Gender Inequality in Skiing

[DougW]

Constructing masculinized sportscapes: Skiing, gender and nature in British Columbia, Canada

Sport sociology has provided a significant body of critical research on gender and social inequality within outdoor sport. Less attention is given to how the social construction of sport landscapes shapes gendered power relations. This article examines how skiing landscapes are constructed as masculinized spaces. The mountainous sublime is a site for performing athletic, risk-seeking masculinity.The backcountry and advanced terrain at ski resorts also appear as masculinized places. By contrast, less risky areas of the skiing landscape may be interpreted as ‘gender-neutral’ or feminized space. Through skiing, participants construct the meaning of gender and place, privileging masculinized versions of the sport.

http://irs.sagepub.com/content/46/1/108.abstract

discuss

[AK47bp]

Love female skiers, especially the hot ones.

I'm all for it

[TBS]

Seems to be an excess of professorial bullshit bingo in that abstract.

I also think hot women are an asset to the sport. To that end, I always complement women when they wear stretch pants, and thank them for making the landscape more beautiful.

[capulin overdrive]

So next time I ride the lift with Wendy Fischer at CB as she kicking the shit out of the men in the 7hrs of Banana, I'm supposed to tell here to go ride the Gold Link lift because it's a more feminized space?

[Vt-Freeheel]

tldr

I'm all for more padded or heated chairs.

[old goat]

It was my experience in teaching surgery residents how to operate that male residents tended to have more confidence than ability, while the opposite was true for women--at least in the learning stages.. I suspect the same holds true for mountain sports.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

you're gay, right?

[klar]

well, I actually read the whole thing (I have access through my university account, if someone wants the pdf i can send it). he uses a lot of words to say quite little and the paper is harder to read than it probably needs to be, like most scientific literature. he does a lot of stating the obvious, imo, and I did not gain any new insights from this. discussing gender inequality in skiing (and in general) is certainly worthwhile, but I don't think this paper adds much to the discussion.

he examines "how skiing media and skiers produce, sustain, negotiate and occasionally challenge gendered power relations". this examinition builds on previously established concepts (he cites literature) regarding the nature of power in a social/gendered/whatever context, gendered sportscapes (apparently a sportscape is a location where people practice sports and modern stadium achitecture is "oriented around masucline forms of athletic performance"), and the connection between masuclinity and risk taking (apparently men like to engage in high risk activity because it is perceived as masculine, and vice versa).

he further "demonstrates how discourses of sport, risk and transcendence, as well as subcultural interpretations of risk and sport, are bound up with gender and place", based on his analysis of 14 resort websites, 21 ski magazines and "semi-structured interviews with 45 skiers in the Vancouver-to-Whistler and Nelson regions of British Columbia".

the interviewees are "predominantly white, economically secure – though not wealthy – and highly concentrated in the 25–44 age group.", not "true ski bums" but "serious, long term skiers".

He finds that the websites and magazines often feature images of "lone, athletic men engaged in high-risk skiing within dramatic mountain landscapes" and "photo after photo depicts solitary male skiers going down steep, powdery slopes." Even though these skiers wear "bulky clothing", it is apparent that they are male because female skiers in the magazines wear lighter colours, "including pink and pastel blue".

Interviewee Billy compares ski magazines with playboy, which is a further clue that "the affective work done by ski magazines is directed at the gaze of an ‘imagined heterosexual male spectator’. Whereas Playboy presents images of female bodies for male consumption, Powder (and other ski magazines) transforms mountains into sportscapes for a (typically male) skiers’ gaze."

Men are featured more frequently in ski magazines than women and women "remain at the margins of this textually mediated social world".

"The figures that inhabit the mountainous sublime of ski magazines and websites are typically white, male and young (in their 20s or 30s). They also have sufficient disposable income for expensive ski gear, lift tickets and travel. By positioning these skiers as the ‘natural’ inhabitants of the mountainous sublime, ski texts construct gendered, racialized and classed skiing sportscapes"

"Repeated images of the male explorer travelling to new places produce a ‘masculine sublime’ that makes women’s high-level participation in the sport seem exceptional rather than normal."

