Capitola & Soquel
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices

We don’t need a female surf statue; we need to make surfing safer for women in Santa Cruz

by Alaya Vautier

Longtime Santa Cruz surfer Alaya Vautier has spent three decades in the water and says sexism, racism and exclusion remain deeply embedded in local surf culture. While she respects the intentions behind a female surf statue – now proposed for Capitola – she believes symbolism alone cannot address those problems and might even reinforce narrow ideas about who belongs in the lineup.

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