That was an interesting read. I would love to hear some examples of traditional surf music, because I love the 60's era surf bands. I've always thought that surfing, in it's original context, was less about the sport and more about the connection with the ocean. It was interesting to read about the spiritual, class and social aspects of surfing and surf music. But…
COOLEY: Lyrically, the women in the Beach Boys’ songs are trophies for the good surfer. Even in “Surfer Girl,” she doesn’t surf. She hangs out on the beach while her boyfriend surfs…
I agree with him that the general tone of Americanized surfing is male, but Surfer Girl doesn't seem to make that point. It's called Surfer Girl, not Surfer's Girl. Even in Surfin' Safari, the guy invites the girl along by saying "I'm going to take you Surfin' WITH me." Not "I'm going to let you watch me surf." Yes, surfing was considered mainly a guy's activity with the "Beach Bunnies" watching from the sidelines. That was a product of the times. But, even then, you had your occasional gidgets. "Some Honeys will be coming along" could be misconstrued to refer to some trophy chicks, but in surf slang, a Honey refers to a female surfer.
Besides, isn't this:
COOLEY: It’s associated with courtship, similar to the position of surfing in mele—so there’s a parallel, there’s a continuation of an idea that surfing is one of the ways that you can attract a mate. But it doesn’t have the ritual layers that it did in mele, where surfing on the same wave with a potential mate would be followed by some kind of sexual contact after that.
Kind of the same thing as this:
BRIAN: We could ride the surf together while our love would grow.
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