Skateboarding has long been associated with freedom, rebellion, and resistance. Yet, for decades, its mainstream identity was overwhelmingly male, leaving few spaces for women, or minority genders, to claim ownership of the boards beneath their feet.
Today, the landscape is shifting and women across the globe are redefining what it means to skate. Within this newly evolving landscape, non-male skate communities have not only forged paths in concrete, but in cultural and social expectations as well. The images here showcase an Auckland female skate collective, Skateseen, that meets every Friday night to skate at various locations around Auckland, New Zealand, and explores what the community means to them.
"Skating together feels like homecoming, in a sense. Every skate together is like a huge hype group. Everyone is cheering, celebrating the small and big wins and generally being wonderful people," reflects one skater of Skateseen collective.
The images captured more than just skill or sport; they evoke a deep sense of belonging—a reclamation of space where femininity is neither passive nor fragile, but bold, assertive, and fluid. In these portraits, the skaters move through a world often hostile to the very idea of female resistance, challenging both the limits of their bodies and society’s conventional views of womanhood.
Skateboarding, by its very nature, is transient—shaped by the ebb and flow of cityscapes, the marks left on pavement by wheels that eventually fade. The skaters' movements reflect this impermanence: a wheel’s rotation, a jump, a grind—each moment fleeting. Yet, in this very ephemerality, there exists a paradox.
For the women in these photos, skateboarding is not merely an act of passing through, but of claiming ownership over a space that was never intended for them.
“At times skating with men can feel a bit more tense, serious and competitive. I can feel like I have to 'prove myself' whereas with other women, I can just be myself. Try the silly tricks, fall more and not worry about how I come across,” shares one skater.
“I have skateboarding to thank for almost anything—friends, places to crash, amazing memories. It all revolves around skating,” shares another skater.
The juxtaposition between the hardness of concrete and the softness traditionally ascribed to femininity highlights a potent contrast, one that defies stereotypes and challenges societal expectations. Skaters, as seen in these images, embody a resilience that is often overlooked in representations of women—an embodiment of strength that speaks to both their physicality and their defiance of conformity. The very act of skating—of navigating and transforming unforgiving surfaces with grace and grit—becomes an assertion of autonomy.
“I feel safe and confident,” says one skater, capturing the quiet power of a female-led skate community.
“I want to empower more women and minority genders to try skateboarding. Skateseen represents this and creates a safe space for us to be authentically ourselves," another woman shares.
These photos hope to offer not just a glimpse into the world of female skaters, but a narrative of resistance and resilience, of women who, with every movement on the board, forge a new language for what it means to be at home in the world.
NZ / 2024
Text: Zita Featherstone
Text: Zita Featherstone