From the interviews he learns that men think of the backcountry "as a place to be among male ‘buddies’ away from crowded ski resorts", i.e. a "masculinized sportscape". He points out that women go skitouring with groups of other women "as a conscious strategy to develop their own sense of expertise and comfort within these spaces", based on interview comments such as:

"Recently, I’ve met more girlfriends that are into backcountry skiing and seem to have more knowledge in the area. And we actually have been talking about going on some woman tours. Which is very appealing to me, because I think that it would be a lot of fun and, yeah, it would be a good environment to learn more and kind of feel comfortable in that setting. (Roberta, Nelson)"

[mall walker]

"The figures that inhabit the mountainous sublime of ski magazines and websites are typically white, male and young (in their 20s or 30s). They also have sufficient disposable income for expensive ski gear, lift tickets and travel. By positioning these skiers as the ‘natural’ inhabitants of the mountainous sublime, ski texts construct gendered, racialized and classed skiing sportscapes"

I think it's much more instructive to think of advertising like this as being aspirational, rather than a realistic description of the target demographic or an attempt at positing any kind of descriptive claim. See: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/...uture_lea.html

Salient quote: "The man in the photo is not a representation of the target demo[graphic], he is the impossible aspiration of the target demo"

[doebedoe]

Thanks for the synopsis Klar. It reaffirms that I made a good choice leaving my phd in a department/discipline that stuff like this would've been praised.

At best it's interesting. But moreso it is trivially obvious for the most part, and could be set of any sport in a mountain setting. It is useless politically and personally. Probably the only thing it actually demonstrates (rather than interprets based on authors lense) is that the author has a grip on the literatures surround masculinized space, and a basic understanding of how to do qualitative research.

[klar]

So next time I ride the lift with Wendy Fischer at CB as she kicking the shit out of the men in the 7hrs of Banana, I'm supposed to tell here to go ride the Gold Link lift because it's a more feminized space?

she is not kicking the shit out of the men, she is "reconstructing the meaning of gender and place", challenging the "privileging masculinized versions of the sport."

I also think hot women are an asset to the sport.

You are obviously a true champion of women in action sports.

you're gay, right?

You are exemplifying how aggressive comments within the online context of ski media solidify dominant discourses of skiing masculinity by stabilizing gender within the conventional binary scripts of mountain–valley, culture–nature, man–woman and straight–gay.

[klar]

At best it's interesting. But moreso it is trivially obvious for the most part, and could be set of any sport in a mountain setting. It is useless politically and personally. Probably the only thing it actually demonstrates (rather than interprets based on authors lense) is that the author has a grip on the literatures surround masculinized space, and a basic understanding of how to do qualitative research.

Yup, I agree. feels a bit like proving that he knows the relevant literature was the main point...

[old goat]

you're gay, right?

Really?

[Buster Highmen]

but I don't think this paper adds much to the discussion.

Another esoteric exercise in flexing the observation that the sky is blue. By no means do I intend to trivialize the situation, but it's just so obvious.

the connection between masuclinity and risk taking (apparently men like to engage in high risk activity because it is perceived as masculine, and vice versa).
)"

May I appropriate the word Masuclinity? I think it's awesome, descriptive and missing from the Mayonnaise.

[skiitsbetter]

I'm all for getting young females on skis. Perhaps this research will find the key to keeping preteen girls in sports.

[Canada1]

I'm all for getting young females on skis. Perhaps this research will find the key to keeping preteen girls in sports.

I'm a coach. Keep it fun. That's the key with girls. Don't let hyper competitive parents ruin it for them. For some reason I see more parent garbage on my girls teams.

[klar]

Keep it fun. That's the key with girls.

so what do you do with the boys?

[old goat]

We knew a skiing family at Alpine--father was an instructor. Kids all raced. One daughter made it to the Olympics, where she DQ'd in every event. To me that is a sign of too much parental pressure. (I did the same thing in the city spelling bee in the 6th grade--the one and only time my parents pressured me to do anything.)

Number one reason kids drop out of sports is parental pressure.

[Buster Highmen]

I saw so many kids ski experience wrecked by pushy parents trying to live through them.

I remember promising to myself that if I had kids, I'd never do that to them.

Now I have a little girl that absolutely rips.

Every time we go out, someone says we have to get her racing.

