Party waves, beach drag performances and the most inclusive surf accolades you’ve ever seen! Switch: an Exhibition of Queer and Trans Surfing was a historical, first of its kind event!
Hosted by Queer Surf and Benny’s Club, the exhibition showcased more than forty queer, trans and nonbinary surfers at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica on June 17th, 2023. Surfers took to the waves to demonstrate their shredding abilities: sharing boards, holding hands, kissing while catching a wave, doing handstands, toes on the nose and showing off their style and flow in the water.
Between surf heats, there were incredible beachside drag performances by Golden Hour Drag, a thrice weekly drag show hosted ocean side on San Francisco beaches. Dressed in squid skirts and sea star crows, the performers captivated the beach, dancing in the sand and diving into the waves.
Queer people have rarely been included or represented in surf spaces. Surf competitions are traditionally incredibly gendered spaces that exclude queer, trans and nonbinary surfers from participating. The historic, inclusive nature of the event was not lost on the massive crowd or participants.
Beaches are not always a welcome or safe place for queer, trans and nonbinary people. So a surf competition without hierarchy, binaries or intimidation on the waves?! With an emphasis on fun, joy and sharing the waves!? Revolutionary. Incredible. Historic.
Kyla Langen, founder of Queer Surf and former pro surfer, was one of many MCs during the event. To enormous cheers and applause from the audience, Kyla exclaimed that “Queer and Trans Surfers exist in the water and belong in the water… [and] have always existed in the water, on the beach and in the world.”
Surfrider San Francisco is a proud ally of the queer surfing community. Chapter leaders helped with day of event logistics including set up, single use plastic waste reduction, brand sponsorship & prize donations, and water and land patrol to keep everyone safe.
The Surfrider Foundation is committed to supporting the queer and trans surfing community and helping create a more inclusive, welcoming and safe surf culture. Queer, trans and nonbinary people belong in surfing.
Thank you to Queer Surf and Bennys Club for the work that you do to increase access to the ocean and expand surf culture. Queer Surf is a California based organization dedicated to supporting queer mental and physical health through relationship with the ocean. Benny’s Club is a community-based surfing collective for queer surfers and surfers of color at Rockaway Beach in New York City.
All photos by Gillian Stargensky (@gillianstargensky)