Women love adventure too.
OK, that might seem like a pain-
fully obvious statement, or even a little cringe-worthy and ill-informed here well into the 21st century. Of course women love adventure, no less than men or anyone else.
Still, it’s a point that bears repeating because, for a range of reasons that remain speculative, there simply aren’t as many women enjoying the outdoors and adventure as there are men. Only 20% of women participate in outdoor recreation by the time they reach age 66, according to a 2018 Outdoor Recreation Report by the Outdoor Foundation. By comparison, 40% of men in their 60s are active outdoors.
The Pioneer Valley, as in many things, seems to be an exception to that statistic, at least according to anecdotal evidence. On frequent outings in nature around here, I encounter an equal balance of male and female hikers, bikers, paddlers and skiers. But nationally, the balance is off.
Of course, our Valley is an enlightened place that strongly emphasizes and accommodates good health, outdoor activity and an informed collective attitude that has mostly left behind gender stereotypes and binary thinking. Women in this area are thankfully encouraged to flex their adventure muscles just like anyone else.
That’s not the case everywhere, as national statistics reflect. The reasons for the adventure discrepancy between men and non-men appear to be manifold, some of them baked into our cultural zeitgeist.
For one thing, women in American culture are still expected to shoulder the majority of responsibility around families and the home, leaving comparatively less time for adventuring.
“There’s an access to leisure for men that women don’t have,” notes Erika Zekos of Amherst, a lifelong outdoor enthusiast who teaches architecture at UMass Amherst. “Being able to take time off away from their children is much harder for women.”
And in general, Zekos says, women tend to be less financially stable and have fewer resources for spending on travel and expensive outdoor gear — and again, have less ability to take time away from their jobs to venture out.
Also, historically, women and girls haven’t been encouraged to explore outside from childhood like boys have. That’s still largely the case in most of the country.
I recently discussed this discrepancy between men and non-men in the outdoors with my daughter, Livvy Weld, an Amherst High School alum who chatted with me from her thru-hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Livvy, who graduated from Smith College last year with a degree in psychology and exercise and sport studies, also solo-hiked the Appalachian Trail at age 19. I consider her an authority on women in the outdoors.
“In the grand scheme, women are very new to outdoor activities,” she points out. “Women weren’t even allowed to participate in the outdoors until recently.”
For one example, Livvy points to the White Mountain trail huts where she has worked for several seasons, hiking 60-pound loads up and down 4,000-foot mountains as one of her tasks. Such jobs were strictly for young men until the 1980s, when women were first allowed to be hired there.
This month’s Boston Marathon provides another example. It was relatively recently, only 50 years ago in 1972, when women were first allowed to officially compete in the famous road race. Before that, women had to get sneakily creative to run.
This March marked the 10th anniversary of Cheryl Strayed’s huge bestseller “Wild,” which depicts her experience solo-hiking the Pacific Coast Trail in 1995, well before many women did such a thing. Thanks to her book, many women and girls — like my daughter — are inspired to get outdoors and backpack long trails now.
Perhaps the biggest issue for women in adventure is safety and vulnerability. Many or most women at least sense a need to be aware of the threats to their safety when traveling or spending time in nature alone, in a way that most men don’t consider when heading out.
Elizabeth Massa, president and co-founder of Western Mass. Hilltown Hikers, acknowledges the concern women have for their personal safety. Her group of hundreds of hikers who gather for weekend treks is made up of mostly women, with “more people who are ‘older’ than ‘younger,’” she says.
“One issue for females: You have to think about personal protection when you’re alone in the woods,” says Massa, who is from Chester. She even goes so far as to carry a weapon on some of her treks. Armed or not, Massa always recommends hiking with at least one buddy. “The only place I go by myself is a well-traveled trail,” she says.
Zekos, an avid hiker, biker and cross-country skier, is keenly aware of women’s vulnerability in nature. “This is a perception that is grounded in daily truth,” she says. “Many women have experienced dangerous or aggressive situations in their lives.”
That experience translates to forays in nature. For women in the woods, she explains, just the simple and necessary act of stepping off the trail to empty their bladder is a much more exposed and intentional process than it is for men.
“There is something about vulnerability,” Zekos says. “Just performing a totally natural human function is not quite as easy for women as for men.”
As Livvy explains, “Men just don’t think about these things, where women do. That alters the experience.”
I want to be careful here not to be perceived as speaking for women while seeking to understand that venturing outdoors is a little more difficult — a little less convenient — for women than for men. I know I can discuss it intellectually but can never live that reality.
I recall talking with a young woman several years ago on the Appalachian Trail about how difficult it was to manage specific female hygiene that men don’t give a thought to. She even mentioned the challenges of keeping her long hair clean (an issue obviously not specific to women).
But the issue is more intractable and broader than just practical hygiene and inconvenience. It’s culturally deep and embedded, and starts early. And unfortunately, it’s detrimental to women’s and girls’ health.
I and many others have written about the myriad benefits of spending time adventuring outdoors and in nature. A recent study by the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education and Leadership concluded that outdoor experiences at an early age boosts adolescent girls’ self-confidence and body image.
But consider: Preschool girls are 16% less likely to be given outdoor play time by their parents than preschool-age boy, according to a 2012 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. And girls’ outdoor participation decreases substantially by the time they reach their teenage years, when they especially need it.
It’s got to be annoying for women in the woods sometimes, dealing with cultural attitudes that haven’t quite caught up with their abilities. Livvy, a fast hiker, talks about some of the “mansplaining” and sexist comments she’s received on the trail, like “That’s a big pack for a little girl,” to cite a mild one.
Despite the difficulties of practical inconvenience, ill-informed comments and the sense of vulnerability, the importance of encouraging girls and women — and everyone — to go outside and explore remains. The lifelong benefits of outdoor adventure for physical and mental health are well-studied and documented.
“I grew up playing in the woods,” Massa recalls. “That has been my thing, it’s been important. You have to make time for yourself, for your mind.”
Eric Weld, a former Gazette reporter, is the founder of agingadventurist.com. He writes a monthly column.