But she doesn't want to, she just wants to ski around with us, so that's how it is.

[AK47bp]

I mean don't get me wrong I love the ladies, but let's be honest here, the slopes are no place for them.

[Buster Highmen]

floppy troll.

[AK47bp]

That was my Champ impression from Anchor Man.

[klar]

overly pushy sports parents can definitely do some damage. pretty sure this is true for boys & girls equally.

here is a trailer for some gendered stoke, seeing as we all want to equalize the sportscape.

[Kirby]

I agree that this is pretty base level sociology (which makes up about 75% of the discipline). I mean, sports in general are not the most "feminized" social spaces, and what you find in a study on, let's say gender in hockey, is the same thing you're going to find in a study on gender in skiing. His conclusions are certainly nothing new.

I wrote a master's thesis on risk-taking in skiing and part of the exercise was to educate myself on the various theories explaining the phenomenon. This, of course, included various gender based theories:

Moving away from the edgework paradigm, we encounter a perspective that is based upon one of the most rallied behind categories in modern social theory and research, namely gender. Here, theoretical perspectives look at the ways in which gendered individuals perform either dominant feminine or dominant masculine stereotypes to bolster their gendered self (Albert 1999; Donnelly 2004; Lupton 1999; Pringle 2005; Wheaton 2004; Young and White 1995). This research shows that risky behavior that champions courage in the face of danger and violence has more often than not been socially conceptualized as masculine domains, whereas as the less risky and safe domains of life have been seen as feminine in nature. For example, in a study analyzing the discourse of children around accidents and risk-taking by Judith Green, it was discovered that there is a striking difference between the ways that girls and boys conceptualize their relation-ships to risky situations (1997). As Green states concerning the findings of her study: “Girls and boys accounted for their activities in these discussions in rather different ways. Whereas the boys stressed the danger and risk involved, the girls stressed their responsibility for not only themselves, but for others as well. The comments boys made about risk taking were usually told in interaction with each other, as part of dramatic stories to illustrate the nature of their peer group activity. Although girls also talked about taking risks, the style of their stories was often somewhat different. Rather than stressing just the inherent excitement of taking the risk, the girls talked about secondary benefits of risk taking” (Green 1997: 468-469). Such a study shows that at an early age, males and females are socialized to understand their relationship to risk-taking in very different ways. The girls were beginning to distance themselves from risk, whereas the boys began to champion it as a sign of being masculine.

Although in the gendered performance perspective either taking risks or not taking risks is an individuals buttressing of their gender roles, it is also the case that through risk-taking men and women are able to transcend these taken for granted gender placements. For men, risk-taking is not only an opportunity to showcase masculine traits revolving around courage and bodily and emotional control, but it also opens up an arena where men can let go and release the very emotions that, as men, they are socialized to keep in check (Collison 1996). Therefore, maintaining the façade of masculinity while releasing the emotions that are held back by dominant conceptualizations of proper male behaviour. As for women, the potential contained in risk-taking in sport to challenge gender roles should be quite apparent (Gotfrit 1991; Hargreaves 1997). As Jennifer Hargreaves states in her piece Women’s Boxing and Related Activities: Introducing Images and Meanings concerning women in the high-risk sport of boxing: “The body is the most important signifier of meanings and in the case of women and boxing and associated activities, these are constantly contested and are changing according to broader contexts of boxing discourse and gender relations of power” (Hargreaves 1997: 47). Women can transcend their gender roles through risk-taking by taking part in activities that are strongly conceptualized as masculine, such as boxing. A great example of this is the popular sporting world, as greater numbers of women are beginning to participate in traditionally coded male only sports, while at the same time creating more opportunities, both professional and amateur, to be involved in such activities.

Although many of the social conceptualizations concerning risk and gender discussed above are still in place and exerting considerable influence on how men and women choose to behave, it is nevertheless changing. As Lupton states: “While risk-taking has been most closely linked to the performance of dominant masculinities, and risk-avoidance is associated with dominant femininities, there is evidence of some shifts in these meanings” (Lupton 1999: 163). Women are now beginning to define themselves in relation to risk and taking on many of the risks that have traditionally been only the domain of men.

