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The Seventh Generation: Survival, Sustainability, Sustenance in a New Nature
When Everything Beyond the Walls Is Wild: Being a Woman Outdoors in America
In When Everything Beyond the Walls Is Wild, Lilace Mellin Guignard draws from emblematic moments and relationships in her own life to explore issues of gender, recreation, and environmental conservation. Born into a suburban family, Guignard wanted to get up close and personal with iconic American landscapes, but social pressures and cautionary tales told her that these spaces were not meant for her as a woman.
Reflecting on the ways our culture socializes women to remain indoors, Guignard shares her own struggles with finding her place outdoors. Refusing to stay indoors and “safe,” Guignard drove cross-country with her dog, worked as a river guide, and set out to climb Mount Whitney. She recounts navigating outdoor interactions with male friends and strangers that range from wonderful to awkward to frightening. Now that she is settled with her own family, Guignard writes about how it is still more difficult for women than men to prioritize outdoor recreation time. These stories expose how cultural messages about women shape their experiences and interactions when backpacking, paddling, rock climbing, and bicycling. They broaden readers’ notions of what adventure is, what places are considered wild and worth our care, and what types of people enjoy the outdoors.
Drawing upon the art of the memoir—and informed by analysis from women’s studies and ecological literature—Guignard makes an impassioned case for why women and marginalized members of society should have the opportunity to experience nature. The self-reliance and connection with the natural world that outdoor recreation fosters are qualities we all need in order to do the work required by the environmental challenges ahead.
Reflecting on the ways our culture socializes women to remain indoors, Guignard shares her own struggles with finding her place outdoors. Refusing to stay indoors and “safe,” Guignard drove cross-country with her dog, worked as a river guide, and set out to climb Mount Whitney. She recounts navigating outdoor interactions with male friends and strangers that range from wonderful to awkward to frightening. Now that she is settled with her own family, Guignard writes about how it is still more difficult for women than men to prioritize outdoor recreation time. These stories expose how cultural messages about women shape their experiences and interactions when backpacking, paddling, rock climbing, and bicycling. They broaden readers’ notions of what adventure is, what places are considered wild and worth our care, and what types of people enjoy the outdoors.
Drawing upon the art of the memoir—and informed by analysis from women’s studies and ecological literature—Guignard makes an impassioned case for why women and marginalized members of society should have the opportunity to experience nature. The self-reliance and connection with the natural world that outdoor recreation fosters are qualities we all need in order to do the work required by the environmental challenges ahead.
- GenresMemoirNonfictionFeminism
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2019
9 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 26, 2021
As much as I love the outdoors, the stories Guignard tells of staying alone in a tent, with only a dog to protect her, or hiking naked through the woods, instantly fill me with a gut feeling of fear. I know she must’ve been okay, because she’s writing this book, but there is still a moment of terror where I, like her mother and female friends at many points throughout the book, am thinking of all the ways it could go wrong. I found myself thinking about how much I wished all women were comfortable being independent as she was. Guignard clearly gained a lot from her experiences outdoors: she grew to trust herself, both her knowledge and her instincts; she became comfortable with her bare face, her unstyled hair, her functional clothing (Guignard, 2019, 164). How much different would society be if she and women like her were the majority, rather than outliers? If a woman’s comfort with her natural form was embraced rather than discouraged? When she worked selling Christmas trees, she mentions that a trainer once taught women that “a little makeup can compensate for all your hauling and sawing and loading,” as if a woman being visibly strong was a disadvantage that she must somehow make up for (Guignard, 2019, 63). But this perspective is hardly rare: when I first buzzed my head, I was told that I would now “have to wear a lot of makeup” if I were to be palatable. It goes all the way back to the “three-article rule” of the 50s and 60s, which required people to wear at least three items of clothing that “matched their gender.” Sure, women can be muscular, or have short hair—as long as they wear makeup, and don’t dress too “masculine.”
Over the past few years, as I have interacted with diverse groups of women, I have managed to become comfortable with my natural form—I never wear makeup or shave, and I’ve reached the point where I don’t stress when I gain or lose weight—and being completely content and happy with yourself is something that no outside force can take away from you. An important aspect of this, to me, was truly recognizing that I do not occupy a body—I AM my body. Once you recognize this, it is harder to cut your body up into pieces of “wanted” and “unwanted.” Guignard, by living such a physical life, seemed to have connected to her body in the same way, despite the misogyny she so often encountered. At one point she states that “(o)nce I recognized how fickle my preconceptions were, it helped me let go of preconceptions” (Guignard, 2019, 209). I liked this line, and it’s a perspective that I hope all women reach. Though, as she mentions, comparing yourself to others never fully goes away, it can get better, and you can recognize that comparing yourself to others never brings you comfort. Even if you are comparing yourself favorably to other women, there is no real happiness that comes from putting down other women.
