Widening the aperture : using visual methods to broaden our understanding of gender in the outdoor profession

Embedding a gender-aware and social-responsive culture is one of the many challenges which confronts the outdoor profession. Creative methodologies and feminist research has the potential to unlock new insights and knowledges about outdoor embodiment and embolden change. This paper offers a fresh research approach to interrogate the lived experiences and prevailing injustices encountered by outdoor women. To address issues of hegemony and asymmetrical power imbalance, the authors chose visual arts-based methods to widen their research aperture. Arts-based research disrupts the common use of language and allows participants to creatively communicate thoughts and feelings. Data was gathered from a purposive convenience sample of outdoor leadership professionals at conference workshops and emergent themes analysed. We conclude as a reflective research method, visual-arts provided alternative perspectives beyond the dominant discourse to illuminate blindspots in the outdoor professions.