Imagine The Picnics
Nature doesn’t have to be a rich, white playground. However, structures humans put in place – capitalism, colonialism, racism, sexism, and ableism – allow some people to access the outdoors and force others home.
Everyday Feminism’s Emily Zak wants us to know that the allure of fresh air and countryside is in fact, like everything else, terribly oppressive:
Those of us who manage to get outside, we need to go beyond calling ourselves lucky. We need to understand ourselves as privileged.
Well, I suppose we all knew that was the predestined conclusion, the only permissible one, and that fretting about it theatrically is something we need to do. And naturally, Ms Zak has an extensive, at times bewildering list of excuses for why any outdoors recreation should be tinged with guilt and wretchedness. From the claim that, “our society leverages natural spaces as a tool for capitalism and colonialism,” to the “toxic binary expectations we have about gender.” You see,
Society actively discourages millions from playing outside, possibly stopping budding conservation activists.
And then the inevitable list-cum-incantation:
Media paint a homogenous picture of who enjoys the outdoors, as well. They’re typically white, male, cisgender, slender, able-bodied, and assumed straight.
To spare you the tedium, I’ll summarise: If you can’t borrow a tent or don’t have a pair of suitable shoes, and if you don’t see enough adverts featuring gay people kayaking, and kayaking in a discernibly gay-affirming manner, it turns out you’re being oppressed by society.
Of course there’s also the issue of girth:
Only last year did anyone think to build a bike for someone who’s heavier than 300 pounds.
The inhumanity of niche markets. And if the limited availability of reinforced bicycles weren’t quite enough of a stretch:
Many outdoor jobs, like wildland firefighting and logging, remain hyper-masculine and painfully heteronormative.
You heard the lady. The logging industry is painfully heteronormative. And so – er, obviously – “marginalised people” can’t enjoy the great outdoors. “The barriers to outdoor recreation are very real,” says she.
The misery never ends with these people.
The misery never ends with these people.
It does suggest a strange, rather contrived mental landscape. One in which they endlessly poke about under rocks in search of some excuse for being unhappy, or pretending to be unhappy, just to impress their equally pretentious and neurotic peers.
structures humans put in place – capitalism, colonialism, racism, sexism, and ableism – allow some people to access the outdoors and force others home.
So when feminists have smashed capitalism black people will finally be able to go bike riding in the countryside?
Heh. Apparently.
*googles gay kayaking*
Imagine the shock when Em, I don’t think she’d mind me calling her Em, discovers that in the third world it’s exactly the opposite. Rich oppressors, white or variously colored, shun the countryside and it’s only the poor, and presumably down-trodden, who get to experience its wonderfulness first hand.
It may result in catatonia.
Men (No idea if black and/or white) doing jobs like firefighting and logging manage to ‘supply’ 97% of labour-related deaths.
Male privilege!
It’s interesting that Ms Zak, an empowered feminist, is so keen to depict “marginalised people” as devoid of agency and anything approaching determination. They’re presented as merely passive and adrift on a tide of (largely hallucinated) social expectation. To the extent that fat people wanting to lose weight will apparently be forced to shun even a short jog, or a walk with the dog, for lack of a “flattering outfit,” the latest Under Armour, and plans for a kayaking excursion will be abandoned due to the brochure not having enough discernibly gay kayakers in it.
three in four US young adults who participate in outdoor activities are white
So, outdoor stuff is about 10 percentage points ‘whiter’ than the general population then?
The horror.
I’m a hyper-masculine and painfully heteronormative lumberjack and I’m okay…
Presumably making the great outdoors accessible will involve lots of paved roads, installation of lifts, and motorised scooters. No mountain slope over ten degrees allowed!
And let’s not forget about the hypersensitive allergy sufferers. National parks full of trees and vegetation are clearly discriminatory.
Blacks don’t go camping as often as whites?
That’s definitely a problem that only white liberals can solve. Where would blacks be without people like Emily?
“The inhumanity of niche markets.”
According to the kill joy public health fascists the whole population is, or soon will be, morbidly obese so presumably bikes for 300 pounders aren’t that niche.
The thought of all that fat hanging down and needing to be kept off the road doesn’t bear thinking about.
