In Crust We Trust
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:21 am
I am fascinated with the socially polemic word, crusty. What does 'crusty' mean to you? The reason I find the word so fascinating is because it has so many parameters. Here is Mr. Webster's definition.
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Crusty (kr(uh)st(ee))
adj.
etymology:
[Middle English cruste, from Old French crouste, from Latin crusta; see kreus- in Indo-European roots. "hard coating"]
definition:
1. Of our pertaining to crust, crust-like
2. Of or indicating an aged rock climber
3. Indicative of experience in for example, rock climbing. Indicative of sagacity attained through life experience or a mark of social status, akin to the silver on the back of a gorilla troop leader.
4. of or relating to dehydrated or aged seminal fluid.
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The single most fascinating aspect of 'crusty' is that some people manage to avoid having the descriptor applied to them even though they have been around the rock climbing scene for a long time. To others the word simply sticks. The population to which the word sticks appear to be mostly male. For example, no one would ever refer to Lynn Hill as crusty, even though she witnessed much of the evolution of rock climbing and pioneered aspects of climbing. I think the gender specificity of crusty is due to at least two reasons.
The first reason is that women in general avoid references to their age, especially older women. This may be due to the fact people erroneously believe that women age less gracefully than men. The perceptual dichotomy regarding age may be an allusion to an implied female loss and male gain in sexual potential. These gender biases play out in the typical reaction to man vs. boy; and girl vs. woman when these words are sexually contextualized.
Definition 4 (above) may also provide more gender bias to this most lofty of climber titles.
After the gender bias has been dispelled with, 'crusty' appears to stick more easily to some individuals. I am somewhat mystified because from here I don't have a clear cut set of other characteristics that magnetize the distinction to an individual. Hence this post, a query of my immediate climbing community--a call for help. Enlighten me please.
_ Why do some climbers, regardless of age and experience, manage to slip past acquiring the crusty distinction? Is this even correct? Will the distinction come sooner or later? Could we always bestow this honor upon the death of a wizened climber; even though, in life they never carried it? Can someone for example, like Matt Massey, with his baby face, avoid this title forever?
_ Is crusty really gender-specific and if so is 'crusty' just another glass ceiling for the female hard climber to overcome?
_ Is this just an issue that is nested in a more far-ranging issue of inequity that plagues human sociology--is this issue really only about crusty?
_ What does crusty mean to you?
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Crusty (kr(uh)st(ee))
adj.
etymology:
[Middle English cruste, from Old French crouste, from Latin crusta; see kreus- in Indo-European roots. "hard coating"]
definition:
1. Of our pertaining to crust, crust-like
2. Of or indicating an aged rock climber
3. Indicative of experience in for example, rock climbing. Indicative of sagacity attained through life experience or a mark of social status, akin to the silver on the back of a gorilla troop leader.
4. of or relating to dehydrated or aged seminal fluid.
--------------------------------------------------------
The single most fascinating aspect of 'crusty' is that some people manage to avoid having the descriptor applied to them even though they have been around the rock climbing scene for a long time. To others the word simply sticks. The population to which the word sticks appear to be mostly male. For example, no one would ever refer to Lynn Hill as crusty, even though she witnessed much of the evolution of rock climbing and pioneered aspects of climbing. I think the gender specificity of crusty is due to at least two reasons.
The first reason is that women in general avoid references to their age, especially older women. This may be due to the fact people erroneously believe that women age less gracefully than men. The perceptual dichotomy regarding age may be an allusion to an implied female loss and male gain in sexual potential. These gender biases play out in the typical reaction to man vs. boy; and girl vs. woman when these words are sexually contextualized.
Definition 4 (above) may also provide more gender bias to this most lofty of climber titles.
After the gender bias has been dispelled with, 'crusty' appears to stick more easily to some individuals. I am somewhat mystified because from here I don't have a clear cut set of other characteristics that magnetize the distinction to an individual. Hence this post, a query of my immediate climbing community--a call for help. Enlighten me please.
_ Why do some climbers, regardless of age and experience, manage to slip past acquiring the crusty distinction? Is this even correct? Will the distinction come sooner or later? Could we always bestow this honor upon the death of a wizened climber; even though, in life they never carried it? Can someone for example, like Matt Massey, with his baby face, avoid this title forever?
_ Is crusty really gender-specific and if so is 'crusty' just another glass ceiling for the female hard climber to overcome?
_ Is this just an issue that is nested in a more far-ranging issue of inequity that plagues human sociology--is this issue really only about crusty?
_ What does crusty mean to you?
