Widening the aperture: using visual methods to broaden our understanding of gender in the outdoor profession

ABSTRACT

Embedding a gender-aware and social-responsive culture is one of the many challenges which confronts the outdoor profession. Creative methodologies and feminist research has the potential to unlock new insights and knowledges about outdoor embodiment and embolden change. This paper offers a fresh research approach to interrogate the lived experiences and prevailing injustices encountered by outdoor women. To address issues of hegemony and asymmetrical power imbalance, the authors chose visual arts-based methods to widen their research aperture. Arts-based research disrupts the common use of language and allows participants to creatively communicate thoughts and feelings. Data was gathered from a purposive convenience sample of outdoor leadership professionals at conference workshops and emergent themes analysed. We conclude as a reflective research method, visual-arts provided alternative perspectives beyond the dominant discourse to illuminate blindspots in the outdoor professions.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual arts-based methods
• gender
• lived experiences
• feminist research
• hegemony
• outdoor embodiment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 "Folx" is an alternative spelling to the familiar word "folks". The spelling has been adopted by some communities because it can be used to indicate the inclusion of marginalized groups. Folx in addition to the gender-neutral "folks", draws people's attention and indicates the inclusion of other marginalized groups including people of color (POCs) and trans people.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by a Western Sydney University, School of Education, Small Seed Grant.

Notes on contributors

Tonia Gray

Prof. Tonia Gray, PhD is a Senior Researcher in the Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University. As a researcher, teacher-educator, and curriculum developer of Outdoor Education and Health/Physical Education for over 30 years her transdisciplinary research explores human-nature relationships and their impact on health and well-being. She is currently Chair of the Australian Tertiary Outdoor Education Network (ATOEN) and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education.

Sandy Allen-Craig

Sandy Allen-Craig is a Senior Lecturer in Outdoor Leadership at the Australian Catholic University. She has developed and implemented courses of Outdoor Education at the national tertiary level for over 30 years. She is a published academic conducting research into the conditions of outdoor employment, program outcomes, risk management, bush adventure therapy and gender equity within the Outdoor profession. She is currently the Deputy Chair of Outdoors Victoria, an Executive Member of Outdoor Education Australia and an Associate Editor of Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education.

Denise Mitten

Prof. Denise Mitten, internationally recognized for her innovative scholarship in outdoor and environmental pedagogy, ethics, and gender, has advocated and written about caring and compassionate leadership combined with expert outdoor skills since 1985. She developed an award winning leadership training and apprenticing program for women, opening the door to outdoor leadership to many women, programs to strengthen bonding between parents and children, and a leadership program for women felons.

Rylie Charles

Rylie Charles is an Outdoor Education graduate from the Australian Catholic University and is currently studying a Master of Philosophy (Education) at Western Sydney University. Her research topic focuses on gender inclusive leadership in higher degree Outdoor Education. She also works as a freelance outdoor leader and loves to share her experiences in the outdoors with others.