Liberation and Identity in Roller Derby
Words: Rene Anchondo
Pics: Joey Lozano
Last Sunday, my photographer Joey and I headed out to the final derby of the 2009 Sun City Roller Girls Tournament, this was the leagues first year in existence, and we wanted to find out what exactly drives a girl to punish herself, and others, while wearing wild outfits and roller-skates.
Before the match even started, you could tell these vixens on wheels were out for blood.
Hot ladies, Punk music, beer and food, who could ask for more?
As I talked to some of the ladies, a common theme kept surfacing; that bumps and bruises are a small price to pay for the empowerment that comes with being able to defy the stereotype of the soft, nurturing female.
It was interesting that almost every participant felt the same way.
With El Chuco being a relatively conservative city, a girl really has to go out on a limb to decide to become a roller girl. Delicate flowers these girls ain’t. And thank god they aren’t, because the sport just wouldn’t be as fun to watch if they were worrying about breaking a nail or messing up their hair.
Roller derby is a tough contact sport. It pits two teams of five skaters against each other. Four of the skaters are blockers who roll in a pack. The fifth skater – or jammer – usually the fastest member of the team, skates behind looking for a way to break through the pack. She scores a point for every member of the opposing team she passes. Blockers can offer their jammer a hand and pull her forward through the pack, in a move known as a whip. Games, called bouts, are made up of a series of two-minute rounds – or jams – that add up to two 30-minute halves. The team with the most points wins.
By day, most of them are office workers, bartenders (Lady Lynch), analysts for the Department of Justice (Jalapeno Pop-Her) stay-at-home moms, real estate agents, bookkeepers, bill collectors and chefs (Red Dahlia).
But, once the moon rises, it’s a whole different story.
Like modern day super women, these ladies transform themselves into hell on roller skates. They pull on their torn fishnet hose and underwear with skulls and lightning bolts, slip into their favorite see-through miniskirts, strap on their helmets, and go off, around and around the roller derby track with one thing in mind – sending another roller girl flying.
Roller derby is a manifestation of the modern girl proving her inner strength and resilience. These girls were not content to accept the roles that El Paso society had imposed on them but, rather, had decided to create an identity that both empowered and liberated them. Once I had a chance to talk to the participants I found Roller Derby to be more than just a sport, but rather a vehicle for women to express their individuality and sexuality.
editor’s note: click on pics to view, avoid PicLens
I love roller girls!!!! I didn’t know El Paso had anything so cool. Maybe you could spotlight some of the girls. Great story though. Ill be looking for more on the girls! keep up the good work!
Visit http://www.suncityrollergirls.com frequently to get the latest info! We’ll be at Tinseltown this Friday for the movie Whip It. Come out to see the movie and meet the ladies!
This is the best writing I’ve heard in a long time about women from a man
Thanks for the writing!
As a man raised by two strong & powerful women (Ma & Gandma Gerry), I have always had an elevated respect for the Female of the Species. Rollerderby is an example of how deadly they can be while maintaining their sexual flair. Be afraid, be very afraid.
sickness! ive got to visit me a roller derby…
Womens empowerment? hmmm, I think not. This is the abomination of womens freedom. It’s like saying women are equal because they have been given the death penalty or because the can serve in the military alongside men… I don’t think we should call that “progress” per se. I can see the writer is really reaching for something here, but a guy watching girls skate in skimpy outfits is just that, this “sport” is obviously for the entertainment of men and what girlfriend would even support such an activity? This guy must be single and desperate.
Roller Derby Rules!
These girls kick ass!
Love’em all!!!
As the author id like to be given the opportunity to respond to VeerOHnukes comment. Single-Yes! Desperate-No!
VeerOHnukes, feel free to stay in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant. When you get tired of that old song and dance you can join us real women on the track. You can even put your feet in the water and come to one of our bouts. The women love it just as much as the men and I’d say the mix is about 50/50.
I want to say thanks to my mom, mother-in-law, sister, nieces and girlfriends that come out to support us (by the way they do bring their husbands/boyfriends).
VeerOHnukes, to say that this is not progress is a thought of a restricted feminist. Do men love our sport? Yes. Do women love our sport? Yes. Do children love our sport? Yes. To comment on something you do not know nor understand is unintelligent. Progress is to move forward. Allowing women to chose what sport they would like to play, how they would like to play it and what they wear… sounds like progress. Now, if we let people dictate how women should look and what sports we are allowed to play, sounds like taking a step back. We are free women. We play our sport because we love it and all the naysayers in the world will not abolish that. So, it’s unfortunate that you do not promote Roller Derby, but I’m proud of all the lovely ladies that participate in this great, exciting, athletic sport. Be Your Own Hero!
