Girl Gangs, Zines , and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders

by Natalie Porter

Overview

"All thriller, no filler.”— Dr. Indigo Willing, sociologist and lead researcher of Skate, Create, Educate and Regenerate and co-author of Skateboarding, Power and Change

A vibrant, meticulously researched celebration of the women and non-binary skateboarders who defied a hostile industry and redefined skateboarding around the world

With enthusiasm and empathy, Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides celebrates the relentless participation of women in skateboarding from the 1960s onward who defied a hostile industry to carve out their own space through underground networks. Skater librarian Natalie Porter presents interviews and meticulous research, including the DIY zines created by female and non-binary skaters as a means of communication, to expose this unacknowledged story while offering a personal narrative about the importance of community-building and validation, with or without your own video game.

Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides disrupts the image of skateboarding as an exclusive male domain, offering historical context for the seemingly rapid progress of female skaters today seen competing on the Olympic stage. Discover how the collective action of a grassroots movement in the 1980s established meaningful change, building a foundation that has led to greater inclusion and diversity, which has inspired women, girls, and non-binary youth worldwide to roll on a skateboard for the first time or rediscover their youthful obsession as an adult and feel inspired to drop once again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770417922
Publisher:	ECW Press
Publication date:	09/16/2025
Edition description:	No Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Natalie Porter lives in Powell River on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin First Nation, began skateboarding in 1995, and works for the British Columbia Library Association. She is the founder of @womxnsk8history on Instagram and the online archive Womxn Skateboard History and is a subject expert for the Smithsonian’s skateboarding advisory board.

Editorial Reviews

A take-everywhere-and-read-it book that is an accomplished and accessible piece of research. Each chapter — which showcases the personal reflections, anecdotes, and backstories of remarkable women — is a banger. All thriller, no filler. Natalie Porter shreds through the grip-taped ceiling, which has often held back or obscured women’s contributions in skateboarding.” — Dr. Indigo Willing, sociologist and lead researcher of Skate, Create, Educate and Regenerate and co-author of Skateboarding, Power and Change

“With sharp research and a keen eye for the overlooked change-maker, Natalie Porter masterfully presents stories that document the fact that women have always been skateboarding, despite being routinely left out of the narrative. Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides entertains and enlightens — a must read.” — Betsy Gordon, curator of Ramp It Up: Skateboarding Culture in Native America and co-author of Four Wheels and a Board: The Smithsonian History of Skateboarding

“Reading Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides grounded me in a history I never knew I was part of. Natalie Porter has revealed just how many women came before me who built scenes, shaped culture, and pushed boundaries. This book reclaims a legacy that was always there but had been buried or erased. Thank you, Natalie, for giving us back our past and lighting the way forward.” — Annie Guglia, Olympic skateboarder

“Girl Gangs, Zines and Powerslides pulls together a vast and moving history of badass women and non-traditional skateboarders. Natalie Porter uses her librarian’s eye, skater’s resolve, and a scrappy DIY ethos to painstakingly gather and share the untold stories of these sporting icons, who span generations and continents, and are foundational to skateboarding as we know it. This book is a testament to the power of community and connection, and it shows us just how much meaning can be packed into a few sheets of Xeroxed paper.” — Cole Nowicki, author of Right, Down + Circle, Laser Quit Smoking Massage, and the newsletter Simple Magic

“In Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides, Natalie Porter embarks on a deeply personal quest to archive the marginalized history of skateboarding’s women and non-binary figures. Porter documents a thriving DIY subculture with tenderness and obvious admiration, and it’s thrilling to watch the early caution of her research yield to an obsessiveness and determination that are characteristic of her subjects. A monumentally inspiring book.” — Kyle Beachy, author of The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches from a Skateboard Life

From the Publisher