Text by Beau Flemister. Shared in partnership with our friends at SURFLINE.
Some might consider the following film and interview “sensitive material.”
Dangerous, even. The content and subject matter goes against the grain from what you normally see in surf mags and social media. Sanuk ambassador Lauren Hill’s new short film, Pear Shaped, is raw and authentic and that’s precisely what makes it interesting. Because haven’t surfers always countered culture? Been punks and rebels, athletes and professionals—all parts of the human spectrum? And even more so, always radical? In Pear Shaped, through poetry, humor, and of course, surfing, Lauren Hill focuses on a part of our surf world that doesn’t get much play: Women being real women.
Here’s the inside scoop from Lauren Hill about her provocative, new short film about women surfers.
What, specifically, sparked you to make this film? Has it been brewing for a while, or just recently?
Lauren Hill: The whole idea was sparked by an Instagram post I did last year, asking people to share their most humiliating surf-related moment. Mostly, I was wondering, ‘Is it just me who has come in from a surf only to find I’d bled all over my white bikini bottoms? Am I the only one?’ Turns out, I’m not. It was hilarious. Each of the scenes in Pear Shaped is based on one, or a compilation of moments, from that post. The name, Pear Shaped, is Aussie slang basically for when ‘shit hits the fan.’
Going deeper into inspiration for Pear Shaped, there’s still a lot of hesitancy to admit that women and men are different. Can some women mimic men’s surfing? Definitely. But I think that generally speaking, women surf differently, and sometimes with different motivations than men do. That’s only a problem when we endlessly try to compare them. As they say, comparison is the thief of joy. Surf culture is still pretty much a sword fight, so most everything we ‘understand’ about surfing as a culture has been written, photographed or judged from and for a masculine perspective. I think we’re in the process of fleshing it out, finally.
“Surf culture is still pretty much a sword fight so most everything we ‘understand’ about surfing as a culture has been written, photographed or judged from and for a masculine perspective. I think we’re in the process of fleshing it out, finally.”
I’m not trying to imply that this is evil or anything. It’s just not balanced, or as inclusive as it could be. As nature shows us time and again, there’s greater strength, richness and health in diversity. When you don’t see yourself, or your experience of surfing, represented authentically in your media, it’s easy to feel really disconnected from the culture, like an outsider. Or, for example, it can make having a hairy, asymmetrical body feel like a freakish anomaly instead of absolute normality.
So, these are a couple of the reasons why I wanted to create Pear Shaped; to get at some of these image issues in women’s surfing — to address the insidious nature of social media, the pressure to be tanned, hairless and flawless — and to show how very far most representations of women’s surfing are from the everyday realities of being a woman in the water.
What women do you find inspiring inside the surf world and also outside of surfing?
Lauren Hill: I love seeing women who redefine femininity in terms of ability, like Steph Gilmore. I also love seeing all of the women who are just subverting the mainstream and really crafting culture — magazines, art, music, film, fashion — for themselves. Women like Leah Dawson, Kassia Meador, Cori Schumacher or Amanda Chinchelli.
Outside of the surf space, I’m really inspired by women who just get more radical with age — like Helena Norberg-Hodge — who, at 71, is a pioneer and champion for human and environmental rights and envisions a more human-scaled economic system. She’s an economist who’s never stopped asking the hard questions.
What are some healthy ways, in your opinion, that women or young women can portray their images, whether that’s physically, artistically, etc?
In terms of portraying ourselves in healthy ways, I wouldn’t venture to answer that question for anyone else. I think the important thing is continually asking the questions. The tricky thing here is balance. Hyper-sexualisation isn’t so healthy or accurate, but neither is neutering women. Everyone has to find a place where they feel comfortable and empowered, and I think that having directed conversation with others about the nitty gritty of these issues can go a long way. And I think the brands should be sincerely entertaining these conversations, too.
One of the most powerful tools that I’ve found for myself in re-centering my ideas about body image — or just general wellbeing — is gathering with other women for focused dialogue about the problems I’m encountering. Giving voice to struggle has so much power in itself. And then, getting to hear the ways that other women confront those same challenges, and maybe even how they avert them, has been so helpful for me. I’ve seen it work really well for men too, with all the pressures you guys face to act and behave in certain ways. We’re all just doing the best we can, but connecting in meaningful ways (and I mean face-to-face connection, not just pseudo techno connectivity) and remembering that we’re not alone is so helpful.
What can happen in surf or social media to portray women more authentically?
Lauren Hill: Inclusion is going to make all of the difference. I’d like to see more women included in the shaping of mainstream (surf) media, more female writers, photographers and decision makers. Just including a range of perspectives could allow for considerable progress. Equal pay for equal work would be nice, too.