Wild Women

The shoulder season began when the guests and some of the guides started going back to school. Since then, the gender ratio of guides, never exactly equal, has become increasingly skewed towards men. Turns out, few women make their year-round careers outdoors. In any case, since few of us remain, we have really banded together. It’s nice to have a couple friends to gossip with and discuss matters incomprehensible to young adult males, like how to persevere through misery-inducing cramps when your job involves both hard physical labor and perpetual cheerfulness.

One night, a female friend and I were lounging around my shed, enjoying a girl-bonding session, when a male friend of ours wandered up and knocked on the door. “You can come in,” said my female friend, “But it’s pretty girly in here.”

He came in. “It’s not girly in here,” he said, glancing at my boat. “There’s a kayak.”

While his comment wasn’t intended to be offensive, it is indicative of an interesting phenomenon. Female participation in predominantly male activities, like whitewater boating, doesn’t dissociate the activity from the male gender. Rather, the sport retains its male associations while the women who participate in it are dissociated from their own gender.

Kayaking isn’t girly. My friend and I aren’t really girls.

Small wonder more women aren’t employed outdoors. It’s such a welcoming environment.