Skateboarding has a problem with consent, whether we’d like to admit it or not. For people who can argue to no end about whether a trick was too sketchy to count, we seem to have an issue identifying sketchy situations and interactions that occur within our culture. Yeah we’re tough and we don’t care and everyone is free to make their own bad decisions and all that, but when we see someone behaving inappropriately towards someone who is too fucked up to take care of themselves at a party, we need to step in. And when we ourselves feel unsafe, we need to be able to talk about it and ask for help without being laughed off. This isn’t “SJW shit,” it’s just basic humanity.Enter Consent is Rad, a new campaign launched during this year’s Pushing Boarders conference in Malmö. It is, like many modern social justice movements, a decentralized, Instagram-driven effort, which is perfect for preserving the relative anonymity of its founders, even as various prominent people in skateboarding proudly post clips and selfies with the hashtag. And the movement is strict about “no blaming, shaming, or naming,” keeping it laser focused on education, instead of getting mired in accusation. The aim is to head off traumatizing situations at the pass, by changing our cultural norms.We got in touch with the founders, Indigo, Tora, and Evie, to ask about why they started the project and what they hope to achieve with it. Check out their answers for some really good insight on how important understanding consent is for people of all genders and sexual orientations, and a huge trove of resources to help educate yourself on it.
Interview by Tobias Coughlin-Bogue
Photos Courtesy of Consent is Rad
What is Consent is Rad to you?
The project Consent is Rad (@consent_is_rad on Instagram and @consentisrad on Facebook) was launched in August 2019 at Pushing Boarders conference in Malmo. That event brought together a diverse and influential group of skaters who were passionate about equality and social change, so it was like the most ideal place to reach out to the community and say “Hey, someone needs to show some leadership on this issue and that they care, will you?”
The team running Pushing Boarders, and especially Reverb Skatebooarding and Skateism, made it possible for the Consent is Rad project to access a lot of well-known people in skating who were ready to walk the walk and not just talk the talk, in terms of social justice and doing the right thing. It’s not that the voices of ‘big name’ skaters are more important than any others, but anyone with a large following can have an important and far reaching impact. And more well-known skate identities like those at Pushing Boarders can really help get the issue talked about in a lot more scenes worldwide. If it were just down to a small group of girls in a small city in Australia, it’d be harder to get people to listen, to reach people, and it would involve a lot more unfair emotional labour. That said, the founding people and driving forces behind the Consent is Rad are all from pretty grassroots, non-profit or volunteer-run backgrounds. So it’s also a strong example of how anyone can make a difference.
Consent is Rad asks skaters contribute pics, art or videos with the slogan and tag #consentisrad. Each contribution is aimed to spark attention to what is surprisingly, and disappointingly, still a super taboo issue. The project wants to get over taboos by showing individuals and groups keen to create sincere, creative and visually dynamic messages about consent. From there, people who see it can go away with that message and talk about what that means to them, and how they can support the idea in their own scenes, social interactions, and bedrooms.
Importantly, the project is an international collaboration that has a “no naming, shaming or blaming” approach and is dedicated to sharing positive, healthy messages about sexual consent in the global skateboarding scene. This approach, which forms the guidelines for all contributors, is very, very central to what it’s all about. It’s also all genders and sexualities. It’s not about ‘toxic masculinity’ or any ‘feminist agenda’. That’s a different conversation that others can better discuss in other projects.
At consent is rad, we believe there’s sexual misunderstandings and abuse in the Queer scene as much as the straight scene. And consent is a great thing to encourage for everyone whether you’re cis, trans, non-binary, non-conforming, gender fluid and so on.
Another important thing is that we’re not social workers, nor do we want to be like CSI SVU or some legal experts or cops (not at all!!!). We also don’t have the expertise of, say, rape crisis counsellors, and we don’t want to chase people around or falsely defame people. That’s definitely not what we or any of the other skaters and groups collaborating in this project are about. We’re just skaters who want to get on with skating and having a good time. But, we can only do that if everyone makes skate scenes (e.g. parties, road tours, mentorships, etc) safe and free from sexual harassment and sexual assault. We know a campaign with such a simple message can’t do everything, but it is definitely a conversation starter.
What do you feel Girls Skate Brisbane’s role is in it and what brings GSB on board as one of the key founding groups?
