The critical surf studies reader

Abstract

When I saw the call to review this volume, my eyes leapt to SURF, bypassing ‘Critical studies reader’. This was naïve on my part. This is a collection of ‘Critical theory’ contributions, where critical is used with its ideological meaning. That is, it aims to ‘question power, domination, and the status quo’, in order to change society as well as studying it. I should alert readers that whilst I am indeed a surfer, I am not a critical theorist. I also fall into many categories whose views, historically, have been privileged: old, white, male, heterosexual, Anglophone, academic, scientist. I have, however, argued that individual opportunities and choices for leisure and recreation, as well as attitudes to nature and the outdoors, are all embedded in human cultures. So that is a point of contact with this compilation, which compares current and historical surfing experiences of individuals of different genders, ethnicities, languages, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds.