Oakland-based artist Jeffrey Cheung is an enigmatic emergence for skateboarding, spearheading a movement to include queer culture in the sports aesthetic through zines, art parties and Unity Skateboards, his sexually diverse deck brand.
Unity Skateboards’ mission is simple, make skateboarding more inclusive, but its tactics are multifarious, strong and creatively minded. Through publishing zines, throwing parties, producing liberating art and boards, Jeffrey Cheung hopes to broaden the diversity of imagery and beliefs in skate culture. Hell yeah, Jeff!
We ought to be proud of skateboarding’s recent developments in terms of inclusivity and egalitarianism, for while the industry is perhaps far from relinquishing the machismo hold on skateboarding, the culture is pushing back with their own moral stance. Unity Skateboards is just one amazing initiative among the ranks, skate NGOs like Skateistan, SkatePAL and Free Movement Skateboarding and all female skate teams like Skate Witches and Rogue. We’re moving in the right direction, but are we pushing fast enough? Jeffrey Cheung says no:
In the past, skateboarding attracted those who didn’t fit in, were weird, those who may have been bullied or picked on, anti-jock, and even queer, but somehow the macho-bro mentality has become ingrained in the culture of skateboarding. Homophobia and transphobia can be witnessed in almost every facet. You look at certain skate mags, videos, ads, brands, and they are all from a straight cis-male’s perspective. For example, often times the depictions of women in skateboarding have objectified or sexualized them – and there has not even been any queer representation that is not homophobic until recent years. Despite its counter-culture attitude, skateboarding has, for the most part, remained homogeneous and conservative. This toxic mentality stems from society and its dated ideas of gender norms and masculinity. All of this contributes to the alienation of queer people in and out of skateboarding, especially for folks who don’t identify or present themselves as masculine or don’t present their masculinity in ways which are seen as acceptable.
Jeffrey Cheung, HUCK Magazine