The idea for Consent is Rad was ignited and is influenced by quite a few campaigns going on around the world, including Fatta in Sweden, women pro-skaters in the US speaking up about their experiences in the skate industry, and Girls Skate Brisbane’s ‘Consent is Cool’ campaign last year. In terms of GSB, I think we always create a strong, empathetic, supportive and constructive space for womxn. That’s always been our objective, no matter what we face. The initial efforts by GSB with ‘Consent is Cool’ campaign were pretty low-key but earnest, with us handing out flyers at skate events and band gigs, and sharing some pics and videos on our Insta. One was an award-winning comedy piece called ‘Sex Pest’ by Suziee Wang, whose parnter is David Chami, a well known skate photographer here.
Consent is Rad is also heavily influenced by the zine ‘No Consent = Sexual Abuse’ by skater and journalist Tessa Fox, also from Brisbane. She created it to give women in skating and the music scene a place to share their stories about being sexually assaulted, and to get the issue out there and not kept hidden or hushed. The zine is still as relevant and packed with resources, and it’s available online for free.
Consent is Rad continues to raise attention and destigmatize the idea that talking about consent should be secretive or awkward. The new, global and more collaborative campaign has drawn on some of what we learned from that and other skaters projects. We definitely like the call in, not call out approach. And the power of having well known skaters, including men, speak up to reach more skaters. It is a very openly collaborative project, with people like Kristen Ebeling and a couple of pro-skaters who are men sharing ideas and balanced perspectives. Also, people in the Queer skating community are very important voices for Consent is Rad. It’s not just ‘cis, hetero-dude-bros’ who need to understand consent and practice it.
People involved with the Consent is Rad project, like in GSB, sometimes also join from a real sense of empathy from within and outside the skate scene. Last year I was dealing with being sexually harassed, and like a few others I know, it’s very isolating and confusing experience while the person who does it walks away pretty much unharmed and unapologetic. If anything, they try to make the person they hurt look bad. People don’t really reach out, or recognise that what happened is serious, unfair, not cool and not your fault. People kind of panic, and think they have to be the hero of the day, guns blazing and putting it all in the headlines and quickly resolved like in a TV crime show. Or they fear that to do something for the victim will ruin their own lives or whole work or friendship circle as a response. That’s how people think it usually works but it doesn’t have to be like that at all, or play out a dramatic Hollywood movie. But it definitely just should be the case that people do all they can to make sure it never happens again, and that any behaviours contributing to or fuelling sexual harassment and abuse be seen as a totally kook thing to do.
My background is in sociology, communications and teaching research methods to criminologists. I’ve also got over twenty years volunteering experience with young people and adults from vulnerable communities. There’s a whole range of practical steps people can take to be supportive, have integrity and show compassion. People need to know that it’s okay to say you care and say, “I’m sorry that happened to you and will respect and listen to your story and be ready to find support for you”. People can explore things like ‘restorative justice’ which is non-legal process of meeting in a facilitated environment, talking about the impact of the situation and negotiating a way forward (e.g. apologising, agreeing that what happened was wrong, talking about ways to change). There are also far more simple steps, like checking in on someone who has been harassed or abused by saying things like, “I think I heard something happened to you and that’s really not okay, do you need someone to have your back here and stay with you/check in on you a bit? Want someone to listen? Need us to find some links to any resources we could ask around for?”
Where does skateboarding stand on this issue?
It’s mind-blowing how many people immediately got on board. Girls Skate India, Girls Shred, The Skate Witches, Skate Like a Girl, Decks for Change, this magazine. Plus well-known skaters like Rick McCrank (skater and creator of Abandoned and Post Radical), Bing Liu (skater and director of Minding the Gap), Peach Sorenson, Kristen Ebeling and Lucy Adams all made a huge difference in getting the word out and getting it to be taken seriously. It’s been really helpful that contributors are from various countries and all kinds of skate backgrounds too, from architects like Fredrik Kangner to journalists and writers like Kyle Beachy (Vent City), and from street skaters to ramp and transition skaters.
What’s interesting is that if you ask someone like Rick McCrank, “Would you mind taking a photo with a sign saying ‘Consent is Rad’?” he’s like, “Of course, who wouldn’t think consent is rad?” For some skaters, it’s a no-brainer and an instinctively good thing to support. Like, with Bing Liu who made Minding the Gap, when he and Keire Johnson, who was in his film, were asked if they’d be keen to contribute they immediately got behind it. Then again, they are pioneers for making a film about skating that was not afraid to tackle domestic violence. It’s a good example really. People are afraid they’ll end up in a lonely place if they talk about things that, say, might put their homies in a bad light. But those very homies may actually need help. The world doesn’t have to end from speaking about hard issues in our skate scene. It may very well be the beginning of getting everyone to a much, much better place.
