Women in Whitewater

Whitewater rafting is defined as, “the recreational activity of  navigating a raft through fast-moving, shallow stretches of a river called rapids. The term, whitewater, comes from a white, frothy appearance of the water when it’s mixed with air and disturbed by wind or obstacles.” 

As women in whitewater, we have been similar. We have had to navigate our path throughout the current and figure out how to get around some obstacles. As a current female guide, I think it’s really important to acknowledge all of the women who paved the way for me to be able to be on the river in the capacity I am. As female participation in the whitewater industry has gone up immensely, it is not without the hard work of those who came before and worked their asses off to get any sense of acknowledgement. 

With that being said, it is also important to acknowledge where we are now. There may have been some rocks that shifted along the way, but the reality is that we are still representing the women that came before us and we are dreaming big for the women that come after us. When talking with other female guides on the river, it became clear that we all have something in common. The love for whitewater shines bright, and the desire for more connection and commonality is necessary. 

Women on Guiding

When you hop into a boat, with a crew that is predominantly male, it is not unlikely that they’ll make some comment about how having a female guide makes them feel. It’s not always bad, but it IS usually there. 

Kerra Pressley–a guide in the Arkansas River community–describes, “Some people doubt if you are capable of doing your job. Many of the customers assume that because you are a female, that automatically makes you a lesser guide than your male counterparts. Even if they don’t say anything, you can feel it.” This “feeling”, although not always there, is similar to an obstacle in the river. It constricts us into a narrower spot and can be in our heads while navigating a rapid. However, learning how to move past this and CRUSH it is something that most of the female guides I spoke with have had to overcome. The whitewater world is definitely making a shift and becoming more inclusive towards women, thanks to the gals who have stuck around and made their mark.

Virginia Beineke, a guide and kayaker on the Arkansas, has been on the river since she was sixteen. Being on the river for a longer amount of time, she has seen the way that the whitewater industry has been shaken up by women who are continuing to run whitewater. She describes the way that she saw a lot more sexism earlier on in her career and is starting to see a shift. 

“I had a guide I worked with when I was younger. He would tell his crews, and mine, that he was a much better guide than me and I only had a job because I was pretty,” Virginia explains, “I was a guide on the gorge at the time, he still hasn’t passed a gorge check ride.” However, she emphasizes that her experience with her male counterparts has improved a lot, and that is the sentiment from most of the women that I talked to on the river. Despite the occasional moment, male river guides in the community have really shown up to support the women around them. 

With that, it is important to notice that these experiences are still something that live inside of us. It is still something that drives us and we have all experienced the need to “prove ourselves”, even if this need didn’t start in whitewater. It may have started in a different sport or a different situation. Freedom and support come from the desire for doing something solely for YOU and for the community of women that you represent. It is what drives women to continue to move past boundaries that we have been placed within. 

Sometimes, it just takes being creative. “I really like being a woman in the industry, partly because I get to change people’s opinions on women in the outdoors, and as I’ve gotten more experienced, I’ve been able to support people coming up in the industry,” Virginia says. Despite the challenges and the doubt, the love of the river and the experiences that it has taught Virginia have kept her sticking to it. 

The ladies guiding on the river are BADASS. I need to make that very clear. Facing obstacles like rocks and eddylines, while also dealing with adversity due to gender is something that we  have learned to navigate. 

Women Supporting Women

This phrase, “women support women”, can be easy to throw around. Beginning a sport, surrounded by women who have been doing it for much longer, can feel incredibly intimidating. The idea of “women supporting women” is actually a bit more complex than it feels like. 

Pamela Dolores, a guide on the Arkansas River, has been rafting for seven years. She began on the Poudre River and then made her way to the Arkansas River for her third year as a guide. Pamela has experienced different companies and has navigated moving to a river that has a pretty large community down in Cañon City. 

When she first moved, she thought it would be easy to find community but struggled to find female friendship. Pamela describes a layer to female relationships on the river, “Women can sometimes be their own worst enemies. Whether this is to themselves, or other women.  I think it’s really important that women are also supporting diversity within other women. It is easy to feel ostracized by others if you don’t fit a certain mold.” With this, Pamela called out an obstacle that women often face, themselves. 

