Research

Currently we are working on the following research projects:

Bouldering and Belonging: Gender, Class and Inclusion in a Viennese Bouldering Gym 

Bouldering has seen an unprecedented increase in popularity in Europe in recent years. It is a sport that offers opportunities for organic movements, challenging both body and mind. Developed from outdoor climbing, with the institutionalisation and professionalisation of the sport, rock climbing has moved into artificial spaces, bringing in certain social implications. 

This research employs participatory ethnography to investigate gender performance, and inclusivity of bouldering spaces in Vienna, Austria. We find inclusivity an important aspect of research, since the Viennese bouldering scene – as opposed to most other sports – seems to have a strong progressive political worldview. To gather data, we used ethnographic methods on a small scale, such as observation, participant observation and interviews for over 12 months. Additionally, we also did research on secondary sources, such as examining the bouldering gym’s website and Instagram page. We analysed the data with an inductive approach. 

Our site is located in the 10th district of Vienna, Favoriten. This is a district known for its social and cultural diversity. It is home to people from various backgrounds and has a vibrant, multicultural atmosphere. However, it is also the district with one of the highest unemployment rates in the city, and with the fewest Austrian citizens (Stadt Wien, 2024). Contrasting this, the bouldering gym has a high price range and is characterised by a more higher-class milieu. In the meantime, the space is proudly advertising its openness and inclusivity, that are also general characteristics of the bouldering community. 

We examined the possibility of the existence of a bouldering habitus, informed by Bourdieu (1978) and Wacquant (2004). We theorise that it is built on an (upper-)middle class position: apart from having the economic capital that enables attending the bouldering gym, climbers tend to have higher cultural capital too. The study explores how this habitus is created through immersion in bouldering and how it intersects with gender, aside of class, body type- and ability in shaping experiences of the space. This contributes to the discussion on gender roles in sports and inclusivity of athletic communities. Since the professionalisation of this sport is in a relatively early stage, the future of its inclusivity is still in the making, hence this research may inform processes that strive for increased inclusivity.  

Keywords: bouldering, gender, inclusivity, habitus 

References 

Bourdieu, P. (1978). Sport and social class. Social Science Information, 17(6), 819–840. 

Stadt Wien | Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Statistik. (2024). Statistische Bezirksdaten der Wiener Bezirke von A bis Z. Stadt Wien. Retrieved April 13, 2025, from https://www.wien.gv.at/statistik/bezirke/  

Wacquant, L. (2004). Body and soul: Notebooks of an apprentice boxer. Oxford University Press.