Is Surfing A Male-Dominated Space?

men at the beach surfing (l) woman shares surfing experience (c) woman surfing (r)

Surfing has long been viewed as a space dominated by men. One woman says her recent session showed what that can actually look like in practice.

TikTok creator Sara Kathryns (@sarakathryns) shared what she says is a frustrating experience surfing alone in California.

In a video that has garnered over 447,200 views, she describes what it felt like being one of the only women in a crowded lineup.

“Story time of what it’s actually like to be a surfer girl,” she begins. “Especially in the lineup of fifty to sixty men.”

Kathryns says her session started off well, with waves “kind of pumping,” but noted it was harder for her to get waves compared to others in the water.

“There’s so many people that are better at surfing than me,” she says.

When she caught a wave, she says another surfer jumped in on it. According to her, she had the inside position, meaning the wave was hers.

“He still gets on the wave regardless,” she recalls.

Kathryns says she tried to make it obvious she was already riding. “I kinda let out like, ‘whoo!’… basically saying, ‘Get off the wave,’” she explains. When that didn’t work, she said it directly.

“I literally go, ‘Please get off the wave,’” she says. By the time he did, she says the wave was already ruined. “He already killed my speed, so I don’t make the section.”

Another Man Shows Up

After that interaction, Kathryns says the man shouted something at her from the water that caught her off guard.

“He shouts at me, ‘You owe me a wave,’” she recalls. “I’m like, ‘I don’t owe you s—. You actually owe me a wave because you got on my wave.”

While riding a different wave, she says another surfer, who was friends with the previous man, paddled into it behind her and stayed uncomfortably close the entire time.

“He surfs so close to me… I couldn’t cut back. I couldn’t do anything,” she says. She describes having to constantly check over her shoulder instead of focusing on the wave.

At one point, Kathryns says she raised her voice. “I think I said, ‘Bro, get the f— off the wave,’” she recalls. When the ride ended, the man laughed to his friend.

“Why are these two old men… ganging up on me?” she wondered. She also describes a moment where one of them pointed at her and then toward the shore, which left her unsettled.

“As if to either say like get to the shore because you’re barred, you’re out of here,” she says. “Or to say get to the shore because like,
I’m gonna paddle in and like beat you up or something.”

A Third Surfer Confronts Her Over Taking Waves

After taking a break and returning to the water, Kathryns says she dealt with more interruptions. She managed to catch a couple of waves in a short span.
“I catch two waves. There’s tons of waves to go around,” she says. But during another ride, a different surfer dropped in on her wave.

“This man… drops in on me. It’s my wave,” she says. She initially chose not to react, but then they ended up colliding.

After they both fell, she says he confronted her. “He goes, ‘You need to let more waves pass. You can’t take every single wave,’” she recalls. Kathryns says that the claim didn’t reflect what had actually happened.

“I go, ‘That was my third wave of this session,’” she recalls. She points out that many surfers around her had caught far more waves without being called out.

She also believes the reaction may have been rooted in something else. “I think you’re embarrassed that I was able to get in this wave before you,” she says. According to her, competing for waves is part of surfing.

“If I’m in the spot to take a wave, I’m gonna take the wave,” she adds. Kathryns says getting waves as a less experienced surfer in a crowded lineup is already difficult.

“I deserve to be out here just as much as they are out here,” she states, pushing back against the idea that she didn’t belong in the lineup.

She also shared a message for other women interested in surfing. “Not trying to deter any girls from surfing,” she says. “But you actually have to be tough out there.”

Is There Sexism In The Surfing Community?

Several Reddit users have shared similar experiences while out in the water.

One user who posted on r/surfing said that, as a male surfer, they hadn’t considered sexism in the sport until they went surfing with a female friend. According to the poster, she asked that they move to a smaller “break,” meaning a spot where smaller waves form, because she felt uncomfortable.

“When we got over there she explained she wasn’t comfortable and the locals in the line up,” he wrote. “They were shouting and being aggressive on every wave she tried to paddle into and was snaked and dropped in on constantly (I 100% believe her and saw some of that).”

Professional surfer Laura Crane also spoke to the BBC about the kind of sexism she has encountered while practicing the sport.

“But it became pretty apparent on that first trip with my sponsors that I was a glorified bikini model,” she told the publication. “It knocked my confidence completely.”

At the same time, surfing in the United States is not as dominated by men as it once was. According to a 2024 report by the Surf Industry Members Association, women now make up about 40% of the total surfing population.

Commenters Say The Culture Can Feel Unwelcoming

In the comments, viewers shared their own experiences and opinions about the culture in the water.

“It’s a culture of disconnect, deregulated emotions, stunted minds and inflated egos which contributes to an inability to process the moment,” one person wrote. “So confusing because surfing is literally connecting mind, body, motion to the ocean.”

“Worked at a surf shop for many years, the misogyny is VERY real,” another said.

“I used to surf weekends in Santa Cruz 2012-2016 and it was so toxic how older men gate kept the waves,” a third added. “One time I was surfing in pacific beach and four older men paddled up on me and told me I shouldn’t be out in the water and respect the culture. It honestly turned me off to surfing for the longest time.”