Female First Ascent Designation - Curse or Benifit

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velvet!

Trad climber
La Cochitaville
Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 5, 2015 - 10:53am PT
**BenEfit. dang.

Andrew Bisharat thinks they do more harm than good to the female climbing community.

http://eveningsends.com/climbing/the-curse-of-the-first-female-ascent/

The Curse of the First Female Ascent

The First Female Ascent is a paradox—it’s at once pushing women forward and simultaneously holding them back.
By Andrew Bisharat | 10-01-2015

This year there have been a number of interesting online discussions about issues specific to women climbers: from observations of underlying sexism, to deciphering whether a climber’s recognition is a product of her beauty or her achievement (or both; and if so, then which was more of a factor?), to a recent debate over the merit of the “first female ascent.”

First Female Ascents (FFAs) are a hot topic thanks to Paige Claassen, who insisted that her recent ascent of The Bleeding (5.14a), in Mill Creek, Utah, not be labeled as an FFA—even though it was.

“Personally, I think first female ascents are irrelevant,” she stated in an interview with Rock and Ice. “Some women find them really motivating … but there are some cases in which a woman hasn’t even tried the route before.”

One of those women who find FFAs motivating is Sasha DiGiulian. She has amassed many of them herself, and also leveraged some of those FFAs to earn sponsors and other professional opportunities. On social media, DiGiulian asserted: ”FFA are significant because they flag the progress of women’s achievements in climbing.”

I think that both Paige and Sasha have really valid points. The First Female Ascent is a paradox—it’s at once pushing women forward and simultaneously holding them back.

Are Women Capable of Climbing As Hard As Men?

The answer to this question really strikes at the heart of the First Female Ascent paradox. In most other physical sports, women and men play in separate arenas. One way rock climbing is unique is that both sexes get to perform on the exact same “playing field,” and therefore comparisons are inevitably drawn between the two sexes.

Compared to almost all other athletic endeavors, rock climbing might just be the least sex-biased of them all! In fact, there’s no other sport that I can think of in which both men and women have achieved such close performance results on the exact same playing field.

So, are women capable of climbing as hard as men? Yes.

Climbing isn’t just about pure power, or endurance, or strength-to-weight, or wing span, or boldness, or creativity, or vision, or problem-solving. It draws from ALL of those things at once, which somehow really evens things out, especially as both sexes are forced to rely on their own personal strengths, and thus arrive at their own completely unique solutions to overcome the exact same route or problem. (How cool is that?)

Bottom line, in the sport of rock climbing, women are crushing.

Empirically, women are climbing just as hard as men today. Go to any sport crag or bouldering destination and you’ll likely see a scene in which both men and women are sharing projects, if not beta, too.

According to the “official” record books, women have climbed nearly, but not quite, as hard as men: Women have climbed 5.15a sport routes and V14 boulders, just two grades below the hardest ascents ever achieved by fewer than a handful of men.
Josune Bereziartu became the first woman to climb 5.15a with Bimbaluna, considered a soft 5.15a or 5.14d/15a.

When Josune Bereziartu climbed Bimbaluna (a “soft” 5.15a given the slash grade of 5.14d/15a) in 2005, 5.15b hadn’t even been established yet, meaning that this Basque powerhouse was performing right at the same level as Chris Sharma and a few other dudes who had also ticked 5.15a.

The greatest ascent of the 1990s was achieved by a woman. Lynn Hill’s first free ascent of the Nose was significant for many reasons, but primarily it was the first free ascent of the most famous rock climb in the world and it was hardest big-wall free climb yet established—AND it was first done by a woman.

Professional women climbers also have it pretty good. In a society where women still earn just 78 cents for every dollar that a man earns, climbing has no perceived glass ceiling. The most successful professional climber of the 1990s was a woman: Lynn Hill. And the most successful professional climber today, Sasha DiGiulian, is also a woman. If anything, being a woman seems to be an advantage as a professional climber—opening up opportunities that aren’t available to men.

The FFA Paradox

Indeed, it hasn’t always been the case that women are considered equal to men in climbing, which is still a ways off from the ideal 50-50 participation demographic that we’d all love to see. To not acknowledge that a woman, in being the first of her sex to claim an ascent of some route, has achieved something noteworthy, somehow disparages the greater context in which that ascent took place, which is that many women believe they still have a long ways to go in terms of proving what they can achieve on the rock and earning the respect that they deserve.

