We’re incredibly excited to share a bit more about our new e-course on queer and trans+ inclusion in skate spaces. This project was many months in the making and was shaped by skaters, coaches, and community organizers around the world.
If you’ve found yourself here you most likely already agree that the joys of skateboarding should be for everyone. But for queer and trans+ communities, the reality is often very different. Across the globe, LGBTQIA+ people face discrimination, harassment, and in some places even legal risks simply for being themselves. In skateboarding, too, barriers still exist that exclude queer and trans+ communities from accessing spaces and feeling like they truly belong.
We want the skate community to be different, and that’s why we created this e-course. We want skate spaces to be welcoming, safe, and openly inclusive; and that requires intentional, collective effort.
‘Being visible in our own queerness helps newcomers feel safe the moment they arrive.’ - Rollwerk (Austria)
The e-course includes 8 chapters, downloadable tools and practical resources, as well as a final quiz.
This chapter explores key concepts around queer identity – including gender, sexuality, and intersectionality. It invites you to reflect on how language and identity shape our own experiences and those of others.
An exploration of how language shapes belonging, the impact of gendered grammar, and tips for creating affirming communication.
This chapter was authored by librarian Natalie Porter, who does amazing work researching, interviewing and archiving women, queer and trans+ pioneers in skateboarding history – whose contributions to skateboarding have often been overlooked.
To build this course grounded in real and diverse experiences, we spoke with skate projects working in many different contexts, from places where queer visibility is celebrated, to places where it is difficult or even dangerous. Projects from Chile, France, the UK, South Africa, Nairobi, Nigeria, Australia, Cambodia, the US, Greece, Austria, Afghanistan, and Germany contributed their insights. Their stories are collected in this chapter and also embedded throughout the course to give an overview of how they work towards inclusivity, the challenges they face, and their best practices.
Queer and trans+ skaters deserve spaces where they feel safe, respected, and free to be themselves. As coaches and organizers, we can reduce risks of harm and build communities where everyone belongs. This chapter offers practical tips and examples to get you and your team thinking about how you can create a caring and safer skate space.
Simple but effective things community groups are doing to normalize inclusivity and tie it into their everyday practices.
Depending on the community you work in, the ability to openly discuss the inclusion of queer and trans+ communities will differ. It is important, however, for teams of staff to understand the issues, risks and how to guide participants in the case of them seeking support.
The final chapter explores how power, privilege, and allyship influence leadership, and how you can help create spaces where everyone feels seen, respected, and capable of leading in their own way.
Anyone who wants to help make skateboarding more inclusive, especially:
‘Taking up public skate spaces regularly has earned our community respect and opened minds along the way.’ - Queer Skate Cape Town (South Africa)
The course is available now on our e-learning platform. If you don’t yet have an account, you can create one for free.
We hope this course sparks new questions and new ways of showing up for queer and trans+ skaters in your community. We’d love to hear your thoughts as you move through the chapter and we hope you’ll add your thoughts and reflections in the course forum.
This course wouldn’t exist without the insights, stories, and experience shared by so many skate groups around the world, including:
Amber Edmondson (co-creator of the e-course), Transkaters (content reviewer), Queer Skate Cape Town, Skatesencia, Bd1 Skate Volunteers, Bob Poblete González, Ps(h)y Dex, Free Movement Skateboarding, Skate Space Leipzig, Sk8 N Meet Santana, Women Skate History, Rollwerk, SOA, Space Invaders, Keep Rolling Project, GirlSkate Nairobi, We Skate QLD, Dencity, Skate Like A Girl, New Wave Skate, Skate Therapy, Melanin Skate Gals & Pals, From the Ground Up.
