It’s a Man’s World of Warcraft
A creative nonfiction piece on gender violence and racism in World of Warcraft
“Our identities don’t disappear when we enter a video game. Gaming doesn’t provide an escape for oppressed people as it should. Instead, the violence compounds and makes us realize that the world we live in will never, ever provide us a reprieve from the oppression that exceeds our computer screens.”
In the Lack of Luxury: Shopping as a Plus-Size Person
A testimonial and opinion piece on shopping luxury as a plus-size person.
“Instead of being a treat, shopping as a plus-size person is more of a chore. Being consistently unable to find anything that fits leads to a sense of shame, like we are not entitled to dressing up and claiming ownership over our bodies through fashion. …
Being able to shop inclusive fashion will not, at the end of the day, achieve liberation and justice for all bodies. But in the meantime, being able to shop inclusive sizes means we all have access to owning our bodies and our identities at every size, for every occasion from a college graduation to grocery shopping.”
Kaitlin Heatherly is her own Greatest Competitor
A profile on professional rock climber Kaitlin Heatherly.
“When Kaitlin climbs, everything clicks. Her body moves as a unit, fluid and meaningful. She has begun to notice her body—how it looks, how it feels, and most importantly, what it can do. She squashes negative thoughts about herself and her body: “I don’t really care because I did all this yesterday with this same body.” Climbing was the conduit for Kaitlin to develop a positive relationship with her body and affirm her innate strength.
Kaitlin has a name for how challenges like climbing feel: “type 2 fun.” In the moment, it hurts, it’s hard, you hate it, and you want to quit. But by the time you rappel back down, you’re exhilarated. You feel unstoppable and emerge with a newfound confidence that not only can you climb but you can climb something even harder next time.”
Nicole Snell: Self-Defense and Hiking Solo as a Woman
A profile on Nicole Snell, CEO and international speaker of Girls Fight Back and leader in the outdoor industry.
“In the world Nicole works towards, nobody ever has to use self-defense skills. We are all free to live as we choose without the threat of violence. But until then, self-defense helps us to build the confidence to live our fullest possible lives and make us feel powerful.
With a strong foundation in self-defense, we become our own safety option. “We’re worth fighting for,” Nicole says. We are all experts in our own personal safety. We are intimate with our own intuition, our boundaries, and our needs. Self-defense is about owning our relationships with ourselves and putting ourselves first.”
Representation Helps us to See Ourselves in a World that has Shamed us into Invisibility
A personal essay on the importance of representation in the outdoors from the perspective of a fat outdoorswoman.
“Representation for the sake of justifying my own existence to a society that would rather I stay in its margins would never serve me. Rather than simply being challenges to overcome, the heat, the wasps, and the daunting trek in my near future became opportunities. New memories that I would end up journaling about on that boulder. I had spent the whole summer figuring out how far I could push my body, forcing myself further into this paradox of being big but feeling small. It wasn’t until this moment on a sunny boulder one mile from my destination that the outdoors brought me into my own body.”
OUT There Adventures: “There’s Nothing Straight about Nature”
A profile and Pride Month highlight on Elyse Rylander, founder of OUT There Adventures, an organization facilitating queer youth’s experiences in the outdoors.
“The foundation for many affinity spaces, it seems, is love. A fierce desire to join with others who are not merely like-minded but also akin in body & spirit. We ache to find others of our kind because once we find them, we feel we can find ourselves, too.
This is the crux of OTA’s work. The organization’s mission is to create the opportunity for queer youth to explore their own boundaries and recognize their own strength. OTA fosters an affirming space for students to witness and kindle the courage they have always had.”
The Case for Affinity Spaces
A blog piece on the importance of outdoor affinity spaces written for AdventurUs Women, a company facilitating all-women’s outdoor retreats.
“Affinity spaces are an act of resistance. There is tremendous power in coming together to center growth, joy, and community in a world that does not allow us those experiences in abundance. We are free to explore ourselves and our interests, to take risks in a welcome & loving atmosphere.
The critical component of an affinity space is to build a community in which we see ourselves in others. We can find kinship in our spirits, but this will never erase the everyday experiences we all have as individuals.”
Healing and Motherhood in the Outdoors: Julie E.
A profile on a mother in the outdoors, emphasizing the healing and transformative qualities of nature.
“We all have the autonomy to decide what adventure means to us and how we approach it. Yet, there are always external voices that try to make those choices for us. Adventure, to Julie, first comes with a negotiation within ourselves. Trusting our instincts is paramount as women in the outdoors, but how do we discern where our inner voice speaks from?”
Diversify Your Feed! The Why and How.
A guide for people in the outdoors on cultivating an inclusive and diverse social media feed.
“The canon of the rugged outdoorsman (read: white, cisgender, straight, thin, able-bodied man) leaves out a huge population of outdoor adventurers. Making space for those most excluded in turn makes space for all of us.”
6 Reasons Why All-Women Outdoor Spaces Matter
A list of reasons why all-women affinity spaces in the outdoors are important and vital.
“All-women outdoor spaces are an act of resistance.
Strong communities yield strong individuals. When we join together to feel collective joy and growth, we oppose those structures of oppressions that rely on our disempowerment.”
How to Set Aside Your Fears and Become an Adventurous Woman
A personal testimonial and guide for women seeking outdoor adventure.
“You are stronger and more resilient than you think. Our comfort zones are also complacency zones where growth is limited. We have to push our limits to know how far our limits really go. Celebrate discomfort and use it as fuel to keep getting out there.”