On the other hand, could it be that by calling special attention to fact that a woman became the first to climb such-and-such route, we are unintentionally reinforcing the very stereotype that we are trying to move away from? In other words, if the underlying context is that this woman achieved something only after a man or men achieved that same accomplishment before her, then aren’t we implicitly reinforcing the concept that women will always be a few steps behind the dudes?
Ashima Shiraishi became the second female to climb 9a/9a+ this year with her ascent of Open Your Mind Direct, Santa Linya, Spain.

Feminism and Labels

Part of the feminist movement of the 1960s was to move away from the feminine forms of vocational words. Waitress, actress, hostess, etc., became obsolete as women asserted that they can be whatever they want: servers, actors, hosts, doctors, Supreme Court justices, etc.

For example, today you would never call someone a “woman doctor”—assuming that you’re not referring, albeit witlessly, to an OB/GYN—because it implies that it’s somehow unusual for a woman to be a doctor—i.e., “Aren’t they supposed to be nurses?”

Either way, in 2015, it’s often considered insulting to have your sex attached to your profession—and this goes both ways, e.g., “male nurse.”

This same thing can apply to race, too. Barak Obama is the first black president of the United States, which is obviously remarkable if you consider that it wasn’t that long ago that black people were segregated from white society in America, not to mention the whole slavery thing several decades before that.

You could argue that reporters are doing a disservice to the black community and society at large by not acknowledging Obama’s race every time he’s mentioned in the press. Loosely applying Sasha’s FFA argument to Obama, by acknowledging both Obama’s race, and that he is the first of that race to reach the highest office in the land, we will be reminded of all the progress that we’ve made in terms of living in a just society.

On the other hand, if the New York Times, at every mention of our president, wrote, “first black president Obama” or even just “black president Obama,” it would kinda seem a little racist, right? Because Obama is a president, who happens to be black.

And to bring that back around to climbing, isn’t Paige a badass climber (who happens to be a woman) who redpointed The Bleeding?

When Do FFAs Matter?

Context, timing and intention are all important when it comes to the applying the First Female Ascent honorific. In many cases, FFAs are arbitrary and coincidental. For example, when it just so happens that a woman has never tried to climbed such-and-such route before, is it always automatically noteworthy when the first woman comes around and actually ticks a route? Or course, the answer is: it depends, but maybe not, especially when there are so many strong women out there climbing at the same level as their male counterparts.

Consider the parallel with second ascents (a genus to which FFAs belong): This year, Ethan Pringle nabbed a significant second ascent, of Jumbo Love, the first 5.15b in the world. Ethan will go down in the history books for being the second person to send Jumbo Love, confirming the grade of 5.15b, too.

However, does this one noteworthy second ascent automatically make all second ascents important? Of course not. If I am out in the wilderness with my friend, and we are developing some totally random cliff, and I get the opportunity to do the second ascent of Choss Nugget (5.10b), simply because I am the only other person within a 50-mile radius who happens to have a harness and climbing shoes, certainly that entitles me to claim a second ascent. But will I be putting it on my resume? Will anyone ever care? Probably not.

So, what are the circumstances in which an FFA might be a worthy honorific? It’s easy to imagine that quintessential situation: Picture a route or boulder that has a hard grade, that has thus far only been climbed by a few men, and that has been tried by various other notable women.

One example that comes to mind is Emily Harrington’s FFA of the 7 P.M. Show (5.14a) in Rifle. This is a classic, well-known rock climb in Colorado that Bobbi Bensman, one of the strongest female climbers of her generation, had come notoriously close to redpointing in the 1990s. Also, no woman had climbed a 5.14 in Rifle before. So when Emily sent the 7 P.M. Show, it was a big deal due to the the context of the bro-centric culture that plagued Rifle for many years, one in which a few climbers truly believed that no woman would ever climb 5.14 here. Emily’s ascent was also largely notable due to the history of Bobbi’s legendary campaign to send this route. Emily’s ascent is a great example of an ascent that deserves recognition as a First Female Ascent.

But, again, this is partly due to the sexist stereotypes that lingered around Rifle in the late 1990s. And aren’t we mostly past all of that by now??


In General, FFAs Hold Women Back

My opinion is that FFAs are, in general, doing more harm than good. The reason why is because we’ve assigned an outsized value to every FFA that we hear about from the very women climbers who themselves are attaching these honorifics to their own achievements.

The problem with making FFAs a such a big deal is that perhaps women aren’t as motivated to go off and envision their own first ascents. Rather, they are taking the easier path of repeating routes because they know that they will be celebrated for being the first woman to climb those routes, however circumstantial that ascent may be.

If the top women climbers are interested in pushing the limits, they should be spending more time seeking out their own first ascents. By following in men’s footsteps and seeking out FFAs, women are automatically setting themselves up to always be one step behind.

