Photo of Kylie Cullen taken by photographer Michelle Ranaee Johnson. Michelle is featured in an interview this edition.
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Welcome to the September 2019 Women’s edition of Common Climber!
In this issue we are sharing not only a visual redesign of Common Climber, but stories of some unique and wonderful women climbers – of both the alpine and rock sort, as well as newer and well-established climbers. We have:
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Photo Credit: Lady Lockoff
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As a woman and the Editor-in-Chiefette of this little gig, I have the privilege and honor of writing something “uplifting and inspiring” to “release” this edition to the world like a fluffy white dove from gentle hands.
Honestly, if you’ve read much of my writing, “uplifting and inspiring” aren’t exactly words I’d use for my style. I think these women do the “uplifting and inspiring” pretty-damn-well on their own. So, for this editorial, I will continue to do me and say what the heck I want about a few challenging realities women face in the outdoors.
Some of these “realities” are seemingly small, but, in my "self-appointed-speaker-of-women's-experiences" opinion, I’m telling you, they add up.
Truthfully, women generally don’t like or want to talk about the stuff I’m about to share because: It’s private; We want you to focus on our accomplishments, not our physiology; Or, we don’t want to be seen as different because different has historically translated into bullshit like “inferior.” But the reality is, we ARE different from men. And, as one who has breasts and ovaries, I feel like we have to deal with some additional physiological crap ON TOP OF the physical exertions of climbing.
To my lady friends, I hope I don’t disappoint you by what I’m sharing here. Please don’t kick me out of the tribe
Oh, and fair warning, if you have some delicate sensitivities, you may just want to stop reading here:
This may seem minor, but I challenge men to try to pee squatting down EVERY TIME - removing your pants, harness, etc. multiple times a day – including several thousand feet up on a ledge or in 30 degrees below zero temps. Have you seen that big one-piece puffy suit Monique wears? Damn, I hope that has a potty-zipper!
To top it off, I'm just sayin' we can’t just shake the urine off our parts. Tending to that requires some extra special attention.
Women’s bodily temperature regulation is also impacted by hormonal fluctuations. (Finally there are sleeping bags for women that have more filling compared to men’s for the same temperature rating! Yes, research shows we get cold easier - except later in life, when hot flashes make you want to rip off every blanket and layer of clothing that touches your skin - and, yes, I'm old enough to be experiencing this lovely phenomenon...)
The next hormonal news flash is: we bleed. I once saw a t-shirt that said “I can do everything you can do but while bleeding.” At first I didn’t like that shirt. I could speculate on all the reasons why I reacted adversely, but then, when I really thought about it I was like, “damn, that’s true.”
Women are given hard time for being “on the rag” but for goodness sake people, give us a break. Being on your period and then doing physically demanding things outside is difficult. The fact the we menstruate should be recognized as an additional physical challenge that we overcome! It takes physical and mental energy to deal with menstruation: planning for it; surprise periods; worry you might leak and ruin your clothes or be seen with a leak; packing out used supplies; much less changing that shit in the middle of nowhere. To top it off, it’s plain physically exhausting to loose that much blood.
In this editorial, I'm focusing primarily on the physiological challenges women face, but sexism, misogyny, harassment, and assault add to the weight women bear. As women, ALL of these things affect our choices, actions, and re-actions. They just affect us differently, uniquely.
It takes women a lot of work and effort to manage the physiological and psychological challenges of being a female. This is in addition to the challenges of the rock, gear, and weather. When a woman chooses to follow her outdoor passion, she takes it ALL on, including the glass ceilings that may be imposed upon her.
A woman who climbs (or participates in any other outdoor sport) deserves to be recognized as an equal athlete. I’d even go as far to say she has earned some additional high fives because there are a few hurdles for her to jump over before she can actually begin “the race.”
P.S. I wish to thank Dave Barnes who did a really awesome of connecting with these incredible women and helping bring their stories to our pages. Dave - you are awesome!
Honestly, if you’ve read much of my writing, “uplifting and inspiring” aren’t exactly words I’d use for my style. I think these women do the “uplifting and inspiring” pretty-damn-well on their own. So, for this editorial, I will continue to do me and say what the heck I want about a few challenging realities women face in the outdoors.
