Who is Flash Foxy for?
While Flash Foxy was initially established with women in mind, we have grown significantly over the years and our mission and values now prioritize all non-dominant gender expressions. Our mission and vision have evolved to consider the systems built to keep power in the hands of a few (why the climbing industry looks like so many cisgender men). At Flash Foxy, we want to practice being together in a different way— where the diversity of our community shines and we all commit to being better for each other, share knowledge and resources and, of course, climb some rocks.
Presently, Flash Foxy stands with women and genderqueer climbers - including trans and gender non-conforming folks - who need a space to pursue their love of the sport without having to deal with historic barriers to access.
Why did we shift from a woman-centric space to a space for all “non-dominant genders”?
As our founder said, “Nobody likes to be an asterisk!” and we really believe it. At this point, Flash Foxy has been around for nearly ten years and we’ve grown in our understanding of systemic oppression, emergent strategy and community building. We want our mission and to explicitly acknowledge and honor our genderqueer community members who have been brave in being themselves and have generously included us in their growth and discovery of who they are!
We aren’t perfect but our hope is that these changes are a reflection of deepening our solidarity to changing toxic cultures and affording space to more folks who are excluded from the sport of climbing.
I am a cis-gendered woman and don’t identify as genderqueer. Is this space still for me?
Yes! Flash Foxy spaces are committed to being anti-oppressive and so we ask cisgender and straight allies to be equally committed to learning how to share space with queer community. Learn about pronouns and how to use them - it’s easier than you think. We don’t make assumptions in these spaces, we do our homework before, after and during!
Ultimately, we ask attendees to be intersectional in their approach to community building. For example, if you are queer and white, we ask you to practice sharing space with racialized queer folks in ways that don’t repeat conventional/problematic behaviors. We don’t assume everyone climbs for the same reasons!
I am a cisgender man. Is this space for me? Why not?
No. The liberation of people with non-dominant gender expressions will ultimately also benefit cisgender men by empowering better communities. We can’t do that work without creating this intentional space that removes cisgender men from the center. We see this affinity space as a temporary space that lets us experiment and re-imagine what community dynamic and culture could look like when it reflects us all. We believe that the real exclusion is in abiding by systems designed to harm some people while protecting others based on reasons beyond their control.