For so long, women have been having to fight their way into acceptance and this has caused tension from women to women. Whether we are aware of it or not. Sometimes it can be challenging to take criticism or cultivate female friendships because of the lack of space we’ve had in the past. We are still fighting for space, when we really just need to make room for one another.

We can make positive change and seek to eliminate that mentality of competition. Of course, competition is healthy but we must remember that we are all on the same team. It doesn’t matter if it is your first year guiding or your 30th season, there is space for everybody. 

Pam continues, “I would love to see more women celebrating one another, even if that means that certain women reach milestones before others. I think that the generations before us have had to work so hard, that sometimes it feels that people now don’t have to work as hard. But, having hostility towards this fact is not the solution.” 

Yes, it may have been harder in the past, but that doesn’t mean that we should tear people in the present down. The goal should be to keep those doors that our predecessors opened, OPEN! And in order to do that, we have to support and welcome people into the community. We need to celebrate differences within the river community and learn from one another. 

Not only that, but a space that welcomes one another. It can be intimidating. Virginia shares a story, “There was a lady I worked with years ago that I really looked up to and thought she was amazing. She would never come and talk to me, so I was worried she didn’t like me. That went on for a couple months until we realized we felt the same way about one another and quickly became friends after that.” In all aspects of life, this scenario is one that I’ve seen plenty of times. When in reality, we probably just admire the person but have created walls instead. Flipping the narrative and creating openness is so beneficial to the women on the river. 

The River & Ladies that Taught Us

With all that being said, there is still tremendous support from women on the river to one another. There are still the ladies that you can go to when you desperately need some glitter, or the ones that always keep chapstick on hand. There are the gals that get up early with you to scout Sunshine Falls so that they can hype you up and paddle for you. There’s the girls who always have an extra hair tie and are always willing to go get a margarita with you. These ladies are all around us, it’s just a matter of slowing down enough to see them. 

How do some of those ladies see their female friendships? 

Virginia describes her female relationships on the river, “Just badass ladies that I love hanging out with, goofing off with, and there’s always a ton of glitter. One thing they’ve taught me is that we don’t need to be nearly as intimidated as we are sometimes.” 

Kerra talks about her friendships, “They’ve taught me just how capable of, and just how badass we are. They’ve taught me that I don’t need to fit into a pretty little princess box. That I can be feral, but also dress like a princess.”

Pamela expresses her love for her friends in whitewater individually, “Shayna, one of the greatest friends I made in whitewater, taught me the importance of taking leaps to try new things. She also taught me the lessons of fierce loyalty, listening without judgment, and the importance of fresh starts.” (And she mentioned so many more amazing friends!). 

Let the gals in your life know how much you mean to them! It’s always a good time to celebrate one another. 

Action

There are always a lot of “we should do that” plans. Life gets busy and things tend to slip through the cracks. Making a conscious effort to prioritize fostering a river community that supports women and their differences is important. 

Virginia has seeked out establishing these spaces, “I try to hold lots of little clinics on how to do things like flip drills or pulling yourself into the boat. I had to struggle and figure a lot of that out on my own, and it makes me really happy to be able to help people who are struggling. The techniques are different for men and women. I love being able to help ladies build up their confidence.” 

Getting women together, on and off the river, really opens up these doors. Breaking down the walls from company to company opens up so many more avenues for women to build and grow. By isolating ourselves from one another, we are reversing the work that so many of us have done to create spaces that genuinely support women. 

We are navigating obstacles both on the river and off. The best way to celebrate one another and celebrate our differences and similarities is by recognizing our commonality in this. Thank you to all of the women who took leaps and bounds before I ever stepped foot into a river, for giving me the space to write this article. Thank you to all of the ladies who have shown me what it means to be a good person, a good friend, and a BADASS boater. I love getting to move through water with you all and I feel so deeply connected to all the ladies out there, whether I know you or not. 

I challenge you next season to create more opportunities for ladies to continue to support one another in a genuine way. 

Ow Ow!! Ladies BOATS!!! 

I’ll bring the glitter!!!

 

By: Sam McKiernan