What's Up With White People and being Outdoorsy?
Now let's talk about something I truly care about!
White people dominate the outdoor recreation world. It doesn't take much investigation to see that most of the people on ski hills, on hiking trails, and on rock climbing routes are white. I can't say how many black comedians I've heard dissing camping as a vacation option. In Trevor Noah's last stand up, he talked about the fact that African Americans have been oppressed and subject to terrible conditions for centuries - so why would they go into the "terrible conditions" of the wilderness on their days off?
And, to dress like a quintessential, stereotypical white girl: one must wear North Face and Patagonia.
I've grown up on ski team my entire life. In all my years of team, I only ever remember there being one African American girl on my team. When I got older and joined the bigger team, there were three asians and about forty white kids. Last year, when I went to an outdoor school, there was one African American girl, named Chelsea, and one asian girl - the other thirty kids were white.
Chelsea lives in Memphis, Tennessee and openly detests the outdoors. When I told her that I was writing this, she texted back that, "White people dominate outdoor recreation because black people are not willingly involved with outdoor adventure. I've had many friends say it's too risky. We like to play it safe." While this is just one black person's opinion, I thought it was interesting stuff.
Biophilia, a term coined by the ever amazing E. O. Wilson, is "urge to affiliate with other forms of life." He says that going into nature can help cure mental illness, it helps people develop empathy, and it facilitates physical healing. Patients that have tree outside their window are likely to heal faster than patients looking at a city street. So, it's so important the people of all ethnic backgrounds have equal and ample opportune to go outside.
Another large factor in outdoorsy-ness is economics. A large percent of the lower class is made up of minorities. I worked at a deli this summer with a man who was half latino and half Cherokee, working at the Deli was his full time job. I was going camping pretty much every day off I had, and sometime I would go hiking before work. When I asked him if he ever camped, he explained that he worked really hard, long hours for his house and he didn't want to spend a night under a tarp when he knew there was a warm bed waiting for him. A warm bed that he might not have one day if he doesn't work hard enough. Some rich white people might have the same opinion - they'd prefer to sleep in a bed than on the ground, but it is usually not because they don't know if that security will be taken away one day.
White people dominate the outdoor recreation world. It doesn't take much investigation to see that most of the people on ski hills, on hiking trails, and on rock climbing routes are white. I can't say how many black comedians I've heard dissing camping as a vacation option. In Trevor Noah's last stand up, he talked about the fact that African Americans have been oppressed and subject to terrible conditions for centuries - so why would they go into the "terrible conditions" of the wilderness on their days off?
And, to dress like a quintessential, stereotypical white girl: one must wear North Face and Patagonia.
I've grown up on ski team my entire life. In all my years of team, I only ever remember there being one African American girl on my team. When I got older and joined the bigger team, there were three asians and about forty white kids. Last year, when I went to an outdoor school, there was one African American girl, named Chelsea, and one asian girl - the other thirty kids were white.
Chelsea lives in Memphis, Tennessee and openly detests the outdoors. When I told her that I was writing this, she texted back that, "White people dominate outdoor recreation because black people are not willingly involved with outdoor adventure. I've had many friends say it's too risky. We like to play it safe." While this is just one black person's opinion, I thought it was interesting stuff.
Biophilia, a term coined by the ever amazing E. O. Wilson, is "urge to affiliate with other forms of life." He says that going into nature can help cure mental illness, it helps people develop empathy, and it facilitates physical healing. Patients that have tree outside their window are likely to heal faster than patients looking at a city street. So, it's so important the people of all ethnic backgrounds have equal and ample opportune to go outside.
Another large factor in outdoorsy-ness is economics. A large percent of the lower class is made up of minorities. I worked at a deli this summer with a man who was half latino and half Cherokee, working at the Deli was his full time job. I was going camping pretty much every day off I had, and sometime I would go hiking before work. When I asked him if he ever camped, he explained that he worked really hard, long hours for his house and he didn't want to spend a night under a tarp when he knew there was a warm bed waiting for him. A warm bed that he might not have one day if he doesn't work hard enough. Some rich white people might have the same opinion - they'd prefer to sleep in a bed than on the ground, but it is usually not because they don't know if that security will be taken away one day.
Interesting thinking here, this is a very abstract thought. Much of this is quite confusing to me, economics and the outdoors do not seem to have a correlation to me as exploring the outdoors is the number one activity that many people of all different backgrounds result to when they don't have money to do activities that cost money. The outdoors is free. I don't think that minorities have the same perspective on the outdoors as the man that you mentioned. Outside is for anyone, and everyone. Trevor Noah can't speak for the large part of the African American race, I'm sure there are many who do not view the outdoors as "Terrible conditions". I do agree that it is important for people of all ethnic backgrounds to be able to go outside and explore the beautiful world we all have in the palm of our hand, and the good thing is we all do have the opportunity so there is no problem with that at all.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered about that too actually. When my family goes hiking, not nearby but at national parks or whatnot, almost everyone around us is white. I don't think it's because of a decreased appreciation of the outdoors from non-white people. From what the statistics say online, it appears to be a bit of economic difference and a bit of background. Outdoor trips cost a lot. Outdoor camps cost a lot. Outdoor gear costs way too much. Another reason the article mentioned was that some minorities might see outdoorsing as a "downgrade" of sorts -- because they've worked so hard to be prosperous and on an equal level as white people, minorities might not understand the appeal of living in a tent, sludging through mud, etc.
ReplyDeletehttps://newrepublic.com/article/114621/national-parks-popular-white-people-not-minorities-why
Interesting post Katie. This is something that I had never thought of before but now that I sit here an think about it, it is so true. My family is pretty outdoorsy and I have always loved to hike and camp and have tended to see mostly white people. I do think an economic barrier does definitely play into affect. I think also cultural differences play a big part. My Persian side of the family does not like the outdoors at all and they refuse to camp or go on hikes and do not really like physical activity at all. But they have a huge value for family and get together for huge dinners at least once a week. My very white side of the family on the other hands loves the outdoors and adventuring and are all extremely active. I think different cultures, even if living in the same area, have different core values and for many white people, the outdoors is a key part.
ReplyDeleteMinority groups tend to dominate inner city type areas where access to nature and the outdoors are very limited. Looking at Los Altos, we have a lot of access to many hiking trails, bike paths, etc. but it is important to keep in mind we do live in a dominantly white area. If you have grown up not doing many outdoorsy activities because you did not have the opportunity to based on where you live, it would make sense why that is not something you would value a lot.
ReplyDeleteSice youre speaking from your own experiences, I can feel the authenticity in this story. Personally, I am not an outdoorsy person (perhaps because I am brown), however my reasoning is different from those experieneces that you detailed. It is not down to any economic insecurities, but because I dont really like the outdoors. I found it really interesting how all the racial makeups of your classes were so skewed. Perhaps it is the culture of white people to enjoy the outtdoors. Conversely, my mom loves the outdoors, and she is brown too. I think this an extrenely complex dynamic and it would be interesting to delve into this issue more. Thanks for brimging this to my attention!
ReplyDelete