Published 2003-04-23T00:00:00Z”/>

Gitzel Vargas<br>Staff Writer

Cuts, bruises and nasty comments don’t stop these women from feeling like they’re flying.

Although skateboarding is seen as mostly a male thing to do, skateboarding women at Chico State University get a lot of attention — sometimes unwanted.

The negative attention received by some of these women brings them down and makes them feel uncomfortable. But Jamie Coughlin takes it as motivation.

“It sucks,” she said. “But it pushes me harder.”

Coughlin, a Chico State junior, has been skateboarding for three years. She said it wasn’t hard for her to learn because of her snowboarding background, but it definitely takes a lot of practice.

“It’s something you have to do constantly,” Coughlin said. “You have to do it all the time, or you’ll lose it.”

Coughlin said she’s gotten weird looks and a few rude comments, but she ignores them. She said she’s lucky to have friends encouraging her and giving her tips.

“Sorority girls give me weird looks,” she said. “And I’ve gotten comments like ‘Girls don’t know how to skateboard,’ but I don’t care.”

Although Coughlin gets rude comments, she said, she doesn’t get them often. But she has had lots of falls and bruises that she said are worth it in the end.

“It’s just like a natural high,” she said. “It makes your whole body numb.”

Lizzy Vance has also heard many coarse comments. Vance, a senior, said the worst thing about being a woman who knows how to skateboard is the remarks she hears.

“People try bringing you down with their comments,” Vance said. “Some people even spit on you.”

Vance has heard comments like “You’re gonna fall,” “girls can’t skate” and “skater girls suck.”

Vance said some comments aren’t rude, but they draw attention to her that she doesn’t want.

“I feel like people think I do it for attention,” she said. “I don’t. I do it because I like to.”

Vance said skateboarding is the best thing to do because of the feeling it gives. She said it’s relaxing, fun and challenging.

“You feel free,” she said. “It’s all about how you feel like doing it. It’s your own way of expression.”

Because of the comments Vance gets, she said she doesn’t look up too much while she’s skateboarding. She said more than anything, the comments are discouraging.

Vance said when she’s walking around with her skateboard, people ask her if she knows how to ride it. She said a lot of people think she carries her board for looks.

Coughlin and Vance started skateboarding because they missed not being able to snowboard often. They learned because they saw others do it and wanted to try it. This isn’t true for other women.

Theresa Newell, a senior, has been skateboarding for a year. She learned because her ex-boyfriend used to do it a lot, and he taught her. She said she’s the kind of person who likes to shock people. Newell said she notices when some people give her weird looks, and this made her want to do it more.

“I like the attention,” Newell said. “I enjoy the looks and the comments.”

Newell said she doesn’t mind the comments she gets, or falls she takes. She said she just laughs them off and keeps going.

As far as men go, Newell said she’s gotten a lot of support from them.

“I think they think it’s cute,” she said. “Especially because I’m not all that great.”

But some men feel threatened by women who skateboard. Their actions and words give Eva Kirschner this impression.

Kirschner, a senior, said some guys try to race past her when she’s in front of them, and others are just up front about how they feel about her skateboarding.

“One time, this one guy told me he had seen me skateboarding and that he didn’t like that I was going faster than him,” she said.

Kirschner has been skateboarding for two and a half years. She said it was easy to learn because she had Vance encouraging her to do so.

Kirschner said skateboarding is good exercise because skating to class makes her out of breath. She said that skateboarding is a benefit because it saves time.

“I can skate to the front of my class and not worry about locking (my skateboard),” Kirschner said.

Kirschner said she doesn’t like it when people stare because it makes her uncomfortable. She said she’s comfortable with skateboarding and that it’s totally normal for her but that people look at her like it’s not.

“It’s just as feminine as anything else I do,” she said. “I’m still a woman and skateboarding doesn’t take away from it.”

Kirschner said she’s been hurt a few times. She said she’s busted her chin and gotten a few bruises and cuts, but she’s OK with it.

“When you’re skateboarding, it gives you so much adrenaline that it doesn’t hurt on the spot,” she said. “It’s really the next day when it hurts.”

Kirschner said women have to be willing to fall, get up and try again, in order to learn how to skateboard. She said she’d like it if a lot more women did it.

Kirschner said the feeling she has while skateboarding is great.

“It’s empowerment because you’re doing something that is totally taboo,” she said. “And it’s almost like you’re flying.”<em>Gitzel Vargas can be reached at <a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a></em>