What behaviors in skateboarding, in your own scene or more broadly, are most troubling?
People are afraid to talk about consent and think it’s awkward. Or think it will damage their clout and cool. That shit’s got to stop. There are options beyond just being oblivious, avoidant or complicit. More people need to say, “Having no consent is not okay,” to actually make it not okay. Like, if someone sees a person very drunk at a skate premier or a party at a skate house being dragged away with little capacity for anything to be voluntary, it should be normal to step in and say ‘Wait up, that person’s not okay. Let’s make sure they get to a place where they are.” Or if someone is going too far at the skatepark with unwelcome and overly sexual comments towards someone, it should be instinctive to say something like, “You’re kooking it, that is really not okay.” Or instinctively to say to the person who is the target, ‘That wasn’t okay, it’s really important to me that you are going to be okay.” But for a lot of skaters, it’s become instinct to ignore, laugh off or downplay the bad things we see. And it’s usually only a few rare individuals who are actually doing bad stuff. If the former group of skaters saw how they outnumber the latter, they’d see how easy it is for things to change and for them to be that change.
What are some things people can do to ensure they have consent? What are some resources people can look to if they’re confused?
We all need to talk more about consent as a positive process for a range of things, like asking someone, “It’s so great to see you, are you okay with being hugged right now?” rather than just automatically launching ourselves on someone. It’s the little things that actually makes the topic itself easier and less awkward to raise in more intimate moments too, like “Are you okay and do you like this?’ and “Do you want to keep going or do something else right now?” Consent is Rad has also shared a few images of what active consent looks like — it’s very practical, positive and accessible.
If you need more info, here are some other resources:
1800-Respect Web Resources — Explore online resources that assist the community to understand issues of consent and also what kinds of support you can give to people you know who have experienced sexual assault.
Teach Consent — A set of tools and videos for adults to show kids on how to work through what is consent in a general, non-explicit and child friendly way. Good guides for how to express boundaries.
The No More Team — An article about the dilemmas when a rapist is someone you know, some of the choices one can make, and reflections on rehabilitation.
‘Why Hasn’t The Gay Community Had a #metoo Movement” — Feature article by Michael Segalov, news editor of Huck magazine.
The Myths Silencing LGBT Sexual Assault Victims
Here’s Why Consent in Gay Spaces is Really Important
Futures Without Violence — A web page on how to be supportive if someone you know says they have been raped.
Coping with Creeps: Concrete Action You Can Take — An article in Bigfoot Skate Mag on sexual abuse and harassment in the skate scene and how to be an ally to prevent it, by Alex White and Kristen Ebeling. Focused on men but has useful advice that can be practiced by all genders and sexualities.
What are the long-term goals of the project?
Girls Skate Brisbane is always happy to recommend that people look at Consent is Rad if they feel alone but also if they are behaving badly. It’s what all of our fellow collaborators, contributors and followers of the project can do. Use the account as a conversation starter, as education, and as leverage to say to say to skaters who might be behaving badly, “Hey that’s not normal or cool, have a look at these skaters and what they’re about.” And also to ‘core’ skaters who think it’s not lit to talk about or be supportive of the idea of consent in skating. You can show them posts featuring Rick McCrank, Ryan Lay, Bing Liu, Keire Johnson, Shane Auckland, Lucy Adams, Kristen Ebeling — the list goes on. These are ‘skater’s skaters’ who are standing up to say it’s important.
Consent is Rad is also always about continuing the message positively and widely. Like, it has skaters from Peru to Norway contributing and sharing that message back to their scenes. So it is going to be a case of continuing that and, hopefully soon, having messages in English and the language of each country. This is in the development stage at the moment, but I’ll also be working on a series of mini-documentaries soon about all kinds of topics, and one episode will look at consent and how people confidently and comfortably integrate it into a whole range of interpersonal situations and interactions, intimate or otherwise.
Anything else?
There’s nothing better in skating than when everyone is being rad to each other. As part of that, cheering on someone who’s had a great run is rad. Being stoked when someone gets a new trick is rad. That feeling of just arriving at the skatepark and skate spot with friends and getting ready to shred is rad. Going to that skate party or skate premier to have a great time is rad. Going on road trips is rad. Getting drinks together after a skate is rad. Being mutually attracted to someone in these contexts is rad. Taking that attraction further is rad. Consent is rad. Stay safe, mingle ethically and have fun!
