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Q: first of all, i apologize for the misspelling of 'skating', and the general idiotic appearance of the title. but it worked, didn't it? you came in here to correct me! :P

i am a 16 year-old rookie skater (female) who can't ollie yet.

i was at the skateboard-city.com forums, and this guy posts a rather mean post about how most of the girls that skate are posers, who skate to try to get with 'skater boys', or to get the whole 'skater punk rock' look.

whe someone calls you a poser, the first reaction is to deny it. so of course all of the female skaters on that site protested, but it made ME wonder...

am i a poser? i wish i could say no, but i honestly don't know. there are various reasons why i started to skate (about six mo. ago).

i can definitely say that i didn't start skateboarding because i thought the 'skater style' was hot or anything. i am a "girly-girl" however, i'm not so sure about the skater boy factor. what if i unconsciously DID start to skate because i wanted to meet skater boys? i know it's definitely true that i wanted to make some friends (regardless of gender) through skateboarding.

also the fact that skateboarding - just skateboarding around your town and on the streets itself looked "cool" was a part of the reason why i started. but is this necessarily bad? don't guys get inspired, after seeing a skating video, to do better because of how 'cool' it looks?

and, is it possible to start off as a poser (start skating to look cool or meet guys or whatever) but to change along the way?

sorry about the length. however, i'd really appreciate it if someone (hopefully a skater themselves) replied. thanks in advance. i rate.

Guys can be so sexist at times. Especially when it comes to sports. "Girls can't do _______ as well as guys can." Uh, riiight. Saying you skateboard when you actually do is not being a poser. Saying you skateboard when in reality you just have a skateboard that takes up space in your room is. See the difference? I don't get the whole "Girls start to skate to get skater boys." Ha. If we really wanted a "skater boy" then all we would have to do is go down to the local skate park in a low cut shirt. You'd get the same results.(That was a joke, I swear.) Plus, where does he come off? There are many guys who start to skateboard because they think girls find it to be "hott."

Think of a reason why people start new hobbies. Most of the time it is just because it looks cool, correct? In time, it turns in to "Oh yeah, I love to ___________, because it is _________." I guess in your case skateboarding would go in the blank and how you feel when you do it in the second one. But when you think about it why else would anyone randomly start skateboarding? 1. To attract the opposite sex. 2. Because it looks cool. 3. Because everyone is doing it. Et cetera with the other choices. Your answer doesn't look so bad to me. You aren't a poser, continue doing what you like to do and stay true to yourself. And along the way give the finger to anyone who tells you otherwise. Good luck with the ollie.

Rating: 5

thank you. you are the only person who actually addressed all of the issues i brought up.

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Ok I am not going to bore you with my whole life story.Or describe myself.Or tell you how "great" I am at giving advice.It's pointless.You'll pick up things about me in the advice I give.So go ahead ask away...