New York’s radical female and non-binary skateboarders — in photos

Jordana Bermúdez is not a skateboarder, however she discovered a way of neighborhood at a skate park on Manhattan’s Decrease East Facet.

The photographer, who relocated from Mexico Metropolis to New York in 2019, grew up curler skating and biking. And it was in Coleman Playground, a stretch of concrete close to the waterfront populated with ledges and grind rails, that she felt familiarity amid the unknowns of her new metropolis.

“I grew up going to parks, and surrounded by these folks,” Bermúdez mentioned over video. “And I felt safer there.”

She was significantly intrigued by the variety of ladies and non-binary skaters testing tips and sharing laughs. Since watching Bing Liu’s “Minding the Hole,” a 2018 documentary about male friendships strengthened by skateboarding, Bermúdez had been within the skate tradition and identification amongst those that do not establish as male.

Skateboarder Sarah Seafoss at LES Coleman Playground skate park in Manhattan, New York. Credit score: Jordana Bermúdez, @jbtph

Bermúdez, who moved to New York to review on the Worldwide Heart of Pictures, started attending meet-ups organized by two teams: GRLSWIRL, a skate neighborhood that started in Venice Seashore, California, and Quell, a female-founded media, journal and podcast model aiming to “improve visibility for nontraditional skate boarders.” These teams each fashioned with the intention of offering a secure house for girls and gender-nonconfirming riders in a sport that’s nonetheless dominated by males. Bermúdez was rapidly pulled into their orbit.

“I could not cease (taking pictures),” Bermúdez mentioned. “I adopted my instinct, and I began going 4 occasions per week.”

Her ensuing multimedia challenge, “Women Cannot Skate,” was shot over the course of practically a yr and contains nonetheless portraits, GIFs and, throughout the top of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York, video interviews and digital photograph shoots. By shifting from in-person images to Zoom shoots, she may go to folks’s houses instantly, taking photos of skaters in Arizona and California, in Brazil and Norway.

Although not a skater herself, Bermúdez has grow to be a fixture within the scene, and is even roommates with one in all her topics.

“It is simply so pure to be a part of the neighborhood,” she mentioned. “They’re very welcoming and inclusive.”

Power by means of variety

GRLSWIRL NYC chapter chief Kristen Noelle skating in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Credit score: Jordana Bermúdez, @jbtph

Although ladies have lengthy been part of skateboarding, they don’t seem to be afforded the identical visibility or skilled alternatives as males — and the hole is much more obtrusive for gender-nonconforming riders.

The rosters {of professional} skate groups are nonetheless practically all male, however latest years have seen a handful of firsts for skilled feminine and non-binary skaters. In 2015, Leticia Bufoni grew to become the primary feminine skater to signal for the Nike SB group, and she or he was joined two years later by non-binary skater Leo Baker. In 2016, Nora Vasconcellos grew to become the primary girl to hitch the Adidas skateboarding group, and in 2017, Samarria Brevard grew to become the primary Black girl to signal with skate model Enjoi.

Adrian Koenigsberg, director of Quell, mentioned that she has witnessed a major change in attitudes — even within the brief time since she based the model in 2017.

“Once I began Quell, the dialog round gender was nowhere close to what it’s now,” she mentioned over e-mail. “We have been centered on ladies in skateboarding however now our language has shifted to give attention to marginalized genders. After we help others, we make a stronger neighborhood.”

Feminine skate boarders have seen elevated presence on display as properly, with a 2019 documentary about younger Afghan skaters, “Studying to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You are a Woman),” profitable an Oscar final yr, and HBO’s teen comedy “Betty,” which follows a gaggle of lady skaters in New York Metropolis, debuting final Could.

Thriving below restraints

“I believe the quantity of individuals skating for the reason that pandemic has elevated tremendously,” she mentioned. “There are extra non-male-identifying folks completely killing skating than ever. There are such a lot of folks organizing their very own occasions everywhere in the metropolis.”

Skaters Kristen Noelle, Mary Chun and Charlotte Tegen at 2nd Nature Skate Park in Peekskill, New York. Credit score: Jordana Bermúdez, @jbtph

Because the neighborhood continues to widen, male skaters have gotten extra welcoming, based on Kristen Miller, founding father of GRLSWIRL’s New York chapter. “Not too way back, I might at all times be the one lady at my native skatepark. ‘Males’ could be tremendous aggressive and snake my traces or get in my manner on objective and I might at all times be the one apologizing, feeling like I used to be at all times of their manner,” she mentioned over e-mail.

“Because the tides have modified this yr, I’ve seen these identical males have realized to take a step again and permit their fellow skaters more room on the park (and) they apologize after they by chance get in our manner. (They) see that there are extra GRLS than ever earlier than, skating and taking on house, and are displaying extra respect in the direction of us.”