There has been a recent slew of blogs and posts online about how women are portrayed in the outdoor industry by the very companies selling them products and inviting them to events. This has caused the usual backlash from women who are insulted for being portrayed for their sexuality instead of their accomplishments.
There are plenty of outdoor companies that do not use this type of gimmick to sell their wares or to get marketing attention, and mainly because they don’t have to. When you love making great gear, and you do it really well, you don’t need to use gimmicks like sex to get attention for your brand. The value you provide is so evident in the marketplace that gimmicks would only take away from this fact.
Which leads me to my best suggestion for us, as women, moving forward: Let’s support the companies that support the same view of women that we do. Let’s like and share their rad advertisements featuring women, and whenever we need to upgrade, let’s buy their gear. Women are responsible for 80 percent of all consumer goods purchases. Companies would be crazy not to want our business. Let’s show these companies that we are not only willing to speak out against a trend that sheds us in a one-dimensional light, but that we are also willing to support a trend that furthers the vision we hold for ourselves and our daughters. To paraphrase Forrest Gump’s mother in the block-buster film: Sexy is as sexy does!
Thanks for this, Margot. I’m one of the people who started a discussion around the Bozeman Ice Festival poster. I’m not sure who created it and what it was intended for, but I took it at face value. I am just so tired of seeing women objectified and their bodies used to get attention, even by the most reputable companies. And it concerns me that activities that could be empowering young girls and women (such as outdoor sports) are instead sending messages around the importance of the physical appearance. I agree with you here that we can speak out against the trend by supporting companies that uphold our vision for ourselves and our daughters. I suppose I can start by no longer sharing the images that bother me and instead sharing images I support and believe in.