On the other hand, one thing that I felt deeply uncomfortable without throughout the book was how Guignard would make excuses for the actions of men around her. This starts early on, when she shares a tent with Mike, who proceeds to sexually assault her as she sleeps. Twice. Though she refers to it only as “getting amorous,” kissing and touching someone as she sleeps, when you have at no point been romantically involved, is blatantly assault (Guignard, 2019, 19). Despite this she refers to him as a “person of character,” presumably for not actually raping her, and blames herself for not “clarifying her tent intentions” beforehand (Guignard, 2019, 32; Guignard, 2019, 20). She refers to misogynistic men as “product of culture,” which is certainly true, but at times it seems as though she uses this explanation to absolve them of blame (Guignard, 2019, 79). When she discusses how men “provide” and women “pa(y) with their bodies” throughout history, she immediately follows it up with “(n)ot that either guy was thinking this so calculatingly” (Guignard, 2019, 20). This frustrated me. Why was she defending the transactional way men view their relationships with women? Women’s oppression is not accidental. Men know what they are doing, as they have been doing it for centuries. It did not ruin the book for me, but it made it harder for me to connect to her story.
Over the past few years, as I have interacted with diverse groups of women, I have managed to become comfortable with my natural form—I never wear makeup or shave, and I’ve reached the point where I don’t stress when I gain or lose weight—and being completely content and happy with yourself is something that no outside force can take away from you. An important aspect of this, to me, was truly recognizing that I do not occupy a body—I AM my body. Once you recognize this, it is harder to cut your body up into pieces of “wanted” and “unwanted.” Guignard, by living such a physical life, seemed to have connected to her body in the same way, despite the misogyny she so often encountered. At one point she states that “(o)nce I recognized how fickle my preconceptions were, it helped me let go of preconceptions” (Guignard, 2019, 209). I liked this line, and it’s a perspective that I hope all women reach. Though, as she mentions, comparing yourself to others never fully goes away, it can get better, and you can recognize that comparing yourself to others never brings you comfort. Even if you are comparing yourself favorably to other women, there is no real happiness that comes from putting down other women.
On the other hand, one thing that I felt deeply uncomfortable without throughout the book was how Guignard would make excuses for the actions of men around her. This starts early on, when she shares a tent with Mike, who proceeds to sexually assault her as she sleeps. Twice. Though she refers to it only as “getting amorous,” kissing and touching someone as she sleeps, when you have at no point been romantically involved, is blatantly assault (Guignard, 2019, 19). Despite this she refers to him as a “person of character,” presumably for not actually raping her, and blames herself for not “clarifying her tent intentions” beforehand (Guignard, 2019, 32; Guignard, 2019, 20). She refers to misogynistic men as “product of culture,” which is certainly true, but at times it seems as though she uses this explanation to absolve them of blame (Guignard, 2019, 79). When she discusses how men “provide” and women “pa(y) with their bodies” throughout history, she immediately follows it up with “(n)ot that either guy was thinking this so calculatingly” (Guignard, 2019, 20). This frustrated me. Why was she defending the transactional way men view their relationships with women? Women’s oppression is not accidental. Men know what they are doing, as they have been doing it for centuries. It did not ruin the book for me, but it made it harder for me to connect to her story.
March 25, 2020
Guignard weaves adventure with social commentary in a masterful way in this great read. I found myself reading passages and realizing how my own adventures in the outdoors had been shaped by societal views on women in the outdoors. I found myself mentally volunteering to be her adventure buddy as she paddled down rivers and hiked up mountains. Her stories prodded my wanderlust and drove me to go into the woods and breath deep. Couple that with her discussion on the historical context of women in the outdoors and you've got one amazing, inspiring, and fun read.
Disclaimer: I was one of Lilace's students at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. I think very highly of her as an outdoors-woman, mother, and professor. That being said, I've tried to keep my review as unbiased as possible.
Disclaimer: I was one of Lilace's students at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. I think very highly of her as an outdoors-woman, mother, and professor. That being said, I've tried to keep my review as unbiased as possible.
September 29, 2019
A lovely book: part memoir, part climbing/biking/hiking/backpacking guide, part history of participation in outdoor recreation by the underrepresented, and part...poetry. Lilace shares her story and those of woodswomen before us, knits us into zigzagging adventures, invites us to court nature, and teaches us lyrical ways to voice our own love of wild-ness. A book of hope. All will be well. Now let’s go outside. When she quotes Sam Keen: “Warning: Be careful what you spend your day touching,” I realize that I am thankful Lilace spends at least part of her day touching pen and paper.
March 25, 2020
A book for anyone who loves the outdoors. The author takes us on a journey as she recounts her discovery and love of camping, backpacking, paddling, rock climbing, and exploring. Lilace Guignard's adventures follow her life as a single woman in her 20s through to her life as a wife and mother in her 40s. Throughout she shows us what it is like to venture into the wilderness as a female and gives us food for thought. I subtracted one star as I found the book lost some of my interest towards the end; once her life revolved more around her family and less around her independence.
May 13, 2019
I was spellbound. Thank you for all of it...the smart writing, the stories, the imagery, the thought provoking analysis. It brought back memories from my own childhood experiences in the wild and made me want to run out and make more. So talented.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews