566.8K
RAI’ve had several encounters recently (with men) who were convinced I needed help in the mountains - most likely based on my outfits.
Now trust me, I get it. I really enjoy having everything match. I enjoy looking cute. I love wearing pink, purple, and my white stretch pants I was wearing the other day probably didn’t exactly convey to the guy trying to help me that I used to go on expeditions haha.
But I have not always been brave enough to dress how I want, so I didn’t let it bother me too much.
I went through a long phase of wanting to be taken seriously in the mountains. I started trad climbing, ice climbing and ski mountaineering when I was 16. For a time I thought I wanted to be a professional athlete. I didn’t start wearing makeup at all until I was 27 or so, and I wore clothes that conveyed everything I so badly wanted to be. I would have been very defensive if someone thought I didn’t know what I was doing based on my clothing.
So yes, I definitely understand the judgement! Certain clothes and makeup are more *girly* but - news flash - women are actually more likely to survive wilderness disasters than men, regardless of what we are wearing 😜
I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate when others try to help - I think it’s so so important. I’m saying that if I’d been dressed differently (or been a man) nobody would have tried to convince me to not hike a certain trail or to triple check that I had spikes.
But most importantly, I’m reminding you that people will say and think what they are going to say and think. Let them. Don’t let potential or actual judgments change who you are. Even when it’s scary to be who you are, it’s worth it.
So to everyone who has ever been told they can’t look, dress, or act a certain way…
Wear and do whatever makes your heart happy, because in the end it’s not about how we look at all, but about how much we feel like ourselves. None of us get out alive from this anyway.
Life is whatever we make of it, and it can be a fashion show if that’s what brings us joy 🥰
#strongwomen #pinkaesthetic #lofoten
@rachel.pohl
