Word Count: 810
Oh My God A Girl!
“OH MY GOD A GIRL!!” This was the cry I was met with when I
arrived to meet our group for a 5 day canoe trip down New
Zealand’s Wanganui River. “Are you sure you know what you’re
doing?!” a wary fellow in his 50′s exclaimed. I assured him that
since I knew a heck of a lot more than he did it was in his best
interest to stick with me. The rest of the group, a collection
of 10 men and women from New Zealand, looked on with some
amusement and guarded concern. This fellow had voiced what many
of them had inwardly felt when they discovered that their guides
were ‘girls’. Some had assumed that Sue, a nursing student in
her mid twenties, and I, a ‘Yank’ only a bit older, were the
greeting committee. I suspect many hoped at best we were the
cooks and at worst that we were driving the bus. Discovering
that they were heading out for an adventure under the guidance
and protection of two young women was not what they had imagined
when signing on for the 80 kilometer paddle through one of New
Zealand’s newest river parks.
This immediate shock upon discovering that they are trusting
their lives and limbs to a ‘girl’ is something I have become
used to when meeting groups of clients for the first time.
Working as a white water raft guide in the United States I have
seen the covert glances as the names of guides are called out
for each group of paddlers: “The Taylor party, your guide will
be Rich.” “The McKenna party your guide will be Kevin.” “The
Kelly party, your guide will be Debbie.” You can almost hear the
collective gulp.
The men in the United States are rarely so blunt as to come
right out and ask me if I know what I’m doing, but they are not
alone in their concern. The women often share their uncertainty
as to whether they can put their faith in a female guide. It
doesn’t take long before I’m asked, “So… how long have you
been doing this?” To which my standard response is to look at my
watch and reply “Oh, since about 8 this morning,” hoping a bit
of levity will calm people’s nerves.
Sometimes knowing that I’ve been guiding for 10 years helps
allay fears, in other cases it’s not until we have made it down
the last rapid, loaded the boats and are safely ensconced back
on the bus (which I may also drive, prompting someone to worry
aloud about ‘women drivers’) that my crew sighs with the relief
of having survived not only the river, but me.
Leadership styles vary from person to person. It is difficult
and perhaps dangerous to generalize the variations according to
gender, but the fact remains that men continue to be central
figures of authority in most of our lives. While many of us have
strong female role models, the heroes of young Americans are
typically male sports figures and action film stars. There are
fewer ‘scripts’ for women assuming leadership positions commonly
held by men.
Fortunately my experience has been that it is not employers and
co-workers who are resistant to seeing women in leadership
roles. Quality tour and guiding companies know that good
judgment, experience and attitude play a greater role in hiring
a leader then does gender. Instead it is the clients, the men
and women who arrive nervous and excited to experience an
adventure, whether it’s on a rock, in the mountains or on a
river, who have envisioned a strong, fearless leader who does
not have breasts.
I led my first trip for a group of women 20 years ago. Today I
organize and lead trips for women over 40. Along with being
great fun, these exclusive groups allow women the unique
opportunity to see other women in positions of power and
control, to witness a group of women working out problems and
dealing with the host of challenges encountered on a river trip
or while traveling abroad.
By supporting each other and being open to seeing women in
leadership roles women help each other to succeed and achieve
more than they thought possible. As more and more women become
visible in outdoor recreation and leadership I suspect the day
isn’t too far off when we’re met with the exclamation “OH GREAT,
A WOMAN!” As for the fellow on the canoe trip in New Zealand; I
had to rescue him and his canoe after he flipped in the first
rapid, but it wasn’t until I barbecued a perfect medium rare
steak that he was truly impressed. Go figure.
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———— Debbie Jacobs, founder and president of
Explorations in Travel, http://www.exploretravel.com, organizes
outdoor and cultural adventures for women over 40 and arranges
individual volunteer placements in Latin America, the South
Pacific and Nepal. She lives in southern Vermont with too many
dogs. She can be contacted at [email protected]
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———— Copyright 2000-by Debbie Jacobs This article may be
reprinted as long as: 1.) It is reprinted in its entirety 2.)
The byline remains intact