The (f) behind a female name...

I guess you all have seen the (f) behind female user names here on 8a. I wonder what this is about. Why do females have to be pointed out on 8a? So everybody knows this is actually a woman writing something? Are women so rare in climbing (no, they are not!). Why does it even matter to point out which sex a person has? Why don´t males have an (m) behind their name? To me, it seems to be some weird sort of old-school-sexism, but of course I might be wrong... Or does the (f) stand for something totally different? Any other opinions?