Some of these “realities” are seemingly small, but, in my "self-appointed-speaker-of-women's-experiences" opinion, I’m telling you, they add up.
Truthfully, women generally don’t like or want to talk about the stuff I’m about to share because: It’s private; We want you to focus on our accomplishments, not our physiology; Or, we don’t want to be seen as different because different has historically translated into bullshit like “inferior.” But the reality is, we ARE different from men. And, as one who has breasts and ovaries, I feel like we have to deal with some additional physiological crap ON TOP OF the physical exertions of climbing.
To my lady friends, I hope I don’t disappoint you by what I’m sharing here. Please don’t kick me out of the tribe
Oh, and fair warning, if you have some delicate sensitivities, you may just want to stop reading here:
- We can’t pee standing up. Ok, if we carry around a little floppy device with us we can, but frankly, once you’ve experienced device malfunction, the willingness to try it again evaporates faster than the piss on your clothes.
This may seem minor, but I challenge men to try to pee squatting down EVERY TIME - removing your pants, harness, etc. multiple times a day – including several thousand feet up on a ledge or in 30 degrees below zero temps. Have you seen that big one-piece puffy suit Monique wears? Damn, I hope that has a potty-zipper!
To top it off, I'm just sayin' we can’t just shake the urine off our parts. Tending to that requires some extra special attention.
- Our breasts are front and center. When we are hot we can’t just take off our shirts. If we are lounging around the house in a tank top with no bra, we can’t just go out into public – lest our breasts be the show of the day. We have to make an effort to put on, and then wear, a bra. Pretty much every bra gets uncomfortable at some point. Wearing layers when its freezing makes it difficult to take off the bra – so, you wear it all night, all day, and you suffer with chaffed nipples, cut-off circulation, and/or skin divits the size of the Grand Canyon. Also, backpack straps typically smash the goods. And, then, during certain times of the month, the breasts can feel like the site of a World War 2 battle.
- We have hormonal cycles. These hormonal cycles affect women to differing degrees, but they affect us none-the-less. If we are “bitchy” it gets disparagingly written off as “that time of the month.” But the hormonal cycles impact a helluva lot. When certain hormones spike or tank, we experience very real exhaustion, it can be difficult to concentrate, tears come more easily, even nutrient needs change.
Women’s bodily temperature regulation is also impacted by hormonal fluctuations. (Finally there are sleeping bags for women that have more filling compared to men’s for the same temperature rating! Yes, research shows we get cold easier - except later in life, when hot flashes make you want to rip off every blanket and layer of clothing that touches your skin - and, yes, I'm old enough to be experiencing this lovely phenomenon...)
The next hormonal news flash is: we bleed. I once saw a t-shirt that said “I can do everything you can do but while bleeding.” At first I didn’t like that shirt. I could speculate on all the reasons why I reacted adversely, but then, when I really thought about it I was like, “damn, that’s true.”
Women are given hard time for being “on the rag” but for goodness sake people, give us a break. Being on your period and then doing physically demanding things outside is difficult. The fact the we menstruate should be recognized as an additional physical challenge that we overcome! It takes physical and mental energy to deal with menstruation: planning for it; surprise periods; worry you might leak and ruin your clothes or be seen with a leak; packing out used supplies; much less changing that shit in the middle of nowhere. To top it off, it’s plain physically exhausting to loose that much blood.
In this editorial, I'm focusing primarily on the physiological challenges women face, but sexism, misogyny, harassment, and assault add to the weight women bear. As women, ALL of these things affect our choices, actions, and re-actions. They just affect us differently, uniquely.
It takes women a lot of work and effort to manage the physiological and psychological challenges of being a female. This is in addition to the challenges of the rock, gear, and weather. When a woman chooses to follow her outdoor passion, she takes it ALL on, including the glass ceilings that may be imposed upon her.
A woman who climbs (or participates in any other outdoor sport) deserves to be recognized as an equal athlete. I’d even go as far to say she has earned some additional high fives because there are a few hurdles for her to jump over before she can actually begin “the race.”
P.S. I wish to thank Dave Barnes who did a really awesome of connecting with these incredible women and helping bring their stories to our pages. Dave - you are awesome!