Sisterhood to promote the rhizomatic bodies of Mexican-mestiza women mountaineers

Abstract

Employing a post-structural approach, this study relies on the rhizomatic body to understand the Mexican-mestiza women mountaineer, to address negotiations and overcome gender inequalities. Drawing from a larger study and using a qualitative method, it focuses on sisterhood as a core strategy to build mestiza rhizomatic bodies to foster women mountaineering in a traditional society. The main findings suggest that sisterhood supports women’s mountaineering and promotes deterritorialization and reterritorialization processes to sustain diverse strata for their negotiations. Accordingly, Mexican-mestiza women mountaineers’ rhizomatic bodies embedded vulnerability, adventure, risk, physicality, criticism, or freedom to promote activities that are more inclusive.

Keywords:

• mestiza
• Mexico
• mountaineering
• Rhizomatic body
• sisterhood
• women

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all interviewees for sharing their mountaineering experiences, and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Isis Arlene Díaz-Carrión

Isis Arlene Díaz-Carrión is Professor at the Facultad de Turismo y Mercadotecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (Mexico). She holds a PhD in Human Geography from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). The focus of her writing is on gender and tourism.