Social Factors

Biological

The biggest biological factor that goes into a skateboard is whether or not one can balance. All joking aside however, there aren’t any  biological factors which go into skateboarding because a skateboard is gender neutral by itself. Where things begin to differ is in the amount of use and how it is used by men and women. Men are the primary users in the skateboarding industry and they use it in all areas of skateboarding (vert, street, transportation, big air, etc.). While women typically use a skateboard as a leisurely past time to ride around.

Social

Skateboard is a very unique anomaly and doesn’t fit into any category. In terms of society, skateboarding has been at the forefront of extreme sports becoming mainstream. This is culminated by the creation of the X Games which brought extreme sports into the limelight. In terms of the actual technology of a skateboard, it is revolutionary but wasn’t disruptive. Instead of replacing an already existing technology or process and making it better, a skateboard carved out it’s own place in the sports world as well as the transportation sphere of society.

Culture

The biggest thing to talk about when talking about skateboarding is the culture it has created. The culture surrounding skateboarding is terrible because it is misogynistic and patriarchal. It puts women into a place that makes them like groupies and just girls to hang around while the skaters just chill and hang out. According to Publicskateparkguide.com, 77.1% of all skaters are men which means that 22.9% are women. However when you look farther into real skaters who are serious about the sport and men make up 83.4% and women make up 16.6%.

These numbers are higher than what people expect and what is portrayed because of the culture that permeates throughout the skateboarding world. Women in the skateboarding world aren’t seen as skateboarding material because good skateboarders have bravado and courage to take life threatening chances. These are qualities that people in these circles associate with men. Not only that, but skateboarding companies show no respect or care for women whatsoever. There is a brand of skateboard, Girl, who literally make money off of the subjugation of women and makes them out to be material things that can be slapped on decks, apparel, and other products. The culture of male dominance makes people see a skateboard as a traditionally male only tool but it is really gender neutral and women should feel empowered to  pursue skateboarding just like guys do.

Economic

The economics of the skateboarding industry typically affect men more than women because men are the primary partakers in the industry overall. So when the industry is flourishing, men are the ones most affected because they are the ones who are at the top of the skateboarding world in terms of top skaters and company ceo’s.

Political

The skateboarding industry is pretty universal across the board in terms of politics. There isn’t much political involvement but when there is, the industry is a voice for free expression of oneself. This culture has permeated into society as a whole but not directly from the skateboarding industry, it has come from a lot of different places as well.

Education

The education and skateboard industries rarely mesh if ever. Often time there are kids who are in school that skateboard but that’s as close as they com to one another. There is no need to be educated to be able to skateboard. Likewise, there is really no need for a skateboard to be used in an educational setting unless it is integrated into a larger talk about culture and society as a whole.