A study found that male and female co-leaders of wilderness camping trips were very aware of stereotypes of male and female leadership roles. Sometimes leaders deliberately performed stereotypical tasks and roles of the opposite sex, but tasks and roles generally resulted from preferences, necessity, or participant expectations. The D-R model of…

Women engaging in outdoor activities tend to be more supportive of each other and more willing to express their feelings and apprehensions about adventurous settings than are men. It is important for women to have strong female leaders as role models. Instructors should be aware that women's learning styles and learning curves differ from men's.…

Feminist perspectives provide a basis for examining the nature of participation in outdoor experiences, the goals of outdoor leadership, and the meanings associated with the outdoors. Feminism is concerned with the correction of both the invisibility and distortion of female experience in ways relevant to social change and removal of social…

Single-sex adventure education programs for adolescent women give them space to challenge traditional feminine roles, relate to other women without the pressures of mixed-sex groups, and examine issues such as personal relationships and health within a safe environment. If there are insufficient women facilitators, male staff should have awareness…

Presents an overview of leadership principles for girls and women in outdoor recreation, offering basic information about gender roles and gender identity and suggestions for effective outdoor leadership. The article discusses transformational leadership, which emphasizes human relations and task functions; it presents ideas for implementation.…

Discusses stages of competency development, using the seasons of the year as a metaphor. Identifies educational strategies that outdoor educators can use at each stage to help women overcome gender role socialization pressures that discourage them from achieving or recognizing their true competency levels. (TD)

This article provides a theoretical foundation for understanding women's technical skill development (TSD) in outdoor adventure. An examination of societal and biological factors influencing women's TSD focuses on gender role socialization, sense of competence, technical conditioning, sexism, spatial ability, and risk-taking. The article suggests…

Through anecdotes, a female outdoor educator highlights the importance of role-modeling gender equality, but also suggests a need to explore the cultural assumptions behind sexual roles; what is served by them; and the social mechanisms that reinforce them, such as homophobia. Educational strategies to help women gain and claim competence in the…

If female outdoor leaders assume a leadership style incongruent to their gender role, they may receive negative evaluations even though situations necessitate such behavior. Male and female outdoor leaders can break down gender-role expectations by identifying their own leadership styles and gender biases, creating awareness in colleagues of…

In this essay, women outdoor leaders discuss how gender influences their work, and explore and challenge some assumptions underlying outdoor leadership that continue to privilege the impartial, disembodied practices typified by the masculine outdoor leader. Four feminist, and three other feminist outdoor leaders participated in personal interviews…