Sasha Digulian and 8a argument about FFA

Sasha Digulian has written a debate article in regards to the Rock & Ice article where Paige Claasen says FFA (First Female Ascents) are irrelevant. "FFA are significant because they flag the progress of women's achievements in climbing. The relevancy of labeling something as a "First Female Ascent" can be arbitrary depending the difficulty may be somewhat insignificant. My hero is Lynn Hill for setting the precedent for men and women. Her achievements and highlighting that she is a woman narrow the gender gap. I think that there is something to be said about women putting themselves out there and going after their dreams regardless of past ascentionists. This encourages me to push myself as well. Perhaps people who are not in favor of emphasizing "female firsts" find organizations like the Women's Sports Foundation and UN Women irrelevant as well. Reinforcement of female achievements are necessary to encourage progression." 8a agrees with the thoughts of Digulian even if FFA should not in general be considered as important as a FA. Although climbing might be the sport where female are closest to male performance, of course it is important to state who was the first female on Mount Everest or which female will do the FFA of a 9a+. If climbing media should not divide and select male and female performances differently, we would almost never see any female ascents reported. Most certainly, no media would report Paige's 8b+/c ascent, as probably 500 guys do it every year.