Troubled Waters: The Ocean as Contested Space in California Surf Culture
Abstract
ABSTRACT
David Crellin
Troubled Waters: The Ocean as Contested Space in California Surf Culture
California defines much of its identity in the public imagination through the sport and cultural formations of surfing. This identity has been almost exclusively associated with white men as the accepted standard bearers of surfing’s evolution and excellence. This narrative runs parallel to the larger political and social discourses of Whiteness and racialized exclusion in American society. My project, “Troubled Waters: The Ocean as Contested Space in California Surf Culture,” explores the history of racism and representation in the formation of the so-called “California Dream” of surfing, interrogating white supremacy in surf and beach popular culture along the California coast, and presents research to understand and engage surfing and surf culture through a framework of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.