I recently interviewed Daniel Woods about next-level grades, and he provided me with this observation: “The harder lines out there require specialized strengths,” he said. “A line that is next level for Dave, Jimmy, Nalle, or Ondra could be impossible for me and vice versa. It is inspiring to me how this works.”

This is an important concept: Routes and boulders at the upper end of the grade scale are going to be specialized—meaning, they are going to reflect the particular strengths of the first ascentionist who is drawn to that line. This applies to all differences, including those of the sexes.
Beth Rodden on the first ascent of Meltdown (5.14c). Photo: Corey Rich.

Beth Rodden on the first ascent of Meltdown (5.14c). Photo: Corey Rich.

Take Beth Rodden’s testpiece Meltdown (5.14c), which might be one of the hardest first ascents ever completed by a woman. The route shut down Tommy Caldwell, in part because of finger size—in fact, it’s still awaiting a second ascent, not to mention a first male ascent. This is a great example of how a first ascent can both reflect female-specific strengths, and be cutting edge as it is one of the hardest trad pitches in the world.

There are so many different variables that go into what makes a route tough. There are absolutely 5.15b and 5.15c routes and V15 and V16 boulders out there, which haven’t been done or even envisioned yet, that would suit a woman’s unique skill set as a climber. And there are women who are capable of climbing these grades: especially Ashima Shiraishi and Alex Puccio. But men aren’t going to be the ones to put these specialized routes up. It has to be women: who are strong mentally, strong physically and who possess the vision and motivation to see new routes and actually establish them.

As high-end climbing becomes increasingly specialized, as Daniel noted, it’s super important for women to start being the ones to establish their own next-level routes.

I don’t believe that women need to first repeat Jumbo Love, Change or La Dura Dura, to push themselves into the 5.15b and 5.15c realms (although doing so would certainly provide them with a context around which they can rate their own FAs).

I think the top women climbers in the world would be better off focusing more on doing cutting-edge first ascents, and downplaying, but not entirely ignoring, the significance of their repeats.

Why settle for a First Female Ascent when you can be a rad female who achieves a badass First Ascent?





I disagree. My counter:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/libby-sauter/the-advantage-of-the-female-first-ascent/10153107619870965


The Advantage of the Female First Ascent
Libby Sauter·Monday, October 5, 2015

In response to Andrew Bisharat’s article “The Curse of the Female First Ascent”.

As Cam McKenzie Ring , mother of two and former YOSAR teammate floats my 5.12 project then carries on into the 5.13 extension, my palms sweat and tingle, eager to try the route again. Cam and I are about the same size and she made that cross through move near the top look effortless. Watching her warm up on my project while her two young boys play below, I’m inspired to try harder. It’s infinitely easier to relate to her challenges on the glassy limestone route than to a boy whose forearms are the size of my thigh.

That ability to identify with and look up to Cam is a large part of why I believe FFA’s currently have merit in the climbing world.


I hold the female speed record on the Nose of El Capitan and this distinction has benefited me professionally. Still, my female friends and I that have been chasing and trading that title for the last 5 years exemplify the beneficial, constructive power of female specific designations. In just 5 years, we’ve seen the fastest female time up El Capitan fall 5 separate times, dropping over 7.5 hours from 12:15 to 4:43.

The motivation behind this friendly, competitive game of ‘tag the tree’ on the Nose can personally be traced back to the fun of chasing a title, to the joy of raising the standards of my gender, not to mention the pure pleasure of climbing the NIAD with some of my best friends. The women of Yosemite collectively advancing climbing on El Capitan embody the motivational surge that female specific designations can propagate.

Paige Classen’s refusal to shout “FFA!” to the climbing media with her ascent of The Bleeding doesn’t signify that FFA’s are obsolete. It means that not every FFA is newsworthy to the climbing community as a whole. When a 4 star, chipped route at a small crag, that’s not a new grade for an American female, gets sent, it’s an admirable and impressive FFA, worthy of congratulations and beers back at camp. But we can hold the national presses. However, when you start to get up to the upper tier of climbing grades or routes that have historical significance (like Mayan Smith Gobat’s FFA of Punks in the Gym, the worlds first 5.14/8b+), it benefits our sport, not just my gender to log that history. Keeping track of which women have done which impressive feats can motivate people on a large scale, the same way that I get motivated to send my proj by watching Cam hike it first thing in the morning. The FFA designation proudly marks the progress and achievement of women in climbing.