I clearly remember my high school days, when the fey, wispy drama kids would constantly lament the scarcity of jobs in the logging and woodland fire fighting industries. “Yes”, they would say, “if I don’t get accepted into F.I.T. or Parson’s School of Design, it is off to the timber camps of Idaho for me!” Ah, younger days.
…discernibly gay kayakers…
Well, the water does play hell with black leather chaps and the chain accessories become problematic when one is trying to do a roll.
Or, so I’ve heard.
The misery never ends with these people.
It’s also the fact that these clowns are trying to propagate a worldview of chronic victimhood, entitlement and resentment. It’s poison. According to Ms Zak, if you don’t look good in Lycra, and few do, then apparently you’re oppressed. And if you can’t afford to buy a $4000 mountain bike, then you’re oppressed too. And if your skin tone isn’t the most common skin tone among people on a nature trail, then, yes, once again, you’re being oppressed.
It occurs to me that anyone vain and credulous enough to buy into this worldview is likely to struggle finding any lasting happiness.
The woods are also full of heteronormative animals mocking her with their binary genders, their slim athletic bodies and ability to procreate WITHOUT checking their privilege! The filthy capitalistic stooges!
Who would have thought that jobs which involve lifting heavy things are dominated by the hypermasculine. The horror!
Who would have thought that jobs which involve lifting heavy things are dominated by the hypermasculine.
See, now I’m picturing a reality show in which a dozen Gender Studies graduates attempt to survive for 30 days in the logging industry.
Incidentally, I was going to say, “attempt to master lumberjacking,” until I discovered that the term lumberjacking has a second, saltier meaning.
For hiking you should have proper hiking boots and poles, especially if you are plus sized. You don’t want to twist an ankle on the trail. That will put you back $250 for stuff that will last you a decade or more.
Or to put it in a way that Emily Zak can relate to, it’ll cost her 50 Iced Blonde Cinnamon Almond Macchiatos.
Too great of a sacrifice? Her call, really.
Four Fellings and a Funeral?
Ba-dum tisshh.
See, now I’m picturing a reality show in which a dozen Gender Studies graduates attempt to survive for 30 days in the logging industry.
Would this do?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filthy_Rich:_Cattle_Drive
The thing is, what avocational interest does not have some, or all, of the “barriers” Ms. Zak describes? She could have written the same rant about model railroading or gourmet cooking.
Would this do?
Sounds sufficiently trashy. I may have to investigate.
A 2016 study shows more than three in four US young adults who participate in outdoor activities are white.
I see. According to the 2010 census, 72.4% of the US population is “white”. Of course this includes the “white-Hispanics”, but regardless, it is a total mystery why nearly 3/4 of the population account for slightly more than 3/4 of the population participating in outdoor activities.
The reality is more complicated. In the United States, outdoor recreation is a $646 billion industry. Open the pages of outdoor magazines, and you’ll find $150 trail running shoes, $500 tents and $4,000 mountain bikes.
OTOH, if you weren’t a snobbish privileged geardo, you could go to an Army surplus store and get kitted out for less than your monthly cell phone payment.
Fitness culture overall reeks of fat-shaming, for one, which is reflected in workout clothing offerings.
Yes, because it is impossible to work out in a $5 t-shirt and $10 sweat pants (the name is a clue, Emily) one got at Wal-Mart, it is only possible in $300 FamousNameBrand ™ yoga pants.
According to a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, low-income neighborhoods are four and a half times less likely to have recreation facilities like parks in some states.
Ignoring the fact that there is no such word as “preventative” and the name of the journal is the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (I am going out an a limb and guessing she never read the article, though it is available free on line), these are the same buffoons who have claimed that “poverty” in rural areas is as great as in urban, and the former tend to be near areas where one can go camp or enjoy gay kayaking.
Think of a group of women professors who went to Yosemite a few years ago. A handful of them write in Al Jazeera how park staff waved through those who were white and Latinx, but questioned all four Black professors at length.
