‘Taking emotions seriously’: Feeling female and becoming-surfer through UK Surf Space

In this paper, I consider the importance of “taking emotions seriously” in relation to my research into women and surfing in the UK. I draw on feminist work in the areas of emotion, space and subjectivity, and relevant literature on surfing, in order to explore the significance of affectual and emotional experiences for women who surf. I contend that by exploring how women emotionally experience surfing spaces, we might better understand the dynamic intricacies of surfing as an embodied, gendered space. In particular, I explore feelings of fear, freedom, belonging and anger in the context of female subjectivities caught up in a spatial becoming-surfer. My findings suggest that although surfing remains dominated by men, the fluidity of the space offers many possibilities for women to experience their gendered embodiment differently. I also contend that an association of surfing with masculinity continues to shape gendered relations and spatial becomings in the surf.