Internet users accuse the brand of having replaced a longtime muse who criticized the International Surfing Federation’s rules for including transgender athletes.
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What could be the reason that pushes this Australian to burn his Ripcurl brand shorts in his garden? “Become woke, you will become broke!”adds the man, speaking to the camera, in this video that he has shared several times on X, responding to other posts that call for a boycott of the brand.
— Steve Gleeson (@SteveGleeson72) January 29, 2024
Attacks which follow a collaboration on social networks between Ripcurl and transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson, publications which were deleted shortly after. Critics also see it as a replacement for the brand’s former muse, surfer Bethany Hamilton. The long-standing contract between the two parties was broken, chronologically after a stance by the surfing star against the new rules of the International Surfing Association on the participation of transgender athletes in competitions.
“We hit a lot of people.”
On Wednesday February 1, Ripcurl denied any link between the termination of the contract with Bethany Hamilton and the advertising campaign in which Sasha Jane Lowerson appears. “We want to promote surfing for everyone in a respectful way, explains the brand on the women’s collections Instagram account. But we recognize that we offended many people with our publication, and for that, we are sorry. To clarify, the affected surfer did not replace anyone on our team and is not a sponsored athlete.”
It will certainly take more to convince Internet users who defend a Bethany Hamilton who, according to them, has been unfairly replaced. The hashtags #BoycottRipCurl, #RIPcurl (in reference to the English acronym RIP for “rest in peace”, “rest in peace”) peace”) or even #Savewomenssports, “save women’s sport”, often used to reject the inclusion of transgender athletes in sport in general, have multiplied on X, Instagram or Facebook.
Case-by-case rules
Since March 2023, transgender surfers have been authorized to participate in international competitions, provided that they can demonstrate a testosterone concentration below a certain level for 12 months. “I want to make it clear that I aspire to love everyone, regardless of differences”begins Bethany Hamilton in her video, posted on her Instagram account. “But this concerns me as a professional athlete. (…) Is it better for surfing? Is it better for women in surfing? If yes, in what way?” she continues, before finishing: “I will not compete in or support the World Surf League [entreprise chargée d’organiser les compétitions professionnelles de surf] if this rule persists.”
In 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) published a report in which the organization provided guidelines regarding the inclusion of transgender athletes. In the absence of scientific consensus on the effects of a gender transition on sporting performance, the IOC refused to create a rule valid for all sports, but instead suggested that the different federations make their own decisions.
This document served as a basis for the International Surfing Association to establish this rule, the same as that chosen by the International Athletics Federation, before finally excluding foreign athletes from international competitions, as also did the International Cycling Union (UCI).
The International Swimming Federation, for its part, tested the option of a category specific to transgender swimmers during the World Cup events in Berlin in 2023, without any athlete registering. World Rugby only allows transgender players to play in the women’s team if they have started hormonal treatment before puberty.