The Weekly - June 23, 2020 - 13

FEATURE
more and more diverse audiences, but
you look at the board, the staff, and
the messaging, it's all-white or whitefocused. There is so much work to do,
but outdoor companies can start by
doing these three things:
Look at your marketing and messaging-examine your athlete teams
and show the diversity that exists in
the outdoors because Black, indigenous, trans, POC-we're already
there. Two, look at your staff and
hiring procedures. If you say, "This
group or these groups don't apply,"
you might want to start asking why?
"What is it about my company culture
or our image that prevents people
from applying?" "Where are we putting out our calls for hiring?" "Why
are we missing that opportunity?"
Because there are so many people
who would be interested in filling
those jobs, but you aren't reaching
them. And, three, ask yourself, "What
can we do to welcome people who are
different into the outdoors?" I think
many companies are too afraid of
saying or doing the wrong thing, so
they've avoided trying to change and
understand. Doing more staff training, more self-reflection, more talking
and training with people who are
from that community-and paying
them to help you-will go a long way.

L . R E N E E B LO U N T

Summer Winston
College professor, climber, co-founder
of The Brown Ascenders; Them/Theirs
Growing up in Louisiana, the
outdoors started and ended with
fishing and hunting; it wasn't until I
moved to Texas after grad school that
I started camping. But my mind was
blown. I fell in love with how amazing
the simple act of sleeping outside can
be. From there, I started climbing,
and now I live in California, where
I do it all the time. Two years ago, I
co-founded The Brown Ascenders,
which works to break down barriers
to access to climbing and building

a relationship with the outdoors for
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of
Color) community members.
I'll be honest. Questions around
[my inclusion in the LGBTQIA outdoor community] are always difficult
to answer. I'm queer; I'm nonbinary;
I am masculine-presenting, but as a
mixed-race Black and Filipinx human, I'm often not afforded the space
to also process my queer identity. At
this moment, the thing that comes to
mind first is my nonbinary/trans identity. If you look at brands, organized
outdoor events, and representation in
media, most, if not all, of the representation fits within the conventional
understanding of the male/female
binary. That's women's clothing on
feminine-presenting body structures,
and men's clothing on male-presenting body structures. Then there are
gendered events that exist within the
binary. A lot doesn't exist for folks who
don't fit one of the norms. And I don't
know what to do with those spaces.
I suggest cultivating spaces and
points of visual representation that
are inclusive of nonbinary identities.
Attention should be brought to the
fact that because of the way systems
are currently organized, there's no
visibility for nonbinary folks. The
outdoor industry exists because communities support it, therefore it's important to remember the diversity of
those communities. We (the collective
we) make it possible for the outdoor
industry to have a platform. In terms
of being more inclusive, the outdoor
industry needs to change its hiring
practices and fill leadership roles with
more diverse voices. It's shameful it
took a tragedy for brands and leaders
to finally see and deeply consider
BIPOC folks and the queer communities. I don't necessarily think we
need a dramatic out-with-the-old-inwith-the-new mindset when it comes
to leadership roles, but the outdoor
industry as a whole needs to invest

All of these responses were created in collaboration with the interviewees
who edited and fact-checked their words.

in JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity,
Inclusion) training while bringing in
new, diverse voices. This can allow for
the change that does come-whether
it be for the LGBTQ+ community,
BIPOC communities, and/or women's
rights, to be sustainable.

Pattie Gonia
Drag queen and advocate-in-progress; She/Her/Hers
I'm grateful the outdoor industry has
given me the opportunities I've had
and that I've been able to represent
the queer community, but at the end
of the day, wig and makeup off, out of
drag, I'm a white, cismale, and, therefore, I'm palatable and have privilege.
What I'm trying to do through my
visibility is to help other people who
don't have as much.
I don't think the outdoor industry
has ever built community in the ways
people have wanted or needed. If
you look at all of the outdoor groups
that have emerged over the last two
years, we were tired of waiting around
for a brand or company to solve the
[inclusion] problem. Now, I think the
outdoor industry is trying to keep up
Summer
Winston

because it sees the shift, which is only
going to grow and grow. To me, it's
absolutely comical that every brand in
the outdoor industry isn't authentically embracing marginalized communities and diversity because, from a
business standpoint, I'm like, "Hi. Gay
people from my subset have double
income and no kids and we're here to
spend our money." There are very few
brands talking to us, but I don't think
the outdoor community looks to the
outdoor industry to be the almighty
Oz with all the power because it's
us, the people in the outdoors, who
truly hold the ability to make change.
I'm all about collaborating, and
I'm all for the outdoor industry
and the outdoor community working hand in hand, but I think the
outdoor community is done waiting. And if the outdoor industry
does want to collaborate, my advice is for it to pay people of color,
and pay indigenous voices, and pay
queer people not to do your marketing, but as people inside your
companies because representation
matters not just on the inside, but
on the outside.

The Weekly - June 23, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Weekly - June 23, 2020