Surfing Plus Bikinis Equals Ratings
One of the perks of telecommuting — in addition to the ability to work in pajamas — comes from lunchtime television entertainment. During a recent bout of midday channel flipping, I stopped on a certain channel of music television that, ironically, screens little in the way of music-related content.
The channel does broadcast a fair share of reality television programs, though. People in houses, in campers, in colleges. Last time I mentioned this reality trend, a show about professional surfers took center stage. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s now a show focusing on the amateurs.
The show, named Surf Girls, appropriately centers on a group of young female surfers. The group live together, and under the guidance of surf coaches, compete with each other for the chance to win a wildcard slot on the professional tour. Through a process of elimination based on concepts like attitude and physical prowess, the field narrows.
If not for the competition aspect of the show, I might be completely jealous. Setting aside any indecent thoughts of me in a house with 14 females, what’s not to like about living rent-free in a house in Australia, meeting and learning from the famous of our sport, and focusing on surfing?
It’s really the forced rivalry that bothers me. As composer Belá Bartók said, "Competitions are for horses, not artists." Granted, the brass ring of becoming a professional surfer serves as major enticement for these young women. Any tension raised in pursuit of the prize will surely appear in an episode — in previews, we’re treated to one such flare-up. Some of these women seem to have the conquering mindset, while others seem happy enough just to interact with their surfing peers. The emphasis on this divisiveness pervades the surfing industry: "Competitive Surfers versus Soul Surfers" seems written with permanent ink on the editorial calendars of some publications.
Now television has picked up on the antagonism, adding elements of consumerism and scantily clad young women to the recipe. Reading the show’s Web site, you might think the name of the show was "Babes in Name-Brand Bikinis Frolic in the Ocean." I have no doubt these women knew what they were getting into, yet I’m still a bit shocked by the level of exploitation, of them, of our sport. No one’s best interests are served by such memorable lines as "Find out who will catch a wave to surfing glory in Surf Girls, where the sun is almost as hot as the ladies."
With time, perhaps we of the surfing society can cast off the simple definitions, or more importantly, those who apply them. Until then, I recommend shutting off the television and paddling out.