Somerset Skate Park is located directly outside the exit of SomersetMRTstation.

While
centrally located and easily accessible, right in the middle of a busy shopping district, it is a
space that exists for a clear purpose, and serves a specific subculture skateboarders. Despite
being a public area, complex boundaries ofrace,gender,andageserveasbarrierstodictatewho
uses the park, and in what ways. These boundaries exist thanks to the complex rules and
hierarchiesoftheskatingsubculture.
Of particular interest to me was the relationship of the physical space to the status
hierarchy of the people there the space radiates out from the centralskatingrink,withthemore
marginal groups literally relegated to the sides. The central rink isalarge,concreteflooredarea
containing ramps, ledges, and rails for skateboarders (a term which I will use to encompass
scooterriders and BMX bikers as well, unless specified) to practice their tricks. This area is
bounded on one side by concrete steps, providing a space for skaters to sit on and rest.Therest
oftheparkconsistsofgrassandtrees,alongwithafewpicnictables.
When I went on my second research visit, it was 10pm on a Sunday. Afternightfall,the
brightlylit skating rink resembled aspotlitarena,withtheskaterssittingonthestepsformingan
audiencewatchingthosepracticinginthecentre.
Observing the way in which the skaters dressed and acted, the hierarchies of theskating
subculture became evident I could observe both vertical divides between groups created by
hierarchy, as well as tangiblesymbols ofunityandgroupidentitywithinthehorizontalgroupsat
different ranks of the hierarchy. To begin, there were ways in which all skaters, regardless of
group, marked themselves as part of the skating subculture. Out of the 15skatersintherink,11
of them wore black tshirts, with 2 wearing grey, and another 2 wearing white. Many of their
tshirts bore logos of skatewear companies such as Hurley or DC. One of them was wearing a
shoelace as a belt, a fashion statement popularamongsttheskateboardingcommunityintheUS.
Ingeneral,therewasaremarkablehomogeneityofappearancebetweenallskatersatthepark.
However, there were obvious divides based on gender and age. Over the course of the
hour I spent there, I only observed three female skatersatthepark.Allthreestuckmainlytothe
outer edges of the skating rink, rather than approach the centre. Twoofthemcametogetherand
were accompanied by a male friend, while the other one stuck to the far end of the park and
appeared to have come alone. On the one occasion when the two female skaters did enter the
rink, for a brief skate through one of the ramps, they made sure to do it together,onefollowing
behind the other. While it is tempting to say that they were intimidated from entering the rink
proper by virtue of the vast gender imbalance, and only felt empowered to do so together, it is
also likely that they did not enter forpracticalreasons,asbeginnerskaterstendtogetintheway
of more seasoned skaters and maycauseaccidents.However,whatwasclearwasthattherewere
veryfewfemaleskaters,andcertainlynoskilledones.
As for age, the groups sitting on the steps were clearly divided. The centre of the steps
was occupied by a large group of about 20 skaters, who looked like they werein theirtwenties.
Again, all were male, and nearly all wore black. Many were smoking, and one of them was

swigging what looked like hard liquor from a bottle. With this crowd in the centre, theyounger
skaters in their teens were relegated to the sides of the steps. As someone who is female,
teenaged, and who had gone there alone, I personally felt intimidated by theunifiedappearance
as well as the general air of the group, and moved towards the side as well. These boys were
younger and generally appeared less welldressed and tough, with a few wearing glasses.
However,therewasstillasensethattheyweretryingtoacttoughtothebestoftheirability.
In listening to their conversations, one got a sense of the ways in which the teenage
skaters aggressively jockeyed for status and sought to impress each other. Their conversations
focused on the comparing of material indicators of status as well as relative skill at skating. In
particular, the conversation I eavesdropped on focused on the activity of vaping (smoking
electronic cigarettes),whichallofthemparticipatedin.Theyfocusedoncomparingthetechnical
specifications of their vaping kits, such as battery voltage, tank size, and mods. Their language
was lent a tone of casual aggression by the gratuitous expletives which they used to punctuate
their sentences as well as refer toeachother the conversationopenedwithoneboywalkingup
and saying, Ehh, fuck, you fuck, you see that
chee bye1
justnow
sia
?Howmanywatts? Sobig
and long. Despite vaping being more or less illegal in Singapore, one skater whipped out his
vape kit to show off to his friends, allowing them a few drags while repeatedly asking them
Verynicehuhmyvape? Nicehuh?However,despitethecompetitivewayinwhichtheytalked
about vaping, there was a sense that the shared hobby was a form of bonding. The skaters
commiserated over sharedobstacles,withonementioningthathenevervapeforoneweek,pain
sia
, and another understandingly asking whether his parents had forbidden him from vaping.
The technical aspects of vaping, no doubt made more difficult by the activitys illicit nature,
meant that the skaters exchanged theirknowledgeandevenoffered tohelpeachotherafterone
vented,Modlikefucktillcannotwork.Cannotevenon!,anotherrepliedwithEh.Yougobuy
newmods,Imodforyouthemod.
Even within their aggressive posturing, the skaters found ways to express concern and
friendlinesstowardseachother. Whileforthemostpartskatersfellandgotupin silence,withno
acknowledgement of their pain coming from them or from their friends, I witnessed a
particularly bad fall where the skater lay on the concrete for a while in silence. This provoked
expressions of concern from two of the skaters who knew him, with one of them asking the
other, His phone got crack or not? When the same skater (Halim) called out to his friend to
make sure he was okay, he did so in a way that was consistent with the tough way that the
skaters treated each other, shouting Hey, puny boy! While theskaterwhofellalsomaintained
his way of speaking, swearing at Halim copiously, the expression of concern seemed to allow
him to open up about the pain, exclaiming Fuck your mother
chee bye lah I hit my knee six
times already!. No matter how nebulous the connections between each of them, the skaters
tended to treat each other like old friends while Halims show of concern prompted a third
1

AHokkienswearwordtranslatingtocunt

skater to ask him how the two knew each other, he enthusiastically said that they were only
neighborhood neighbors (meaning that they livedinthesamevaguegeneralvicinity). Another
interaction I observed was when Halim challenged his friend to bike downoneramp,doa1802,
go upanddowntheotherramp,doanother180,andbikeback,withthepromiseofbuyinghima
drink if he succeeded. Despite the competitive natureofthebet,withHalimshoutingoutfurther
instructions like Eh,
cheebye
,Isaidclearthewholeledge leh!, thefriendlybanterbetweenthe
twothroughoutthebetsuggestedthatthiswasaformofbonding.
The impression I took away from the skate park was of a culture to which appearances
were of the utmost importance. To the skaters, dressing a certain way, having certain hobbies,
and speaking in a certain way allows them to fit in. The consciousness of appearance is
constructed by the very structure of the park those in the centreskatingareputinthespotlight
as part of a stuntbased sport that is close to performance in nature, with a natural audience
forming around the sides, and the spotlight diminishing the further away from the centre one
went. However, within the boundaries of coolness and performance, therewasalsofriendship
and bonding. Despite oftenheardracialstereotypesaboutmostskatersbeing
mats(youngMalay
men) and a roughly 50:50 ratio of Malays to other races, there didnt seem to be any racial
tensions. While the culture was definitely competitive and aggressive, it, like any other
subculture,alsoservedtobonditsmemberstogether.

Askateboarding/bikingtrickwhereoneliftstheirvehicleofchoiceoffthegroundbyjumping,thenrotates
180degreesintheairbeforelanding.