Feminists do not promote violence especially against other women. I think you guys are all missing the point. This “sport” is just another example of the way womens sexuality is exploited for the benefit of men while at the same time promoting violence against women. Sure, the “choice” is there. But these women are not heroes because they can skate around in tights and see-through shorts! So I guess strippers are heroes too, they dance, that’s a sport too. Oh and don’t forget prostitutes, they work just as hard. And I really don’t think Susan B. Anthony fought for the rights of women just so they could act like men. I would never go to one of your bouts, I would rather spend my money promoting real womens causes.
I think these girls are very brave. I know I wouldn’t do that against other dudes, or even other girls. I barely made it through the couples skate at roller king when it was still open. The sport is tough, and I think these girls deserve credit. They have more balls than most dudes, and they also happen to look better than most while doing it. I don’t think it has to be so much about dudes being desperate and wanting to watch unempowered women beat each other up. I mean football is pretty brutal, and more men watch that sport than women. It’s not degrading; it’s sports entertainment. If you’re really looking for something that degrades women, go to a strip club where women show their boobs in exchange for dollars. Either way, these women are just getting their hustle on.
Keep hustlin’ and get that paper on your own terms. Most men wish they could get away with that type of power.
Sleazy McGee thanks for the support. We are recruiting for our offseason and next season’s league!
“you can tell these vixens were out for blood” yea, females can be just as competetive as men- if not more because we always have something to prove; if not to others, then at least to ourselves: That we CAN do it and we ARE that tough. It’s nice to squash a competitor doing what you enjoy and it makes for good sport to watch us throw eachother around a little and lose our “good girl” image people project on females.
Good write-up Rene!
Great article keep us posted of the dates & times these girls do there thing, sounds like something fun & different here in EPT!
Hmmm… Veer Ohnukes You seem to have a lot of ignorance coming out of your mouth. Bettie BloodGin (love you mamas!) said it perfectly….”To comment on something you know nor understand is unintelligent.” It frustrates me (and honestley yes, angers me as well. Grrrr…)to hear people such as yourself attempting to hold strong, intelligent, liberating, honest, hardworking, athletic, beautiful women like ourselves back. So sad. I am sure I have our 50 plus ATHLETIC women of SCRG backing me on this. Thank you Rene and Joey for supporting us and all your hard work. It is much appreciated. You guys are great. **Brawln Brejaja**
I don’t think we should be calling anyone single, desperate or ignorant whether or not they agree with this sport. I don’t think the people commenting on Veero understand the fundamentals of feminism. There are waves and she’s right about the violence against women point. We should have an articulate debate on this instead of creating ad Hominem arguments.
Comments like these are what bothers 3rd wave feminists:
“Rollerderby is an example of how deadly they can be while maintaining their sexual flair.” -A woman must display sexual prowess/flair to be something to behold? She couldn’t just be a sports player respected for her abilities alone?
“Hot ladies, Punk music, beer and food, who could ask for more?”-Sounds more like a night at a lounge than coverage of a sporting event that empowers women. Saying “ladies” is not a a sign of respect when you’re reporting on a legitimate sport.
“Like modern day super women, these ladies transform themselves into hell on roller skates. They pull on their torn fishnet hose and underwear with skulls and lightning bolts, slip into their favorite see-through miniskirts, strap on their helmets, and go off, around and around the roller derby track with one thing in mind – sending another roller girl flying.” – This could be interpreted in two ways. One way is women submitting themselves to be objectified. Another is women embracing their “sexual prowess” and “style” while getting ready to play their legitimate sport. I can’t say how I read it. I’m just saying many feminists and humanists would say this statement begs the question whether this is a real sport or a show for people who like women in fishnets that are tough, hurting one another for whatever purpose.
I am not criticizing the writer, it was a great piece of work that captured the essence of the derbies. I’m just saying that Veer raised some points and people should argue with some dignity and respect towards each other or else nobody will see each others point. Being a feminist or a decent human being requires some intellect and fair approach to progress humanity.
What would make roller derby cool for me is to see the cliche roller girl hot topic look every team has ditched and more creative team colors flying. Maybe a team dressed like baseball players or a team with vests and no shirts a la “The Warriors!”
The only thing cooler than that would be a guys roller derby league! Haha!
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