Welcome to FIAS

Hello! Welcome to the first blog in the FIAS project – Fostering Inclusive Action Sports, kindly funded by the British Academy and Policy Bristol.

Here, we will share progress, insight and finding on the project so far, as well as background on our research methodology, case studies and future directions. 

The central goal is to understand and challenge the male dominance of action sports – particularly (in this instance) mountain biking, and to foster change through insight and engagement with key stakeholders. 

But first, a little background:

A counterculture on wheels

Ever since it emerged blinking from the dust of Northern California in the late 1970’s, what we know as modern mountain biking has been gaining strength as a modern cultural phenomenon. Although, of course, it bears comparisons with road cycling, mountain biking has long entertained a counter-cultural air at odds with its more traditional, dropped handlebar cousin.

But what *is* mountain biking, actually?

Mountain biking means different things to different people, from long moorland ambles with exploration and views paramount, all the way to screaming downhill racing, with huge air and preposterous velocity. It’s all under the same umbrella, and it all purports to have a level of independence that other organised bicycle riding does not. The anti-establishment air that was established at the sports’ birth persists today, then – although now it’s been commandeered by the marketing departments of increasingly multinational bike brands, keen to trade on the vibrancy – and increasingly, the phenomenal buying power – of the sport.

Progression – at a price

However, as mountain biking has progressed, and the market has matured, some have been left by the wayside. Many have noted that, although women were a frequent presence in rides and races in the early days of the sport, and at the moment it seems like there are more women mountain biking than ever before, throughout the nineties, their participation in mountain biking become markedly less frequent.

Left behind?

There may be a number of reasons for this, within and without the sport. Perhaps it was the acceleration of global mountain biking marketing strategies that focussed on risk and adrenaline, rather than exploration and community. Perhaps it was the shift into a more product-orientated approach, rather than an experiential one. Regardless, mountain biking today is perceived as a predominantly masculine activity – indeed, if you think of a mountain biker, the chances are the rider is male – and white. The most recent studies put the number of women participating in mountain biking at around 20 percent.

Modern visibility

That’s not to say that the media landscape has remained immutable over the years, though. There have long been sections of the mountain biking industry and its associated media which have tried to encouraged women’s engagment and participation, and today, women mountain bikers are more visible than ever before. There are women-specific products, female-only festivals, holidays and events, and industry-generated content contains an ever-widening coterie of female racing or riding influencers across the gamut of mountain biking.

Numerous female-only, or female-led mountain biking groups have appeared, and industry sources suggest that women’s participation is increasing once more, and that a nascent women’s mountain biking community of practice has emerged.

What’s up?

This research aims to explore the role that media and marketing can play in encouraging women back onto mountain bikes. It’s been a powerful tool in the past in helping mountain biking to grow, and the more we understand about how women use marketing and media to inform their mountain biking choices, the better placed we are to determine how best to use it to encourage women back into the sport.