I. Theme I will be observing the people surrounding the sport of surfing in Huntington Beach, CA. Surfing, as defined by Oxford English Dictionary, “is to stand or lie on a surfboard and ride on a wave toward the shore”. My general theme is exploring surfing culture. Within that theme, I will be exploring the behavior and social interaction in surfers. Likewise, I will be looking at what influences surfers have among the beach community. Lastly, I hope to investigate unspoken rules and etiquette among surfers. My field site will be in Huntington Beach Pier and Bolsa Chica State Beach. Both locations are in Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City. Huntington Beach Pier is home to the The U.S. Open of Surfing, the largest surfing competition held every summer. For this reason,
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Surfing is only prominent among areas close to the ocean, thus it is important that the physical environment be near a beach. In order to properly observe surf culture, one must go to a physical environment that has a lot of surfers. For example, Huntington Beach is a seaside city that has numerous beaches and long sunny days. It doesn't typically have the biggest waves, but does have the most consistent waves around. The Pier is a busy landmark that has many restaurants and surf shops. This environment attracts surfers who enjoy a warm environment, consistent waves and convenient location. Both places I will be observing are often busy, thus we can suspect that this attracts surfers who are comfortable with many people around them. Since my research is in Southern California, I can assume that the sunny environment will also have an influence on the activity and behavior. Southern California beach culture was popularized decades ago as being a youthful and blonde. While it is not as prominent as before, this beach image in the environment may still have some impact on the type of surfers we might see.
II.
Surfing is only prominent among areas close to the ocean, thus it is important that the physical environment be near a beach. In order to properly observe surf culture, one must go to a physical environment that has a lot of surfers. For example, Huntington Beach is a seaside city that has numerous beaches and long sunny days. It doesn't typically have the biggest waves, but does have the most consistent waves around. The Pier is a busy landmark that has many restaurants and surf shops. This environment attracts surfers who enjoy a warm environment, consistent waves and convenient location. Both places I will be observing are often busy, thus we can suspect that this attracts surfers who are comfortable with many people around them. Since my research is in Southern California, I can assume that the sunny environment will also have an influence on the activity and behavior. Southern California beach culture was popularized decades ago as being a youthful and blonde. While it is not as prominent as before, this beach image in the environment may still have some impact on the type of surfers we might see.
II.