{"id":43744,"date":"2022-03-09T12:53:31","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T17:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gripped.com\/?p=43744"},"modified":"2022-03-09T12:53:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T17:53:31","slug":"the-problem-with-routesetting-b-i-g-challenges-male-dominated-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gripped.com\/indoor-climbing\/the-problem-with-routesetting-b-i-g-challenges-male-dominated-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem With Routesetting – B.I.G. Challenges Male Dominated Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bring in the Girls (B.I.G<\/a>) Initiative opened its second video series this afternoon with the release of Not Just a Boys’ Club – Part 1<\/em>. This film is the first of a four-part film series directed by Alexa Fay. The series aims to question and dismantle the prejudice of a white-male dominated climbing industry. This film dealt directly with the climbing industry\u2019s lack of diversity in setting spaces.<\/p>\n

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B.I.G.’s four-minute production followed three routesetters through their histories with routesetting. It begins with Joe Rockhead\u2019s Sachi Adachi. Adachi opened with a story describing exclusion. She described prejudice from male routesetters during her entrance to the industry. Upon making a mistake, Adachi faced a frigid quote from one of these setters:<\/p>\n

See, this is why we can\u2019t hire chicks.<\/em><\/p>\n

These words concluded the opening scene and laid the foundation for the series and the film. Originally, the B.I.G Initiative<\/a> was designed to support women through careers in routesetting. Their campaigns brought many into the workforce, but setting teams still tokenize women instead of incorporating their experiences.<\/p>\n

The film laid the second plank of its foundation with a strong quote from Rasha Taha.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI think that diversity is kind of a buzzword at this point,\u201d Taha said. \u201cBut it\u2019s true that white men have been at the forefront of this sport for a very long time now.\u201d She goes on to describe the incongruencies held between a gym\u2019s climbing population and the folks on the setting teams themselves.<\/p>\n

Bloc Shop apprentice routesetter Viviane Pham then drove a final foundational point in the base of this series. She referenced the way women are treated in climbing. \u201cIf women were valued in the climbing industry,\u201d Pham noted, \u201cthen they wouldn\u2019t be seen as assets, they would just be a given.\u201d Pham goes on to describe the value of women in routesetting.<\/p>\n

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