Supplemental Post # 2 (?) Kimberly

     Sarah Banet-Weiser’s discussion of the tension within post-feminist politics of representation has given me a bit more context/tools to think about a completely niche conflict that I care far too much about, so it seemed like an excellent supplemental post. Content warning, I’m about to go off about roller derby/roller skating.

              Quarantine had a massive impact of the world of roller skating in two different directions. On the one hand, social distancing measures shut down roller derby leagues and indoor skate parks. On the other hand, roller skating became one of the most popular activities of the pandemic clearing out inventories of most major skate sellers, in large part due to its popularity on tiktok/Instagram. The specific type of skating that’s become so popular is dance skating, aka jam skating. This skating style has a long history within black communities, though of course the majority influencers profiting off of jam skating in the beginning of the pandemic were white. A couple viral videos and high profile articles, however, brought black and brown skaters to the fore, and now skater/influencers of color are getting their due. So why am I conflicted?

              As Banet-Weiser discusses, post-feminist/post-racial political economies incorporate representation/diversity as marketing, mining their cultural capital and “hip, cool” character while stripping their potentially subversive elements. Roller derby and park skating came into existence as subcultures (or at least derby’s resurgence in the 90s), that actively celebrate their participants’ other-ness. Roller derby especially provides a space for AFAB folks to explore queer expressions of gender and sexuality, blending those expressions typically associated with binary conceptions of femininity and masculinity, exemplified in derby names like “Bust E. Bruiser.” Derby remains to a large extent an under-represented, under-funded sport/subculture, with league members operating as players, coaches, promoters, managers, and fundraisers. This DIY character, however, is central to maintaining derby’s rebellious, anti-capitalist, queer radical potential. It is also a very white sport.

              With the close of parks and derby leagues, I’ve tried to find a new skate community in LA where the quarantine scene is largely dominated by young jam skaters. But while LA jam skating provides much needed representation that derby typically lacks, the commodified, social influencer elements strips it of the subversive joy that brought me to skating in the first place. To learn where the next meet-up will be, one must scroll through (admittedly adorable) stylized (sponsored) skate videos posted by the model/dancer/influencers who dominate the scene. Anyways. Wasn’t sure how to articulate why this bothered me so much til last week’s readings. So thanks Tara/Banet-Weiser.