The Outdoors Is Not For You
Is it possible to change a toxic industry? Can we build an outdoor industry that resembles the actual outdoors, a place where anyone and everyone can actually belong? How do we undo toxic, oppressive systems and build something better? Something without elitist gatekeeping, without toxic masculinity running rampant, without violent oppression? The outdoor industry in North America would not exist without the history (and present) of genocide against Indigenous people. It's violent, toxic and oppressive by its very foundations.
Humans are not equal in who they choose to target, even out in nature. I always say that I'm less afraid of bears while hiking alone than I am of strange men. I say it in that half-joking way of someone who is actually serious, but using humour as a shield. Except it's completely true.
Recently, another lesbian couple was murdered while camping. This time while in Utah. Kylen Carrol Schulte, 24, and Crystal Michelle Turner, 38. They had told friends that a "weirdo" was camping near them. I think that every woman, every gender non-conforming person, every 2SLGBTQ+ person knows that connotation. I know I felt that spine-tingling sense of familiarity when I read the description. In a statement that further enrages me, the sheriff's office has states that there is “no danger to the public” even though they have no information about the shooter, no suspects. More info can be found in this LGBTQ Nation article.
This is why I know that the outdoors isn't considered as a place for me. That the outdoor industry doesn't value me. Because so far, I have seen exactly zero outdoor brands say anything. Nobody is standing with us, trying to make us feel safer, feel welcome. All these brands with their rainbow logos in June and not one word of support. Just say something, anything. Make a statement. Tell us you love and value us. That we are welcome. Do something. Have conversations about how we can make the outdoors, "hiker culture", "climber culture", any and all of it, truly more welcoming and accepting. Start drawing lines between toxic politics that uses us as scary scapegoats and the actual violence that happens. You can't make your logo rainbow for one month and get our business with nothing in return. Being an ally means that you're not just here for the fun part. After the party ends, where do all our allies disappear off to? Does anyone actually care?
It's depressing, it's traumatizing, it's horrifying. It makes me afraid of doing the things I love. Afraid to tell the truth. The silence of our so-called friends and allies speaks volumes. And this is far from the first time. Laura “Lollie” Winans, 26, and her girlfriend, Julianne “Julie” Williams, 24 were killed at a backcountry campsite in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia in 1996. In 1988, Rebecca Wight was murdered and Claudia Brenner injured in Pennsylvania's Michaux State Forest. I used to want to hike the Appalachian Trail. Now I'm not so sure.
I don't know why this is getting in my head so much. Except that I do. Being out in nature brings me peace. Camping and hiking are places where I can feel like myself. Where I can strip away all the bullshit of too many years in the closet. Too many years of shame and hiding. Where it isn't supposed to matter. There are tons of risks: weather, wildlife, natural hazards. But all those things can be mitigated by knowledge and risk assessment. And they are fair. A thunder storm doesn't roll in over me because I'm gay, no matter what the religious right might say. My sexual orientation and gender have no relevance on how I will fare in a wildlife encounter. But then there's the issue of people. And mostly toxic, cis-het white dudes. The ones who think only they have earned the right to be out there. The ones who ask what "a pretty young lady is doing out here all alone?" That "question" is a threat and we all know it. The ones that ask "why is a girl like you dressed like a boy?", the ones who make disparaging comments about gender, who ask inappropriate personal questions. The ones who ask if I hike with a weapon for protection. And who try to accuse me of being paranoid if I ever dare to point out the threat in all their questions. "I'm just asking a question," "I'm just trying to help." No. You are trying to make sure I feel unsafe and know I don't belong. You are asserting your perceived dominance and superiority over me.
People often ask why I hike almost exclusively in National Parks, never on Crown Land. If you're not Canadian, Crown Land is so-called "public land" (actually stolen or treaty land), often used for conservation or recreation. Or resource extraction. Through treaties between First Nations and the Crown in Right of Canada, the provincial Crown grants or denies long-term use of Crown lands by Indigenous peoples. To be fair, this is a whole issue deserving of it's own post. For the purposes of this post, it's land where you can camp for free, without managed campsites. There are trails, and some generally accepted backcountry camping areas. Whereas National Parks are managed by Parks Canada for tourism and conservation (with their own terrible history of displacing Indigenous people and contributing to genocide and erasure of the true stewards of the land). However, Parks Canada has staffed front-country sites, and somewhat maintained backcountry sites. There are also wardens, and visitors are not permitted to carry guns in the parks. So both systems have terrible, oppressive, genocidal colonial legacies. However, I hike in the National Parks because nobody is supposed to have a gun. Guns are not permitted in Canada's National Parks, however in Alberta, target shooting is a permissible activity on public (Crown) land. So I have no plans to ever camp there.
I have worked in a couple of outdoor stores, and the guys who come in a talk about "random camping" (another term for Crown Land camping) are often the type of men I am afraid of running into in the backcountry. The type of white dude who think it is all there for them to take. Who ask me those threatening questions, even when I'm just working in the store. Who mansplain hiking boots and socks to me. I don't want to spend my time outdoors being afraid of men. I spend enough time afraid of men in the city. On public transit, while running, walking down the street. In what is supposed to be a relaxing time, I can't put myself in the same situation.
So what do we do? Or more accurately, what am I suggesting those in powerful positions in the industry do about it? Because it ought to be the responsibility of those with privilege to start the process to repair the harm that has been done. So what I am suggesting is actual action. I would also appreciate a statement of support for the community, but I want real action. Donate to the amazing LGBTQ+ outdoor organizations that already exist. Sponsor events specifically tailored to us. Queer climbing nights at the gym, Queer hiking events in the national parks, Alpine Clubs could have more affordable beginner mountaineering camps for LGBTQ+ participants. The big outdoor brands could sponsor these. Statements of diversity and inclusion should be front and center on the organization's web and social media pages. And they need to be backed up by actual actions. We need those in positions of power and leadership to recognize the ways they are upholding these systems of oppression, and to do actual work towards dismantling them. Instead of glorifying toxic bros, amplify the voices of people doing the real work. Actually commit to diversifying the hiring process. Recognize that there is no one right way to be outdoorsy. Promote access. Stop pricing marginalized groups out of participating. Stop tolerating intolerance. Change the names of racist, sexist, homophobic trails and climbing routes (and the ones named after random colonizers). Change all the names back to their original names. We will learn how to pronounce them. Transfer the land back to its true, original stewards. Change your mindset.
I do believe that we can change the framework. That we can take the outdoor industry and shift it into something that is not so intrinsically tied up with systems of oppression. But it's going to take work. The history is so tied to white dude bullshit, with "conquering" the peaks, with competition, exclusion, and dominance. But nature itself was there first. People were out in nature before we ever thought about it that way. So it must be possible, or at least worth fighting for. Hope needs to be backed up with action. We have power, even from inside these structures of oppression. We can start to shift the mindset, to carve out these spaces of acceptance, of valuing people for who they are. I know it's idealistic. Isn't it worth trying anyway?
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