{"id":21733,"date":"2017-10-18T11:13:55","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T18:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=21733"},"modified":"2025-01-21T14:13:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T22:13:56","slug":"the-first-lgbtq-outdoor-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/stewardship\/the-first-lgbtq-outdoor-summit","title":{"rendered":"The First LGBTQ Outdoor Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday morning I walked into a big event space in the REI Seattle flagship store for the first-ever, and long-awaited, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender, Queer) Outdoor Summit<\/a>. Locally-brewed coffee in hand, I sipped as the room filled with the largest number of queer outdoorsy people I\u2019ve ever seen in one space. An ever-loudening roar of chatter replaced the ambient city noise. Bursts of excitement and hugs broke out from time to time as friends from across the country greeted one another.<\/p>\n

As a nonbinary trans queer who is obsessed with the outdoors, I\u2019ve found myself in the minority time and time again\u2014whether wandering the aisles of Outdoor Retailer, the largest outdoor recreation expo in the country, or the trails of Tennessee. But for two days I was surrounded by my peers, filled with that magical feeling of being understood immediately, without explanation.<\/p>\n

The summit brought together attendees from near and far: REI, The North Face, Patagonia, the Sierra Club, the National Park Service and The Wilderness Society, to name a few. It was organized to provide a chance for representatives of the outdoor industry, conservation community, environmental education nonprofits and others to discuss the state of the LGBTQ community and the outdoors and look for opportunities to work together to support equity and social justice outside.<\/p>\n

The summit kicked off with Kris Hermanns, CEO of Pride Foundation<\/a>, a Seattle-based organization working toward full equality for LGBTQ people across the Northwest. She set the tone for the entire conference with two thoughts:<\/p>\n

\u201cSimultaneously, our community and our environment are under attack. The existence of the outdoors is being threatened [and historically marginalized] communities are being pushed to the margins in new ways. At the same time we are living with hope,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all should have the right to experience the outdoors. We all should do everything to protect these spaces and who can access them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queerer Than Ever<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Over the course of two days, 131 people from across the country gathered to talk about the LGBTQ community in the outdoors. But, as many point out, Mother Nature does not discriminate against anyone and, in many ways, today it is more acceptable<\/a> than ever to be out as a queer person. So why does it matter?<\/p>\n

Summit organizer and founder of OUT There Adventures, Elyse Rylander, believes there are a few good reasons to organize and talk about LGBTQ people in the outdoors:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Community: \u201c<\/strong>It\u2019s profound for folx to connect. I have that warm fuzzy when I see it\u2019s not just me.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Support: \u201c<\/strong>I\u2019m struck by how isolated queer folx in the [outdoor] industry are in trying to do this work. We are siloed\u2014so how can we break down those barriers to support each other?\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Growth: \u201c<\/strong>I\u2019m also hoping this will put the larger [outdoor] industry on notice. We are here, and it\u2019s not just one or two people. It will continue to grow\u2014the next generation will be the queerest yet. The [outdoor industry\u2019s] customer base is changing. How can we can show them that, cultivate data and give them the numbers?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    By the Numbers:<\/strong><\/h2>\n