Men and women have different bodies. We have different strength capabilities, different muscle and fat distributions. It isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t something we should be ashamed of or hide or try to ignore. We are just different. Many women out climb men, but on the whole men far out climb women. Look at the 8a.nu rankings. The first female appears at number 38 on the list. Until women are climbing at those upper grades with the same frequency that men are, until women are climbing El Cap as regularly as the men are, FFA’s are notable and I hope to keep hearing about them.


And Paige, if we ever meet, drinks and hi-fives on me for an amazing send! Respect.


THOUGHTS??
Studly

Trad climber
WA
Oct 5, 2015 - 10:55am PT
There's only one Lynn Hill, so...
jogill

climber
Colorado
Oct 5, 2015 - 11:39am PT
A little like the separation of sexes in gymnastics. Women will probably never be able to compete with men on the rings, but there is no reason they should be restricted from doing so on the horizontal bar. Certain kinds of climbing moves may well favor one sex over another.

An ongoing discussion.
cleo

Social climber
wherever you go, there you are
Oct 5, 2015 - 11:45am PT
I'd be curious - how do first ascents (done by women, but not FFA) stack up in terms of relative participation numbers of *serious hardpersons*? (e.g. not me!)

Obviously, there are lots of female climbers today, but that wasn't always the case, so it would have to be index to the era too.

I'll admit, it annoys the sh*t out of me when the press dismisses female accomplishments by saying "but her fingers were smaller, so"... (Beth Rodden, Lynn Hill). You never hear about Sharma's accomplishments being dismissed (but he is more powerful) or potter's (but he's so tall), etc. Which is to say - EVERY climber has strengths, yes, but those particulars seem to only be pointed out when it is a woman.
Splater

climber
Grey Matter
Oct 5, 2015 - 12:17pm PT
When Lynn Hill did the Nose, FFA meant first free ascent.
cleo

Social climber
wherever you go, there you are
Oct 5, 2015 - 12:32pm PT
Small fingers change the game far more often than reach does.

The Nose as a free route is undeniably small finger friendly on both crux pitches, and undeniably additionally small body friendly on the changing corners pitch, for example.

Calling power an inherent advantage is a stretch. Finger dimension is impossible to change, while power can be trained for, and achieved by anyone. Some climbers have a genetic advantage in the power realm, but if you're going there, the average general genetic power difference between men and women rears its sexist head, and true equality is questionable.


Oh please, it is exactly this kind of BS comment that annoys the sh*t out of me. I am a short, small person, and I have to make multiple extra moves on Every. Single. Pitch. It can easily turn a 5.9 into a 5.11. Female elite climbers - who are often really small - just might be *more* skilled than the male elite climbers because of height.

EVERY climb has some body type which has an advantage, but for some reason, we always hear about the Nose and not other phenomenal climbs that men have done!

 Height is impossible to change
 Finger size is impossible to change
 Power, although trainable, is also genetic - and gender specific. Ever notice how elite male climbers come in all sizes, from small to tall to medium to powerful, but elite (5.14) female climbers are all really tiny?
velvet!

Trad climber
La Cochitaville
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 5, 2015 - 12:58pm PT
Just like not all FA's are worthy of full spreads in the Alpinist, it shouldn't be heralded as a miracle every time a woman ties in.

But just as some FA's due deserve a press release, some FFA's do as well.

And as a friend pointed out - FFA's are great motivators but they don't have to be our stopping point for where we set our sights.
overwatch

climber
Oct 5, 2015 - 01:03pm PT
Way too many words...jesus!
Greg Barnes

climber
Oct 5, 2015 - 01:43pm PT
FFA = First Free Ascent

If you want to write a magazine article about first female ascents, you have to come up with a different abbreviation. It's going to confuse newer climbers when they look in the guidebooks and see the FFA of some wall was by Ron, John, and John (to take the E. Face of Washington Column as an example…).
cavemonkey

Ice climber
ak
Oct 5, 2015 - 02:04pm PT
FVA?
cavemonkey

Ice climber
ak
Oct 5, 2015 - 02:08pm PT
My last girlfriend consistently crushed twice as hard as me on the rocks
now ice climbing was a different story
we all have our strengths
L

climber
California dreamin' on the farside of the world..
Oct 5, 2015 - 02:35pm PT
Stop it, Moose.

The chest-beating is hurting my tender eardrums.
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
Oct 5, 2015 - 02:39pm PT
I think my wife is going to have an awfully long wait....
L

climber
California dreamin' on the farside of the world..
Oct 5, 2015 - 03:01pm PT
Aaaaahhhhhh...the World has righted itself.


Thank you, Warbler!
overwatch

climber
Oct 5, 2015 - 03:06pm PT
Lolololol....L
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
Oct 5, 2015 - 03:26pm PT
THOUGHTS??

