I never thought I鈥檇 be a radical when it came to the outdoors. Having grown up听in Nebraska, one of the flattest states in America, and received听degrees in classical singing from McGill University and the University of Memphis, I didn鈥檛 imagine measuring my life in number of peaks scaled. Yet here I am,听more than halfway through a three-year road trip to experience all . The odd听thing is, my previous lack of experience isn鈥檛 the most surprising part of this project.
It鈥檚 that I鈥檓 gay.
Writing that last sentence feels funny to me, because when rafting down the Green River or hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I don鈥檛 feel out of place. But when I look at outdoor apparel ads, marketing for outdoor vacations, and editorials on how to live the outdoor听lifestyle, it鈥檚 very apparent that the queerest thing about my nature excursions is simply that I鈥檓 there鈥攂ecause the outdoor industry doesn鈥檛 show me or any of my openly LGBT tribe in those situations.
But wait, this is 2017. Am I really talking about non-straight people not being part of mainstream culture?
Yes. When it comes to LGBT inclusion, the outdoor industry is drastically behind the rest of corporate America. Apple, one of the richest companies in the United States, has an openly gay CEO; action-sports star Gus Kenworthy maintained endorsement deals with Nike after coming out in 2015; and everyone from Wells Fargo to Oreo has rainbow-themed Pride Month ad campaigns each June.
But how many Pride Month ad campaigns did I see from the outdoor industry in June 2017?
Zero.
How many openly LGBT hikers, climbers, or other outdoorsy figures have I seen land endorsement deals with outdoor companies?
Zero.
How many openly gay couples have I seen in any outdoor ad campaigns?
Zero.
I鈥檓 willing to bet that most people have experienced the same. How can an industry that moved its largest outdoor retail convention to a state with more progressive land policies be so conventional that it doesn鈥檛 show diverse people experiencing those public lands?
When I set out to become the youngest person to visit all 417 National Park Service sites, I was terrified of any company finding out I was gay. I was sure that it would doom any potential for sponsorship. I was shocked when outdoor nonprofits told me I was a revolutionary simply because I was an openly gay man publicly sharing my love for the outdoors. And I wonder daily if people unfollow or lose interest in a project about the national parks simply because it makes them uncomfortable that I鈥檓 gay.听If getting听an email that opened with, 鈥淐an you tell me what the Bible says about bestiality?鈥 is any indication, it would appear the 鈥渇orest鈥 of my mission gets lost for this 鈥渢ree.鈥
When I鈥檓 out in those forests, I internally debate if it鈥檚 safe to say 鈥渂oyfriend鈥 while sharing stories with fellow hikers. When mentioning my sexual orientation in interviews with publications, I get contacted by strangers attempting to convince me听I chose to be gay. And my family and friends have expressed concern that someone will read one of those interviews and track me down to express their displeasure in person, recalling the 1996 in Shenandoah National Park.
For those doubting the experiences of being LGBT in the outdoors, you need look no further than public comments left on posts from myself and other outdoor queer people:
鈥淲hy does everything have to be about LGBT?鈥
鈥淲ho cares about carpet munchers and sexuality.鈥
鈥淛ust be a climber…..not a lessy!!!鈥
How often do you see derogatory comments about a person鈥檚 sexuality when the story鈥檚 subjects are a straight couple?
Over the past 18 months of visiting national parks and living the #VanLife (another community the media seems to think is exclusively heterosexual), I realized that if this anti-LGBT image is ever going to change, we can鈥檛 wait on the for-profit industry. The LGBT market might not seem big enough for the outdoor industry to spend advertising dollars on, which is what one company told a friend who runs a queer outdoors nonprofit. But how can we know until we start also showing queer folk in the outdoors? It鈥檚 why I a rainbow flag in front of the park service鈥檚 most iconic locations, even to the befuddlement of other hikers. (Some who have asked what the rainbow flag stands for.)
Just like civil rights leader听Marian Wright听Edelman听championed, 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to be what you can鈥檛 see.鈥 And gay pioneer Harvey Milk said, 鈥淥nce they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all.鈥 It is vital that we show the outdoors is not for a certain subset of America.听It is for all of us.
My only hope is that as the outdoor world asserts the need to make underrepresented groups like women and racial minorities part of this community, we move beyond a 1990s definition of diversity and don鈥檛 forget there鈥檚 a little gay kid in Nebraska wondering if he鈥檚 welcome in the outdoors.