This article examines the gendered dynamics of wildland firefighting through analysis of employment statistics and in-depth interviews with employees of the National Parks and Wildlife Service in New South Wales, Australia. The statistics suggest increased gender equality for women following the affirmative gender politics of the 1990s in a previously male-dominated workplace. However, we argue these statistics mask how some patterns of practice surrounding fire management continue to reproduce a gendered workplace. Turning to the concept of hegemonic masculinity, we explore the ongoing gendered assumptions of this workplace and identify those that prove most resistant to change around bodies, masculinity, leadership, and parenting. This focuses the spotlight on gender equity. The article considers respect of gender difference in relation to wider questions of mentoring, training and leadership.
Bird-watching is an increasingly popular leisure activity. Previous research has taken for granted the identity of people who watch birds, often categorised by their level of skilled practice as 'dude', 'birder' or 'twitcher'. Feminist geographers encourage us to explore identity work as an outcome of the reciprocal relationships between practices and place. Our feminist approach illustrates that the practices of bird-watching are always much more than categorising birds as species. This paper illustrates how the practices of bird-watching are integral to the making and remaking of sense of place as 'home' and 'away', to sustain identities beyond accepted categories of 'dude', 'birder' and 'twitcher'. The creation and application of different types of 'birdlists' helps to explain the ways in which practices of bird-watching facilitate making sense of place as simultaneously 'home', 'away' and habitat, as well as the identity work of home-maker, citizen-scientist and tourist. Our insights into these leisure practices of bird-watching are drawn from analysis of data gathered from 21 people who actively bird-watch and reside on the South Coast, New South Wales, Australia by combining research methods of talking, walking, drawing and photography.
Over the last two decades 'climate emergency' has grown from a little-known term to a mainstream public issue. In Australia, the term gained traction during the 2019-2020 'Black Summer' bushfires. The (un)natural disaster prompted local governments, industries, peak bodies and academic collectives to 'declare' a climate emergency and call for immediate action on climate change. We note, however, that there has been no declaration from geographers in Australia. As a discipline whose members are embedded in research, teaching and advocacy about climate changeand the interlinked crises of biodiversity loss and environmental and social justicewe found this surprising. It is self-evident that climate change matters to geographers. So, is a declaration of a climate emergency from the discipline necessary? In writing this piece we reflect on our experiences of the 2019-2020 summer and conversations with fellow geographers, to consider what a declaration of an emergency does, who it is for and what actions it might mobilise. In conclusion, we call on geographers in Australia to declare an emergency which foregrounds the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and social (in)justice. The detail of what this declaration says and means in practice is open for discussion. We ask many questions throughout this paper as a way to invite youour fellow geographersto join us in this conversation.
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