OK, Al Jazeera, no bias there, but let us proceed:
Yeah, I can see this happening, some high school grad working the gate at a National Park quizzing a total stranger about a PhD thesis. Totally believable. As an aside, the 10th Cavalry had Officers of Pallor, so it wasn’t an “all-African-American” regiment, unlike the later 332nd Fighter Group, so there must be something there Emily can feign shame and indignation about – just trying to help, I am.
until I discovered that the term lumberjacking has a second, saltier meaning.
*googles lumberjacking*
*regrets googling lumberjacking*
*regrets googling lumberjacking*
No refunds. Credit note only.
Yes, there is.
“three in four US young adults who participate in outdoor activities are white”
No doubt she looked at some outdoorsy promotional material and came to this conclusion. Research!
“*googles gay kayaking*”
I’m hesitant to look that up – possibly “gay kayaking” now refers to something I can’t unsee.
“heteronormative animals”
Well, you know, recent studies do indicate that 10% of mammals are LGBTQetc., so…
“lumberjacking”
Nope, not gonna look that one up either.
Are we close to passing Peak Poe’s Law yet?
more than three in four US young adults who participate in outdoor activities are white
Did they actually ask the rest of the population why they didn’t participate? I don’t go jogging, hiking, cycling, camping or fell-walking. Why? Because I’m just not that keen on the great outdoors. I’m quite happy with all the alternative activities available to me. I think Ms Zak has created a whole false premise “Without understanding what’s keeping folks home” (her own words).
According to a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, low-income neighborhoods are four and a half times less likely to have recreation facilities like parks in some states.
We need to figure out how to relocate the Yellowstone Caldera to downtown Detroit.
…
The mind boggles.
To be honest, I can’t see that as anything but an improvement.
Palate cleanser supplemented with a privileged white guy.
Yes, there is.
Only in savage parts of the world that prefer longer made up words over the originals because users think that more syllables = more erudite, e.g., “methodology” when “method” is really meant. Regardless, it is the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which Miss Emily would have known had she actually read the article.
Only in savage parts of the world that prefer longer made up words over the originals ….
A further discussion can be found here. I especially like this part:
Only in savage parts of the world
If anyone says aloom-i-num I’m going to start throwing things.
Leave it to the Brits to turn a four-syllable word into a five-syllable word.
Leave it to the Brits to turn a four-syllable word into a five-syllable word.
Only if they insert the phantom i.
Speaking of Everyday Feminism and its neurotic leanings, hear Melissa roar:
Seconds later…
She spoke so rashly.
hear Melissa roar
She stood so firmly. 🙂
wtf is this “ableist” crap I see added more and more often to the list of -ists and -isms -phobias that deplorables such as myself seem to be by default of existing?
I’m sorry, I don’t see how that is like “racist” – and even racist itself has lost all meaning.
I think I’ve run out of rat’s asses to give the whole ridiculous lot.
Thoughts on other phrasing?
How about, “Sit in the corner, affect a pensive expression and shut up?”
She stood so firmly. 🙂
And note the use of your truth, as opposed to… well, the other kind.
Also, this.
“It’s interesting that Ms Zak, an empowered feminist, is so keen to depict “marginalised people” as devoid of agency and anything approaching determination. They’re presented as merely passive and adrift on a tide of (largely hallucinated) social expectation.”
So what else is new? Someday, these people will realise they are being “exploited”. By the Left.
“The thing is, what avocational interest does not have some, or all, of the “barriers” Ms. Zak describes? She could have written the same rant about model railroading or gourmet cooking.”
Well, that’s just wrecked her next two articles. Pipe down. You’re giving away trade secrets here.
“wtf is this “ableist” crap I see added more and more often to the list of -ists and -isms -phobias that deplorables such as myself seem to be by default of existing?
I’m sorry, I don’t see how that is like “racist” – and even racist itself has lost all meaning.”
It all comes from the fallacy of positive rights. Lefties can’t understand how you can have the right to do something but be unable (or even unwilling; see the original post) to excercise it fully. Therefore, if you’re not actively ramming something down people’s throats, you’re oppressing them.
They’re not very bright.
Someday, these people will realise they are being “exploited”. By the Left.
Quite. The mindset being peddled, relentlessly, is a recipe for alienation, pettiness and resentment. Exploitable resentment.