Yesterday I went surfing with some friends. We were all on mals, including Bruce, who I had only just met. Bruce surfs a lot, but this was the first time he’d ever ridden a longboard! As we dried off and changed back at our cars, I asked him if he enjoyed it?

Yeah! It was fun. It was harder than I thought, but fun. Easy to paddle though. And I like that I was surfing with so many girls!

These kinds of conversations still, after so much talking and thinking about it, astound me. Even though I know they shouldn’t.

Don’t you usually surf with any women?

No! Never! But it was cool having so many chicks out there.

Why? So you can perve?

Yeah, a bit. Haha! But it was just nice not to only be out there with dudes. It sucks that I usually only get to surf with guys.

I’ve never been unlucky enough to only surf with guys in the water. Being a woman means that if I’m surfing, then there is always going to be a woman in the lineup. I don’t know what that means, but apparently it means something for men like Bruce. But in some ways, I feel lucky – lucky that I don’t always surf with only women or only men. Lucky that I get to have all these funny conversations and moments in and out of the water. Where I usually surf, women in the water are not an exception to the rule – in fact, they’re sometimes the majority – so like I said, it’s hard for me to get my head around the fact that women who surf continue to be imaginary for so many men. Like a myth.

I suppose it’s good to be reminded of it every so often.