Not Just Rapids: Navigating Gendered Performance in the Whitewater Rafting Industry

Abstract

Summary Ideal archetypes of outdoor guides often conjure images of strong men with beards and flannel. While guiding industries are, in fact, man-dominated, many women have been successful in gaining and maintaining employment in outdoor professions. Feminist scholars have outlined concepts of gender performances. Within guiding industries, many women have been adapted by performing masculinity. This case study stems from a larger project examining gender dynamics and issues of harassment within the whitewater raft guiding community. We outline the specific ways in which a dominant masculinity is described by interviewees and the subsequent practices they adopt. Specifically, we discuss how women have enacted masculinity through toughness, assertive communication, and sexual humor. We highlight how these expectations are exclusionary and can be opposed. Through these examples and related literature, we re-envision work cultures that no longer require the additional labor of navigating masculinist environments in order to be accepted and successful. Information © CAB International 2024