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 inequality. In this essay, perspectives on feminism and the diversity of women's experiences serve as a critique of existing practice, a means for correcting biases, and a foundation for the transformation of outdoor participation and leadership. A literature review reveals five conceptual phases of research and practice: invisibility of women's outdoor participation and leadership, women's experiences acknowledged but judged by male standards, focus on dichotomous sex differences in leadership, woman-centered analyses that challenge traditional androcentric notions about the outdoors, and analyses of gender relations and socialization to gender roles. Corrective mechanisms for providing women with outdoor leadership opportunities have been based on two contrasting approaches: making women more like men in their leadership style, and preserving and developing what has been defined as typically female. A third alternative--a transformative feminist perspective--suggests that outdoor leadership is not defined by gender or gender-related traits and proposes an organizational model in which all participants are empowered to develop expertise and assume leadership roles. Contains 27 references. (SV)