Published in Curve Magazine, September 2010

Brought to mainstream attention last year by the Drew Barrymore produced movie Whip It, roller derby has long been considered a female and lesbian-friendly sport. Most contemporary leagues are all-woman and are formed in an indie, do-it-yourself spirit. In the following pages, derby girls Becca Sullivan, Jett Butterworth and Kate Bentley show off their punk-inspired 80s style in a collection of photos by Kina Williams, taken at the Oaks Park Roller Skating Rink in Portland, Oregon—the oldest continuously operating roller rink in the United States.

While clothes are an essential part of self-expression in the sport, roller derby is about more than just cool threads. Underneath their haute exterior these women are models of female empowerment—existing outside the “traditional form of femininity,” as Kate Bentley puts it. Indeed, these loud and proud women prove that fashion can be about diversity and eclecticism. Rock on!

Sully Skullkicker: AKA Becca Sullivan

Portland native Becca Sullivan, a silversmith by day, was 26 when she started playing on her home team, The High Rollers. Now, two and a half years later, Becca states, “I hadn’t actually seen roller derby when I tried out, but somehow I knew I wanted to do it. I really wanted to get out some aggression, and the fact that roller derby was an all-women’s full-contact sport really sparked my interest.”

When asked if there is a queer aspect to derby, Sullivan is resolute. “Definitely,” she says. “Women’s flat track roller derby is not just a sport that many queer-identified women play; it is a sport, and a culture, that many queer women helped build from the ground up. The sport and the movement is all about tough women who don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. Because of that we end up with all sorts of gender and sexual expressions. I’ve never met so many butch straight girls in my life, and it is a beautiful thing. I also think that many women have used roller derby as a place to start the coming out process because being queer is such a non-issue.”

Indeed, the most empowering aspect of roller derby, to Sullivan, is the camaraderie between the players, and “having a place where I don’t have to deal with assholes that look down on me for being female, queer, or feminist.”

Sullivan also plays for Wheels of Justice in the Rose City Rollers All-Stars, Portland, Oregon’s all female flat track roller derby league.

Jett Scream: AKA Jett Butterworth

Originally from the East Coast, Jett, 45, played derby for 3 ½ years. “I love to roller skate and I love playing rough,” Jett says. “I went to watch the first Rose City Rollers derby bout, and I was hooked immediately!”

Jett played for Rose City Rollers on Guns n Rollers as well as captaining the travel team Axels of Annihilation. Though she has since retired from the world of roller derby, Jett acknowledges the huge impact the sport made on her life. “I was a totally different person when I played,” she explains. “I felt much more confident in my skin…I loved being able to play rough and still be considered ‘feminine.’ I like the juxtaposition of looking hot and knocking girls around!”

Derby made such an impact on Butterworth that she decided to keep part of her alias permanently. “My derby name was Jett Scream,” she says. “Jett because, well it’s a super-tough name and Scream because I’m a screamer! The name Jett stuck. Except for the government, work and my mom, everyone calls me that now!”

A Portland resident for 15 years, Jett is extremely active in the queer community and works as a Sign Language Interpreter in high school and college classrooms: “The kids think it’s really cool that I played derby and loved it when I’d limp into class!”

Sugar & Vice: AKA Kate Bentley

“I love that derby is a place that has room for all beautiful body types that we women have,” Kate, 40, says. “No other woman’s sport needs both the small fast girls and the big, strong women. Through derby I have come to love and appreciate my body, even though it doesn’t fit the traditional version of beauty and strength…In derby I am surrounded by other loud, crass, passionate, nurturing, capable, sexy, strong woman.”

The Seattle-born Kate—who has lived in Portland since she was two years old—not only credits roller derby with improving her self esteem, but also with improving her health. “I was 40 lbs heavier than I am now, had been sedentary for the last 15 yrs and [was] focusing on raising my son, when I fell in love,” she explains. “Because I had never done sports, I was beyond out of shape…With a lot of hard work, support from my girls and life style changes, I was welcomed into my derby family, the Guns n Rollers.”

For Kate, a dual diagnosis therapist for addiction programs, roller derby is not just a sport, but a way to be involved in helping other women. “Our league is a non-profit that gives money to our community and works at empowering not only adult women but young women through our Rose Buds program.” (The Rose City Rose Buds is an organization providing opportunities for female youth athletes.)

About her derby name, Kate says, “I picked it because I think it fits my personality. I am a warm, friendly person but also have an edge. My derby persona is just an extension of my personality.”