What It’s Really Like To Be A Woman At The Skate Park

Skateboarding isn't easy no matter who you are, but in a world dominated by male athletes, it's especially difficult to be the only female at the skate park. The expectation of a female rider is that you'll either to stay out of everyone's way or be so incredibly good that no one can say anything negative. In other words, female skateboarders stand out. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing, according to New York City skaters Lanna, Anna May, and Jessie, whom we caught up with on the Lower East Side. For them, skateboarding is a "positive, powerful, and freeing" thing, and they want to make sure that there's visibility for the women in the sport in order to encourage others to get involved. In skateboarding and elsewhere, we don't often see women get hurt or use their bodies aggressively. There is this assumption of perfection and grace, but skateboarding isn't perfect. It's truly all about trial and error — getting hurt and getting back up again. These women are not here to just sit pretty. Watch in virtual reality to hear more about being a woman at the skate park.