Defining Outdoorsy

When I sat down to write this article, about being an outdoorswoman and the oftentimes trials and tribulations that come along with that definition, I panicked. Was I “outdoorsy” enough to even make such claims? I don’t even hunt, and the identification of local tree species is still a hurdle for me – but maybe some of you have felt this same way before. And that’s why I chose to write anyway.

Many women feel like “imposters” in the outdoors scene. It makes sense when we think about the earliest known records we have of early hominids. When it came to hunting and butchering animals – men were the hunters and women were the gatherers. Archaeologists can date certain stone tools that were used for hunting and scavenging meat back to almost 2 million years ago! That’s a long line of hunting history that women have to make up for. But what if our initial assumptions about prehistoric hunting and gathering roles were mistaken? And why were they mistaken in the first place?

A recent publication in “Science Advances” challenges such divisions of labor among the sexes in the Late Pleistocene Era. Burial sites from the time often adorn hunting tools from the once-living. In 2018, archaeologists discovered an abundance of hunting tools buried amongst not only males, but also females, leading researchers to believe that females of the time were more involved in hunting than previously thought.

Some scholars agree that this makes sense; tools at the time used for hunting were low in accuracy and would require long reloading times. This means that more participation, from men or women, would be highly encouraged. It is now believed that 30-50 percent of prehistoric big game hunters could have been biologically female. So why was it assumed otherwise?

Author learning how to throw an atlatl. Much like a spear, atlatl’s were commonly used hunting tools over 17,000 years ago

Yes, it’s true that science and technology advancements have allowed researchers to better understand hominid history and allow for remains to more accurately be tested for these biological sex markers. But is it possible that our own stereotyping of the sexes made it easier to believe that men were hunters and women were caretakers? Regardless of the answer, I can’t help but wonder how knowing about these strong, prehistoric women would have reshaped the way I thought about the outdoors and my recreational capabilities from a younger age.

Aside from these prehistoric narratives that oftentimes frame men as the “typical” outdoors-person, I think that our modern world holds being “outdoorsy” to a certain qualification that can be damaging as well. Social media is equal good and bad depending on who you ask, but there seems to be an entire new category of social media influencers who relish in the outdoors aesthetic. You know the ones – they live in a van, they always have the newest Merrell hiking boots, PrAna pants, and Patagonia quarter zip. They make it seem like just anyone can live in the middle of nowhere with no problems and no bills. The thing is though, being “outdoorsy” isn’t an aesthetic, and your contribution to our planet isn’t measured in the best new hiking gear – in fact it’s probably better measured by how long you can sustain and put old gear to good use.

I am a professional in the wildlife field and I have had my fair share of outdoors experiences – from capturing and collaring white-tailed deer fawns, to bottle feeding black bear cubs for release back into the wild. But I too still struggle with feeling “qualified” enough to call myself an outdoorswoman. After all, up until about four years ago I would have absolutely panicked at the thought of a tick crawling on the back of my neck. But that’s the thing, man or woman, biologist or not, we all come from unique backgrounds and experiences and yet, we are still allowed to call ourselves an outdoorswoman/man.

I think there are many misconceptions when it comes to what makes someone an “outdoorsy” person. But the truth is, there are no qualifications or tests you have to pass to think of yourself as an outdoorist. You can hunt and fish, or camp and hike, you can even simply enjoy taking pictures of the natural world around you, all of these things make you outdoorsy. And all of these things are enough. Oftentimes outdoor recreation can feel cliquey and intimidating to beginners, but what a worse way to try and expand our reach and love for natural resources with others.

The truth is, you can wear makeup and hike a mountain, you can hate touching fish but love to hunt deer, there are no limits to what “qualifies” you as an outdoorswoman, so don’t let there be! After all, I’m sure that the female prehistoric game hunters didn’t worry about being as “outdoorsy” as their male counterparts, and neither should you. All you need to consider yourself an outdoorswoman/man is yourself, and the outdoors.

Go enjoy !