If I comprehend correctly, the author of the linked article (Andrew Bisharat) points out that some females settle for the First Female Ascent INSTEAD of going out and doing own First Ascents or First Free Ascents. Which is not as relevant to advancing climbing as a sport, unless it is a milestone climb (such as first female ascent of the Dawn Wall, First Female to free solo Astroman+Rostrum IAD, First Female Ascent of a confirmed 5.15b)...but IMO climbs like that deserve some sort of press no matter what is the sex of the person doing it, even if it will be a third ascent. It is cutting edge technical rock climbing. Settling for the first female ascent rather than advancing skills to perform own first ascent of the same grade, or a harder grade, would be holding yourself back, IMO.

While you and your female friends cut the FEMALE speed record on the Nose...how many of you are trying to break speed records on other El Cap routes? How many El Cap routes have speed records by all female teams or mixed teams with the female pulling own weight? Is concentrating on the Fastest Female time on the Nose keeping some of the females from setting own speed records on El Cap no matter what the sex is? Maybe? Whatever the case is, setting own personal best is bad ass. If that motivates you to step out of your personal comfort zone and push your personal limits, all the power to you!.

The point that I see....if MORE females look past the sex difference and concentrate on pairing up with other guys or girls it will lead to more OWN records, new routes and free climbing new routes. As far as I can see that would be creating history, without settling for the first female ascent or the fastest female time.

Some people find these First Female Ascents inspiring. Some find it inspiring when a 16 year old asthmatic climbs Mt. Everest. I think it is important to concentrate on what an individual climber is excited about. There will be others around who are using the first female ascent as a way to self promote. Some will look past it and do first female ascents of notable climbs and brush it off as no more than a personal achievement. Every climb that we complete is an achievement, no matter what sex are we representing.

Males and females are physically different. Children and grown ups are physically different too. Differences can benefit or damage an individual's chances of sending a particular route. Some routes are easier for shorter people, some are easier for taller people, lighter people etc. I think all of you should calm down and avoid blaming your physique for not sending some route that you think is easier for a friend because he/she is 3 inches taller. Dropping 10 lbs can help 90% of climbers out there to perform better, but who wants to do that?! It is always someone else's fault.

If someone cares, personally, I don't really give a f*#k if it is 5.10c, 5.11d, 5.12a or 5.8+. I have about four major ratings:
 I CAN do it,
 I CAN do it, barely, but I suck at it so I wan't to get better at this style
 I CAN'T do it and I want to be able to do it in the future
 I CAN'T do it, this route sucks dick and I don'e ever want to see it again

...well, I do give a f*#k a little. Giving a f*#k usually helps to keep yourself to a higher standard...send on brosefs and brosefines ;)

Women should stay home and cook and wait for their men to come back from their proud first ascends!

And settle for the first female ascents, so that I could get all the first ascents! :)
NutAgain!

Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
Oct 5, 2015 - 03:27pm PT
Many scientific studies suggest...
C'mon moose, those are just theories.
phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
Oct 5, 2015 - 04:17pm PT
I've been a feminist since the age of 8, when I started to notice the rampant sexism around me in everyday life. Sexism and its oft partner, discrimination, put up real barriers for women in a lot of arenas. Keeping track of that and pointing that out in those areas can and does often lead to change when the barriers are removed.

But even though there are still some poor pitiable sexists in climbing, how can that pose a barrier for women in climbing in this day and age? I don't see it.

It's because I'm a feminist that I have never been a fan of the designation "first female ascent". It has always struck me as condescending. Kind of like, oh look, you have that handicap of being a woman and you still managed to do that. Pat pat on the head.

But it's a big world. To each their own. If others find it motivating or inspiring, fine.
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
Oct 5, 2015 - 04:36pm PT
I am sure t have overstepped here
Tradman-thank you, this is his partner on her 50th birthday Before climbing! So not pumped.
I hope she doesn't mind and thank you again Tradman Yes, she deserves to be on the old JB most ripped thread (where I robbed the snap from)

That's a crusher at 50! (almost 8 years ago)
I think it makes the point that given the drive women can climb at as hard a level for as long as men. I know that some climbs favour different body types, the strength to weight ratio
Favour the women, mostly.
Oriental /Asian women - Asian ballerinas - proffesional dancers in general . . .
cleo

Social climber
wherever you go, there you are
Oct 5, 2015 - 04:57pm PT
I agree with Vitaliy.

This is why it is annoying to *always* hear about how Lynn or Beth did some First Free Ascent because they have small fingers.

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