Gender, especially portrayals of women, has been a focus of (general) advertising research with findings indicating that gendered portrayals may affect women’s consumer participation (West, 1996). Depictions of masculinity and femininity in advertisements are not only related to consuming products and brands, but certain activities and travel as well. Consequently, meanings associated with masculinity and femininity are often communicated through advertisements. I therefore suggest that, particularly for those new to extreme outdoor recreation, publications geared towards participants in extreme outdoor recreation may be one of the first places individuals turn to learn about these activities. Such publications and their advertisements can
…show more content…
GoPro and Teton have changed the way people are exposed to extreme outdoor recreation and who can conquer these activities.
Specifically, I identified three themes regarding women’s representations in wilderness recreation advertising: 1) women have low levels of engagement with the wilderness and wilderness recreation activities; 2) women’s engagement with these activities are meant to either be an escape from the home or a way to mimic the home in the outdoors; and 3) women who are highly engaged in wilderness recreation activities are unique and require feminization.
Women with High Levels of Engagement Are Unique and Require Feminization While the majority of wilderness recreation advertisements (images) portrayed women as having low levels of engagement that reinforce conventional gender norms, a subset of the media featured women highly engaged in wilderness recreation, mostly found in the form of videos. Some of these activities were physically demanding with inherent danger, such as downhill skiing, downhill mountain biking, and mountain climbing. In the majority of these cases, the women are identified by their names, containing close-up pictures of the women and providing some information about their accomplishments relating to wilderness recreation. Figure 1 is a GoPro helmet mounted picture of Rachel …show more content…
They emphasize that the wilderness is not a safe place for women both physically and socially and that women need accompaniment (from men) to avoid danger in the wilderness. There are also subtle messages implying that women who do participate in physically demanding wilderness recreation must take efforts to model a feminine appearance and demeanour.
Portrayals of women in advertisements and media should embody the strength, participation, and place of women in wilderness recreation.
This research highlights the messages sent about appropriate places and activities for men and women. Future research should continue to examine the gender divide in extreme outdoor recreation and the ways that cultural beliefs about women’s “places” could be a factor in the overt and subtle gender biases that ultimately constrain women 's participation in the wilderness and other public spaces. Without such work, women and the larger society may be negatively impacted by this continued gender
GoPro and Teton have changed the way people are exposed to extreme outdoor recreation and who can conquer these activities.
Specifically, I identified three themes regarding women’s representations in wilderness recreation advertising: 1) women have low levels of engagement with the wilderness and wilderness recreation activities; 2) women’s engagement with these activities are meant to either be an escape from the home or a way to mimic the home in the outdoors; and 3) women who are highly engaged in wilderness recreation activities are unique and require feminization.
Women with High Levels of Engagement Are Unique and Require Feminization While the majority of wilderness recreation advertisements (images) portrayed women as having low levels of engagement that reinforce conventional gender norms, a subset of the media featured women highly engaged in wilderness recreation, mostly found in the form of videos. Some of these activities were physically demanding with inherent danger, such as downhill skiing, downhill mountain biking, and mountain climbing. In the majority of these cases, the women are identified by their names, containing close-up pictures of the women and providing some information about their accomplishments relating to wilderness recreation. Figure 1 is a GoPro helmet mounted picture of Rachel …show more content…
They emphasize that the wilderness is not a safe place for women both physically and socially and that women need accompaniment (from men) to avoid danger in the wilderness. There are also subtle messages implying that women who do participate in physically demanding wilderness recreation must take efforts to model a feminine appearance and demeanour.
Portrayals of women in advertisements and media should embody the strength, participation, and place of women in wilderness recreation.
This research highlights the messages sent about appropriate places and activities for men and women. Future research should continue to examine the gender divide in extreme outdoor recreation and the ways that cultural beliefs about women’s “places” could be a factor in the overt and subtle gender biases that ultimately constrain women 's participation in the wilderness and other public spaces. Without such work, women and the larger society may be negatively impacted by this continued gender