‘All the places we were not supposed to go’: a case study of formative class and genderhabitusin adventure climbing

Abstract

This paper explores the origins of meaning in adventurous activities. Specifically, the paper reports on a study of 10 adventure climbers in the Scottish mountaineering community. The study explores how formative experiences have influenced engagement in adventure climbing. Work has been done on the phenomenology of adventure and how individuals interpret and find meaning in the activity -this paper goes a step further and asks where do these dispositions come from? Using Bourdieu's ideas of field, habitus and forms of capital to frame these experiences in the wider social environment, early experiences are identified that, for the subjects of this study, provide a framework for their later adoption of the 'adventure habitus'. Among these influences are: mainstream education, adventure education in particular, as well as broader formative experiences relating to factors such as gender and class. In addition, the study suggests that accounts differ between males and females in terms of their attitudes and dispositions toward adventure. This may relate to their respective experiences as well as expanding opportunities for both males and females. However, while the 'adventure field' provides a context where women can develop transformative identities these are nearly always subject to male validation.

Understanding the reproduction of health inequalities: physical activity, social class and Bourdieu’s habitus

“…Specifically for readers of this journal, Bourdieu's habitus has previously been used in studies exploring sport (Brown, 2009;Holland-Smith, 2014), PE Hunter, 2004;Deluca, 2014), and social class (Stuij, 2015;Henry, 2014). Moreover, Bourdieu's theoretical framework has recently been put to work in exploring physical culture as it relates to wider society (lisahunter et al, 2014) as well in ethnographic research attending to critical pedagogies in urban schooling .…”

What factors explain extreme sport participation? A systematic review

“…Several reviewed studies highlighted extrinsic motivators such as nature [e.g., ( 27 , 30 , 47 , 50 , 51 , 55 )], freedom [e.g., ( 2 , 47 , 51 )] social interactions [e.g., ( 27 , 30 , 37 )] and challenge ( 51 , 55 , 56 ). Studies on these factors were predominately interview based [e.g., ( 2 , 30 , 51 )], allowing rich insights into how they related to participation.…”

“…Seventeen articles used qualitative methods [e.g., ( 44 , 46 , 47 )], twelve used quantitative methods [e.g., ( 31 , 45 , 48 )], five were case studies [e.g., ( 26 , 27 )], and one used a mixed method design ( 49 ). The most common data collection methods were interviews [23 studies e.g., ( 32 , 50 , 51 )] and psychometrics or surveys [12 studies e.g., ( 29 , 43 , 52 )].…”

“…“Extrinsic” refers to the type of motivation that involves striving towards an external goal or being driven by external factors ( 54 ). Sub themes such as engaging with nature [e.g., ( 30 , 37 , 47 , 50 , 55 )], freedom [e.g., ( 2 , 34 , 47 , 51 )] social interactions [e.g., ( 30 , 37 )], and challenge ( 34 , 51 , 55 , 56 ) were encompassed within this theme.…”

Investigating Visual Aesthetic Fatigue in Urban Green Spaces

“…Plants grow in a fixed place, to gather the fruits and (or) seeds of plants, women possess a high aesthetic tolerance for recurring landscapes, thus, their VAF is much lower than that of men. Second, existing literature has evidenced that men preferred adventures to women (Holland-Smith 2016 ). This implies that new things which usually include unknown information are preferred by men, logically, compared with women, familiar objects arouse less aesthetic appreciation of men.…”