Striving for Excellence in Climbing

This week I, along with many others, shared what I think is an excellent analysis of what enabled Joe Kinder to bully women climbers. I’ve spent my career studying organizational cultures that enable sexual harassment and bullying, and the analysis reflected what research reveals about these dynamics: Harassers and bullies are empowered by the culture around them.

The article was not so well received by everyone, however. One straight white New Zealander male climber described the analysis as “a revolting piece of tripe,” and said the claim that the climbing community “actively promotes misogyny, white supremacy, ableism, rape culture, homophobia, transphobia, body shaming, and the erasure of native narratives” lacks all credibility. His basis for asserting this, despite having no experience as a female, minority, disabled, or gay member of the climbing community, includes that World Cup Events have “Alternating Male and Female finals, equal prize money,” that there’s excellent Japanese and Indonesian climbers, and “none of the gay climbers” he’s spoken to have “ever mentioned any” homophobia to him. His superficial analysis of the personal experiences of those who differ from him lacks depth and empathy, but I understand his passionate defense of the culture of climbing.

I love the sport and community of climbing. One of the things I love most about it is that it is relatively inclusive and egalitarian. I love that my nine-year-old daughter with a rainbow Mohawk immediately felt like she belonged; that girls and boys train together and are equivalently good; that boys who don’t fit the traditional “basketball” or “football” body type can excel; and that climbing is such an international – not just a European – sport. Climbing is also wonderfully communal. It is, by nature,  simultaneously an independent and interdependent endeavor. Climbing requires trusting one’s life in a belay partner and sharing “beta” to help each person soar. I’m one of climbing’s biggest fans, and even a mid-life convert to its unparalleled challenge and beauty.

Eddie Fowke's Response to Georgie Abel's Post

Just like any sport, though, climbing isn’t immune to the culture around it. It’s inevitable that some not-so-nice aspects of our broader culture – including issues of social inequality, intolerance, and stigma – will seep into the world of climbing. There is a “bro” element to the sport – stronger in some regions and gyms than in others – where social status and opportunities are gained by being a “dude,” literally and figuratively. Using male language to compliment someone, “enjoying” sexist and sexual banter, making “fag” jokes and using “gay” as a derision, are a part of this. So are the disturbing stories I’ve heard about girls being objectified at practice, non-consensual sexual encounters, and sponsors exploiting athletes. In Canada, more girls than boys seem to start out in climbing, but by the time athletes reach 16 and the world circuit there are more men than women. Why excellent female climbers leave the sport upon reaching sexual maturity is cause for worry and intervention. I have less insight into the experiences of people of color, but I do notice there aren’t many in our sport, despite our otherwise very diverse country. I imagine that feeling fully accepted and supported could be a problem.

Canadian Open Climbing Team in Shanghai, May 2018

When we look at who gets paid in the sport – who gets hired as a coach, routesetter, belayer, photographer, manager, and so on, we see that, just like other industries, women are relatively excluded. This mostly involves non-conscious processes rather than intentional malice. But “bro” culture certainly has something to do with it – hiring opportunities depend on whether you’re a buddy to someone connected to the hiring, whether information gets shared with you, whether you self-promote and people expect you to, whether you “fit” the image of the typical person in that role, and whether people feel like they can be themselves while working with you – including being a “dude” and doing dude-like things.

Despite this, the climbing community has many more positive than negative elements and such a head-start on other sports that it’s exciting to see its issues getting exposed, discussed, and addressed. Rather than falling to the temptation of knee-jerk defense and superficial consideration of the lived experiences of different others, let’s keep our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts open and make this the best sport it can be. Striving for excellence means acknowledging that there’s always room for improvement. Thanks to the brave women climbers, like Sasha DiGiulian and Courtney Sanders, who have shared their beta in order to make sure we keep soaring.