A striking finding is the integral role surfing plays in constructions of masculinity and masculine coastal culture in these towns. Young men in particular often spend up to eight hours a day immersed in the ocean, perceiving their time at sea as deeply embodied and transformative. This lived experience with the ocean is not merely recreational but connects to what I propose to call embodied human rights—a set of rights grounded in the body’s relationship with the marine environment, distinct yet complementary to existing legal frameworks around human and cultural rights.
The prevailing South African perspective tends to classify surfing primarily as leisure, dissociating it from both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. This is despite the material culture embedded in surfing practices—the wetsuits, the diverse boards designed for accessing specific oceanic spaces, and the social rituals around these artifacts. Our fieldwork shows that surfing communities embody a complex social hierarchy that defines surfing cultures and identities. This social organization challenges the common assumption that surfing is a solitary or purely individualistic pursuit, disconnected from broader social or cultural dynamics.
Scholarly contributions support this perspective. Ben Finney’s seminal work on surfing as the sport of Hawaiian kings (Finney and Houston, 1996) underscores its deep cultural roots and significance. Similarly, Tim Baker’s research on surfing subcultures in Australia and New Zealand (Baker, 2010), and Glen Thompson’s (2015) rich ethnographic study of surfing in South Africa, reveals the rich social and cultural fabric woven through surfing practices. These scholars collectively argue that surfers and their cultures represent important stakeholders in coastal environmental and social governance.
Our initial approach had been to focus environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) exclusively on communities traditionally recognized as indigenous or autochthonous to the South African coast. However, our findings necessitate a broader inclusion criterion—one that recognizes groups like surfers and kite-surfers as significant coastal stakeholders with distinct cultural ties and rights related to the ocean. To ensure ESIAs are truly inclusive, transformative, and reflective of lived realities, these communities must be incorporated as vital contributors and beneficiaries.
This brings us to the concept of embodied human rights. Historically, human rights have been framed as textualized, cognitive constructs—legal principles codified in constitutions, decrees, and international treaties. While these textual rights are crucial, they often overlook the non-verbal, bodily dimensions of rights claims. The body, as a sentient entity, expresses well-being, distress, belonging, and identity in ways that transcend written law. For coastal communities engaged in surfing, these embodied experiences are central to their cultural identity and social existence. Ford and Brown (2006) assert the profoundly embodied nature of surfing and the potential contribution of the activity to social theories of embodiment.
In South Africa, the Constitution recognizes cultural diversity and protects the rights of cultural communities. However, embodied rights—the lived, felt connection to the ocean through surfing and kitesurfing—rarely feature in mainstream legal or policy discourse. Yet, as climate change mitigation efforts intensify and require more holistic, integrated approaches, there is growing recognition that transformative climate action must incorporate these embodied rights. Our ethnographic data affirms that surfing, as an embodied practice, fosters a unique environmental ethic and a collective stewardship of coastal ecosystems.
Recognizing surfing as part of an embodied human rights framework has practical implications. It demands that policymakers, environmental managers, and social impact practitioners engage with surfing communities as full partners in coastal governance. It means acknowledging the cultural heritage inherent in surfing practices, the social hierarchies that shape them, and the material culture that sustains them. This approach moves beyond simplistic leisure classifications and opens pathways for inclusive, culturally sensitive environmental and social impact assessments.
In conclusion, our research highlights that surfing is far more than a sport or pastime in South Africa—it is a culturally significant, embodied practice intertwined with masculine identities, social structures, and rights claims. Elevating surfing within the framework of embodied human rights enriches our understanding of coastal cultural heritage and provides new avenues for transformative climate action and social inclusion.
⸻
References
Baker, T. 2010. Surfing For Your Life. Penguin Random House Australia: Sydney.
Finney, B. and J. Houston. 1996. Surfing: A History of the Ancient Hawaiian Sport. San Francisco: Pomegranate Artbooks.
Ford, N. and D. Brown. 2006. Surfing and Social Theory: Experience, Embodiment and the Narrative of the Dream Glide. London and New York: Routledge.
Thompson, G. 2015. Surfing, gender and politics: Identity and society in the history of South African surfing culture in the twentieth-century. PhD Thesis. Stellenbosch University press.