skateboarding has had it’s own unique challenges around treating people of all sexual backgrounds fairly, there are studies that show that skating is not the only sport that struggles with how to respectfully treat gay and lesbian athletes. An international study from 2015 titled “Out On The Fields” revealed that across all sports there is a general feeling of hostility and lack of empathy for gay and lesbian athletes.

According to the study which interviewed over 9500 gay and lesbian athletes 84 percent of American participants have either witnessed or experienced some form of homophobia in sports while another 83 percent said an openly gay person would be in danger as a spectator at an american sporting event. Furthermore 89 percent of study participants report that they believe sports are more homophobic than the rest of society and 83 percent of gay men and 63 percent of lesbian women are in the closet while playing youth sports.

There have been some strides in athletes in major sports coming out, but the “Out On The Fields” study clearly shows that overall gay and lesbian athletes do not feel empowered to live a life in which they are honest about their sexuality. American sports and skating, like the society it resides in, still are in need of major progress in how we view and treat athletes who happen to be gay.

Though skateboarding has had a less than stellar history of homophobia, Brian Anderson’s coming out has helped open many skaters eyes to the possibility that some of their peers might be gay or lesbian. Anderson’s supporters are happy that he took the chance and finally revealed his sexuality to the world because its forced the skate community to realize that their friends or favorite skaters being gay doesn’t change the fact they are still awesome skateboarders first and foremost.

“That’s what I think is the coolest part about it,” says southern California skater and student Charlie Arriero. “Him coming out will create a bigger gay community in skateboarding and I don’t think that’s bad I think that’s great because it goes back to being diverse. That’s how skateboarders are, we’re just open to everything.”

Skateboarders now see the hypocrisy of a subculture that was built on embracing people from unusual backgrounds not accepting someone simply because they were attracted to the same sex. Eventhough not all skateboarders might not share the same beliefs or identities sexually, the fact that their is common ground in their shared love for skating allows for everyone within the community to put aside their differences or prejudices in order to accept one another Arriero explains.

“Yeah we are closed-minded to some things but at the end of the day if you skate and I skate, we’re going to be cool. I think that’s how it’ll work out and no one should be knocked for it.”

Although it took until 2016 for a prominent skateboarder like Brian Anderson to reveal his true sexuality, the skate community acknowledges that it was long overdue and there was no better person or time to make that sort of announcement and establish the conversation of sexual identity in skating.

“I think it was the perfect storm,” says Nguyen. “He’s the perfect dude to do it and it’s a great time to do it now that people are more socially aware, more politically correct and openminded now in 2016.”B