On Being a Shitty Feminist in the Outdoor Industry
My Facebook newsfeed is an interesting place. The people I’m connected to are a wild mix of liberals from Berkeley, white yoga teachers who don’t think race has anything to do with feminism, Republicans and conservatives from the South, rock climbers, outdoor folks, writers, activists and conservationists, spiritual women who give tarot readings over the internet, my family, friends from high school, and, of course, feminists.
Feminism is hot right now, as one would hope it would be given that our current president is a literal sexual predator who thinks Nazis are fine people. My wide assortment of Facebook friends are all talking about really important, political, nuanced issues and having difficult conversations with each other. People are also getting involved by attending protests, writing articles and open letters, talking to their children about racism, calling their representatives, reading, educating themselves, and donating their money. This is happening on a large scale as well, with big brands running feminist-flavored campaigns and initiatives. While I wish all of this would have happened sooner, you know, before the whole white supremacist for a president thing, overall I’m really pleased to see this shift happening.
But here’s the thing: I am not allowed to say that. Well, technically I am allowed to, but if I do express that I’m excited about a sliver of movement in the right direction, it will surely be met with someone telling me that congratulating these people or brands for their efforts is naive.
The Feminist Police Come to the Outdoor Industry
I’ve seen a lot of social media “policing” going on in the feminist outdoor community (and even more so in the yoga community, but that’s another blog post). You know, feminists telling other feminists how shitty they are at feminism. This happens especially when someone posts about how they’re psyched about campaigns from outdoor companies, like REI’s Force of Nature, The North Face’s Walls are Meant for Climbing, and anything from Patagonia. The conversation goes something like:
Psyched person: “Yay, I’m happy that The North Face is donating a million dollars to the Trust for Public Land.”
Feminist who is better at feministing than everyone else: “You’re dumb for thinking that this will actually help anything, this is capitalism, this is all just a marketing ploy, this isn’t feminist and neither are you.”
Look, I’m all for examining these things with a critical eye. Those of you who know me know that I speak up when people or brands or presidents do things that are detrimental to people’s lives. I call out instances of racism and misogyny. I call out white feminism because it’s not feminism. I think public figures have a responsibility to help people and make bold political statements. I operate under the idea that it’s important to talk about injustice with fierceness and compassion.
The brands listed above are not perfect. It would be quite easy to write about all of the things they’re doing wrong. Their mere existence contributes to oppression of many kinds. But you know what else contributes to oppressive structures? Literally everything. You cannot wake up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and drive to work without adding to the suffering that exists in the world. Even if you wake up, skip the shower, get dressed in sustainable fabrics, eat a local vegan breakfast, and walk to work you are still messing things up somewhere and somehow.
This doesn’t mean we should just say fuck it and start taking twenty minute showers and eating shittons of meat. It means that we do what we can. It means that we work on dismantling this stuff one day at a time. Some days we will be able to do more than others. But the fact is that our current societal system doesn’t allow for us to live in a way that doesn’t contribute to oppression.
We Know How This Story Ends
This phenomenon of calling out feminist people and brands for not being feminist enough is not isolated the outdoor community. This occured on a widespread level during the 2016 election in regards to Hillary Clinton. When people voiced excitement about Hillary it was often met with negativity from a surprising source—fellow progressives, liberals, and anti-Trumpers. While these critiques varied widely, they all had the same bottom line—if you’re excited about Hillary, you don’t fully understand what intersectionality is, you’re not woke enough, you’re not smart enough. You’re not a good feminist.
But the problem with this is that most of Hillary’s supporters knew full well that she came with flaws. We weren’t psyched because she was going to set the patriarchy on fire and save us all, we were excited because she was a very large step in the right direction. But because she wasn’t perfect, because she was not in fact going to set the patriarchy on fire and save us all, it wasn’t okay to express our joy. We literally weren’t allowed to celebrate that we could vote for a woman president because she was sort of sketch and got expensive haircuts. She wasn’t feminist enough. And if we liked her, neither were we.
We all know how the election panned out. The person who won the presidency is a mentally ill man. The scrutiny that Hillary Clinton was put under surely contributed to her loss. She was the most qualified candidate to ever run for president. But because she was a woman who was a feminist and branded herself as such, she wasn’t allowed to be anything but absolutely perfect. Dedicating her life to public service and successfully becoming the first woman presidential nominee wasn’t good enough. And now we’re all suffering because of it.
It’s important to note that 94% of black women voted for Hillary Clinton and that 52% of white women voted for Donald Trump. It’s also interesting that the only people I saw calling out Hillary Clinton supporters for not being woke enough were white people. And I only see white people, mostly women, calling out feminist campaigns for not being feminist enough. In fact, many people of color have voiced their support for these campaigns—just like black women did with Hillary.
Moving Towards Something Different
Calling out racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, ablism and elitism? Yes please. Calling out white feminism? I’ll take two. Calling out brands for being too scared to take a stand on political issues? Sign me up.
But there is something really damaging about tearing down feminist campaigns and the people who get psyched about them. This is even more catastrophic when a white person directly criticizes a person of color for being involved with or excited about these initiatives (this is, unfortunately, something I’ve seen happen more than once). A white person telling a person of color that they are essentially not educated enough to know what’s good for them is white supremacy no matter the circumstances.
The fact is that brands like REI, The North Face, and Patagonia are offering support, platforms, representation, and millions of dollars to marginalized groups of humans. There is nothing perfect about what they’re doing. This is problematic and messy. No one is claiming that they’re coming to save us all. But what they’re doing is good and important—they’re moving towards something different.
It’s Okay to Get Psyched
Feeling joyful about these steps in the right direction is entirely okay, necessary, and does not let brands off the hook. If we voice our excitement about what they’re doing, they’re not just gonna kick back and pat each other on the pussies for a job well done. In fact, if we celebrate these shifts, it will nudge them even further in the feminist direction and encourage other brands to do the same.
Feminism is about having choices. It’s about freedom. It’s not about being perfect. We try our best under a system that makes trying our best really fucking hard. We make choices every day that help move us towards something better and we show others how to do the same. This is how paradigms shift. This is how change happens.
You’re not a bad feminist if you think REI is doing rad things. You’re not a bad feminist if you like making money, shaving your legs, taking selfies, wearing clothes, eating food, taking showers, or twerking. In fact, I’m pretty confused about how someone can go about being bad at feminism. But if being a good feminist means not being excited when a company donates millions of dollars to support marginalized groups, well, I guess I’m a really shitty feminist.
