Mary Langenfeld
Danielle Angeli, who has been skating for six months, hasn’t been deterred by a broken elbow.
You can hear the scrapes and bangs a block away from the Madison skatepark at McPike Park on the east side. It’s overcast and dark but towering lights illuminate the area, which from afar glows like Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz.
Two young men, both in their early 20s, stare at their smartphones just outside the gate. When asked if Femme Skate Night is taking place, the pair point to two pool-like skate bowls at the far end of the park, which is officially called the Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Skatepark.
“We love Femme Skate Night,” one of the dudes says with a smirk. “We wish it was every night. The more girls, the better!”
Closer to the entrance, B Miller is helping a new recruit learn the basics of skateboarding, which tonight involves skating on a flat surface.
“I think it’s a good way to empower people. Once you feel comfortable riding, it doesn’t take all that long to build up the confidence to do ramps and try stuff in the bowl,” says Miller. “Anyone who I have brought has come back. People know what they are getting into. The fact that you can just break a bone at any second is part of it. It’s a reckless, dangerous sport and I love it.”
Underneath the bright lights, it’s easy to get in the way of people zipping by and careening down ramps with GoPros strapped to their heads. The crowd is mostly teenaged white men.
But hanging out near the oblong concrete bowl are a dozen “fems,” a term the group uses to include women, girls, and queer, gay and transgender people. Elyse Clouthier helped start the group shortly after the Madison Skatepark opened in 2015.
“There’s a lot of intimidating factors. It’s scary to ride a wheeled thing on a concrete surface. It’s scary to be the only one of some identity at the skatepark,” says Clouthier. “There’s a lot of toxic masculinity in this culture. The mission of Femme Skate Night is to uplift femininity in all of its forms.”
Clouthier says the group originally called the meetup Ladies Skate Night but changed the name this year to be more inclusive. She’s been skateboarding since she was a kid and wanted to transform the sport’s prevailing culture.
“We live in a patriarchal culture generally. In a skate environment, it’s just really easy to see,” says Clouthier. “When you hear, ‘oh that’s gay’ or ‘don’t be a pussy or a faggot’ — those type of insults are what keep a lot of people from skating in the first place. That’s total bullshit.”
Femme Skate Night recently teamed up with quad skaters to form a second meetup night on Mondays. Clouthier says word is spreading about the group and they hope to bring out even more fems to the skatepark next year. She loaned out six skateboards to newbies just this season.
“It’s okay if you just want to hang out and not skate at all. We had one person who waited a whole year to get on a board and now she’s here all the time,” Clouthier says. “It takes no time for it to be fun. The important part is encouraging someone to try something new.”
Hailey Lutz has been skating for about five years.
“It’s been super rad. Way more chicks are coming out, and younger ones, because of this night,” says Lutz. “I like skating with women better because it’s just way more chill. Dudes get super competitive.”
Men still dominate the skatepark, Clouthier says. But the group is making progress.
“When we first started this, a lot of dudes started coming and wanted to show off. We’re not here for you. And that’s the whole crux of it. It’s not about you,” says Clouthier. “Riding a skateboard makes my heart happy. I feel in love with it. There’s this overwhelming sense of freedom. Everybody deserves to feel that who wants to.”
Worst skate-related injury
Miller: “I broke my tibia and fibula. They had to hollow out my shin bone and now I have a rod from my knee to my ankle — a plate on the other bone — and a ton of screws.”
Lutz: “Awhile ago, I hit my head and it was bleeding a lot. I couldn’t remember what I ate for lunch so I had to go to the hospital. The head bleeds more than you would think.”
Clouthier: “I fucking credit-carded my vagina with my skateboard. I had a severe hematoma and I couldn’t walk.”
Angeli: “I was at the skatepark and bailed really wrong trying a new trick. I put my arms out to catch myself but landed really hard on my left elbow. I could tell it was messed up because my whole arm was twitching. I kept skating but the next day it was still throbbing. I went to urgent care and they took X-rays and told me that I had broken the radial head of my elbow.”
