Women in Skiing Venture Grant
Donation protected
Hello gentle friends~
Anna and Annabelle here, we are two sophomores at Colorado College who define skiing as integral parts of our identities. Last Spring, we embarked on a mixed-gender backcountry ski trip for 10 days and first noticed how we are compromised because of social assumptions based off our gender.
In discussing our frustrations and Anna's knowledge base in feminist theory, we are applying for a Venture Grant through our college to research the matter. Here is a link to that grant page:
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/venturegrants/
Anna took a Feminist and Gender Studies class last year, in which she learned about self-objectification theory. This relates to the notion of "throwing like a girl," when a woman is asked to throw a ball but says that "someone else could," and proceeds to throw with less gusto then she has. She is internalizing society's expectations that she is not meant to throw a ball. This thoery is applicable to women in skiing. As Annabelle put it, “I felt free when I was with just girls, I skied better, I was more confident. With the boys I had many reservations because I felt like I had to take care of myself, to protect myself from their judgment. They cared how I looked as I skied, they were individualistic and I didn’t feel like they would be there if I fell.” In Anna’s words, “I don’t take as many risks skiing with the guys, and in doing so, I don’t feel like I’m as good as they are, and it creates this cycle in which I don’t take risks, I ski poorly, and an internal dialogue grows in which I tell myself they can, but I can’t.”
We will also apply self-sexualization theory to women in skiing. This theory discusses how women feel the need to sexualize themselves for men's approval of their expertise in skiing. Additionally, we will explore the very garments women have (and have not) worn throughout history while skiing. In the late 1800s for example, badass women in Chamonix would stash their cumbersome skirts in the rocks before ascending peaks. Nowadays even beacons, one of the most crucial safety elements of backcountry skiing, is not made for bodies with breasts.
We hope to travel to Chamonix, France, the heartland of the sport with the longest (yet still too short and spotty) record of women's place in skiing. Aesthetics of women in skiing are highly esteemed there, so our target research on self-sexualization and objectification is highly applicable there. We plan on travelling for research collection during our Winter Break for 3 weeks, from December 29-January 19. There, we will:
-meet with some of the 3% (!!!) of female International Mountain Guides
-interview local women and men on resort and off-piste
-observe how women present themselves off the slopes in the valley (namely, at work and in restaurants)
-ski with women and mixed-gender groups and record social dynamics
-visit the Alpine Musuem and International Ski School
-shred a few rad ski lines with all our gal power!
The issues associated with gender inequality in extreme sports are pertinent and personal for both of us, and we are passionate about engaging on the subject and enacting postive change. Upon returning to school, we are collaborating with Sophia Skelly and Eliza Mott who researched similar topics in surfing. We will make an art exhibit in our student center highlighting historic and contemporary athletes and host a night of all-campus discussion on what we learned. We will also lead an all-women's-learn-to-backcountry-ski day through our Outdoor Education Center. Furthermore, we will make our art exhibit mobile for the New England and Vail Ski Museums to show!
Where you come in: The Venture Grant fund only covers $1000 for each of us for our entire trip, unless we raise our own funds which they will then match a small portion of. So, we would be over the snowy mountain with joy if you could support us on our research trip. (We're on a college-kid budget!) The money will be used to cover costs of travel, food, lodging, and research experiences. If you could donate in a timely manner, that would be greatly appreciated as we need to apply for matching funds as soon as possible.
THANK YOU! Bazillions of equal-snowflake-shredding-skier-women love, Anna and Annabelle
Anna and Annabelle here, we are two sophomores at Colorado College who define skiing as integral parts of our identities. Last Spring, we embarked on a mixed-gender backcountry ski trip for 10 days and first noticed how we are compromised because of social assumptions based off our gender.
In discussing our frustrations and Anna's knowledge base in feminist theory, we are applying for a Venture Grant through our college to research the matter. Here is a link to that grant page:
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/venturegrants/
Anna took a Feminist and Gender Studies class last year, in which she learned about self-objectification theory. This relates to the notion of "throwing like a girl," when a woman is asked to throw a ball but says that "someone else could," and proceeds to throw with less gusto then she has. She is internalizing society's expectations that she is not meant to throw a ball. This thoery is applicable to women in skiing. As Annabelle put it, “I felt free when I was with just girls, I skied better, I was more confident. With the boys I had many reservations because I felt like I had to take care of myself, to protect myself from their judgment. They cared how I looked as I skied, they were individualistic and I didn’t feel like they would be there if I fell.” In Anna’s words, “I don’t take as many risks skiing with the guys, and in doing so, I don’t feel like I’m as good as they are, and it creates this cycle in which I don’t take risks, I ski poorly, and an internal dialogue grows in which I tell myself they can, but I can’t.”
We will also apply self-sexualization theory to women in skiing. This theory discusses how women feel the need to sexualize themselves for men's approval of their expertise in skiing. Additionally, we will explore the very garments women have (and have not) worn throughout history while skiing. In the late 1800s for example, badass women in Chamonix would stash their cumbersome skirts in the rocks before ascending peaks. Nowadays even beacons, one of the most crucial safety elements of backcountry skiing, is not made for bodies with breasts.
We hope to travel to Chamonix, France, the heartland of the sport with the longest (yet still too short and spotty) record of women's place in skiing. Aesthetics of women in skiing are highly esteemed there, so our target research on self-sexualization and objectification is highly applicable there. We plan on travelling for research collection during our Winter Break for 3 weeks, from December 29-January 19. There, we will:
-meet with some of the 3% (!!!) of female International Mountain Guides
-interview local women and men on resort and off-piste
-observe how women present themselves off the slopes in the valley (namely, at work and in restaurants)
-ski with women and mixed-gender groups and record social dynamics
-visit the Alpine Musuem and International Ski School
-shred a few rad ski lines with all our gal power!
The issues associated with gender inequality in extreme sports are pertinent and personal for both of us, and we are passionate about engaging on the subject and enacting postive change. Upon returning to school, we are collaborating with Sophia Skelly and Eliza Mott who researched similar topics in surfing. We will make an art exhibit in our student center highlighting historic and contemporary athletes and host a night of all-campus discussion on what we learned. We will also lead an all-women's-learn-to-backcountry-ski day through our Outdoor Education Center. Furthermore, we will make our art exhibit mobile for the New England and Vail Ski Museums to show!
Where you come in: The Venture Grant fund only covers $1000 for each of us for our entire trip, unless we raise our own funds which they will then match a small portion of. So, we would be over the snowy mountain with joy if you could support us on our research trip. (We're on a college-kid budget!) The money will be used to cover costs of travel, food, lodging, and research experiences. If you could donate in a timely manner, that would be greatly appreciated as we need to apply for matching funds as soon as possible.
THANK YOU! Bazillions of equal-snowflake-shredding-skier-women love, Anna and Annabelle
Organizer
Annabelle O'Neill
Organizer
Colorado Springs, CO