Not only have gender based theoretical outlooks structured research that has analyzed the gendered performative aspects of sport, others have understood the gender relations in sport as tied to larger mechanisms of masculine hegemony (Albert 1999; Lupton 1999; Pringle 2005; Wheaton 2004; Young and White 1995). Here sport reproduces the paternalistic structure of society within its core values, which helps to maintain male dominance not only within sport, but society at large. The values of violence, toughness, and risk-taking, which are highly aggressive and dominating ideologies, have been connected to the male identity structure and therefore help to maintain the male gender as dominant over the female. Through male participation in sports that value these gender-centered ideologies, men not only control the sporting sphere, but also the social gender sphere as well, perpetuating male gender dominance. As Young and White state in their piece Sport, Physical Danger, and Injury: “[Feminist] work on sport and gender has begun to understand male tolerance of physical risk and injury as a constituting process that may enhance a particular brand of masculinization. For some, the cultural meaning of physical danger and living with injury resonate with larger ideological issues of gender legitimacy and power” (Young and White 1995: 45). This male sport ethos is so strong in sport that Young and White (1995) discovered that women who enter into male dominated sports tend to take on these more masculine traits revolving around violence, toughness, and risk-taking.

Although gender situated analyses of risk-taking are relevant and have shown how risking-taking can be connected to larger gender ideologies, it still remains that as these gender structures weaken, more women than ever are beginning to look for and interact with situations that are defined as risky (Albert 1999; Donnelly 2004; Young and White 1995). As Peter Donnelly states in his piece Sport and Risk Culture: “Observed differences between male and females in risk-taking behaviour have made it far too easy to propose biology or socialisation as the cause. However, there are reasons to suspect that lack of opportunity might be a more adequate explanation, and one that again returns to social context. While women have been less involved in the safety and social control occupations (e.g. firefighting, military, police), there is no evidence that women have avoided these occupations when the opportunity has been available (e.g. during wartime, or during a time of increasing gender equity). Adolescent females appear to take risks involving substance abuse as often as males, and probably take far more sexual risks than males. And, while there are fewer women than men involved in high risk and high injury sports, the number of women participants is increasing significantly as opportunities are made, or become available” (Donnelly 2004: 38-39). It is recognized that women’s inability to participate in such activities has been created through the socially constructed and maintained ideologies of gender and the roles appropriate to both sexes, but with the shifting of these structures women are now allowed to express their desire to interact with risk. As big mountain skier Ingrid Backstrom states in Steep: “This is what you dream about skiing. I just remember skiing out the bottom and it was so fast that it was just a blur, but it was one of the most incredible feelings” (Oenhaus 2008). In this quote, we find the falling of gender ideologies in relation to risk-taking as she explains a feeling and experience that is very similar to those experienced by men. Gender undoubtedly plays a role in society and the world of high-risk skiing as well, but when asking why people actively search for risk while bringing down the ideologies hiding our ontological and existential selves we find the same movement towards risk, however one is defined socially.

[ncskier]

I saw so many kids ski experience wrecked by pushy parents trying to live through them.

I remember promising to myself that if I had kids, I'd never do that to them.

Now I have a little girl that absolutely rips.

Every time we go out, someone says we have to get her racing.

But she doesn't want to, she just wants to ski around with us, so that's how it is.

That describes my philosophy with my son. At the age of 3 in fact on his 3rd birthday I told steamboat he was 3.5 for his first week of lessons. swore to my wife if he didnt like the sport at any time we could simply swim or hang out in the mountains. Same deal every year. I'll put him in ski school and if he cries whines or generally has a crappy time he can drop out. Through hundreds of hours of ski wee, lessons, free time with me etc. I always told him, "if you want to do something else, just let me know." He loves to ski more then me which of course makes me happy but I never pressured him. Now he is a tween and really too old for week long lessons so he hangs with me or other kids but I never pressure him to race even after he was invited to join a local race team. He's just not competitive. Neither am I.
The coolest day ever was taking him to Alta for a sunny spring skiing corn day where he and I spent all day together lapping steeps and never mentioning trail names or ratings or anything. He was just ready to ski it all on that day. Everything from blues to blacks to bowls were fair game. I've been lucky to have hundreds of good ski days but that day sticks out in my mind as the best.