Girls Don't Bother Anyone

Gretchen, an O.B. resident, has just experienced her first bit of sexism on the beach. “This guy saw me walking by and shouted, ‘Oh, it must be summer! Girls on the beach!’ He definitely meant it in a sarcastic way. I just kind of laughed it off. What else can you do? I’m glad to see us girls out here. I thought everyone was okay with it; girls are cute and they don’t bother anyone.”

Gretchen isn’t your typical beach girl. She recently graduated college and works as a technical designer for Reef surf apparel. This year she moved from Florida to the West Coast, where she has always wanted to live. She learned to surf five years ago and went out sporadically. Her move to California reignited her interest and she busted out the board a few weeks ago.

“My boyfriend got me into surfing when we lived in Florida. He wanted someone to go out with, and he thought it would be fun if I learned. He taught me. Some stuff came naturally, like balancing, and I can swim well. Before surfing, I ran track and played volleyball.”