Intersectionality , wellbeing and women's experiences of rock climbing

Intersectionality, Wellbeing and Women's Experiences of Rock Climbing

Research on gender and rock climbing is limited, despite climbing being a rapidly developing sport, with 1 million people in the UK climbing independently indoors and climbing set to debut at the Olympics in 2021. Whilst studies highlight that female climbers actively challenge male dominance, as well as society's typical notions of femininity and female appropriate physical activity the dominant narratives in this work in historical and contemporary forms are from women who are white, able-bodied, wealthy and from the Global North. The health and wellbeing benefits of sporting participation for women are contested. No studies explore in detail the wellbeing aspect of the female climbing experience or the diversity of experiences of female climbers. Intersectionality needs to frame an understanding of women's gendered experiences of wellbeing and rock-climbing to explore the ways that relations of gender, race and class shape patterns of inequality and understand how climbing spaces are negotiated in terms of gender/race/class power (Valentine, 2007). This study will explore women's lived intersectional experiences of wellbeing and rock climbing. Through life history research, a contemporary female rock-climbing archive will be created, situating diverse women's lived experiences of wellbeing against a critical history of female difference and diversity in climbing (Smith, 2008; Ritchie, 2015; Sommer and Quinlan, 2018).