The social construction of gender identity amongst mountaineers

Abstract

The article provides information concerning empirical research named "Report on mountaineering in Spain: an approximation from the perspective of gender", conducted with public funds provided by the Secretary General of Education at the Ministry of Science and Education. The objective of this paper is to detail the obtained outcomes using a qualitative methodology. The results reveal the persistence of a gender identity, which is by nature very sexist (chauvinistic) between mountaineers in Spain. Also, it demonstrates how this gender identity determines the opportunities people have to partake in mountaineering, such as making a career out of this sport and the conduct between mountaineers, which is dependent on one's gender.

Women’s mountaineering tourism: an empirical investigation of its theoretical constraint dimensions

“…In contrast, previous studies which examined the experiences of both genders did not report family commitments to be a constraining factor for women (e.g. Carr, 1997;Kiewa, 2001aKiewa, , 2001bPlate, 2007;Moscoso-Sanchez, 2008), with the exception of West and Allin's (2010) study.…”

“…Most previous studies report that female climbers view their male counterparts in a negative light due to their patronizing, domineering and condescending behaviour (e.g. Dilley & Scraton, 2010;Moscoso-Sanchez, 2008). In addition, male climbers are found to actively impede female climbers by supporting stereotypes of masculinity and femininity.…”

“…Of particular relevance to this study are the conceptualizations of gender and family within Crawford and Godbey's (1987) leisure constraint categories. Western cultures frequently conceptualize gender as a dyadic, binary concept based on sex, where one is either male or female (Moscoso- Sanchez, 2008) and masculinity operates in a binary position to femininity (Voskuil, 1998in Morgan & Pritchard, 2000. This conceptualization is adopted in this study, but does not ignore the fact that gender is also 'a dynamic process, not an inborn trait, signifying relationships of power expressed in perceptions, learned behaviours and expectations of what is feminine and masculine' (Henderson, 1994in Swain, 1995.…”

“…In addition, male climbers are found to actively impede female climbers by supporting stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. In some instances, female climbers were expected to make travel arrangements and purchase food before being allowed to climb (Moscoso- Sanchez, 2008). Some males also prefer women to be less skilled so they could be perceived as better climbers (Plate, 2007).…”

Wanda Rutkiewicz – crossing boundaries in women’s mountaineering

“…From a historical perspective, mountaineering as a sport appears to be dominated by males and hegemonic masculinized values such as strength, courage, fierceness and endurance (Frohlick 1999(Frohlick -2000Routledge 2004;Ottogalli-Mazzacavallo 2006;Rak 2007;Moscoso-Sánchez 2008). In the United Kingdom and Switzerland until the 1970s, women were denied membership in the national Alpine Clubs and consequently found separate women's clubs.…”