The outdoors is a place to feel free and alive, but not all shapes and sizes feel they can explore it that way. Summer Michaud-Skog is trying to change that, one trail at a time.
The 39-year-old childcare provider has piloted a growing movement she calls . It began in 2015, when Michaud-Skog posted photos online from hikes with her then-partner, using the hashtag #fatgirlshiking.
香蕉视频直播淲e just wanted a place where we felt represented,香蕉视频直播� Michaud-Skog told Black Press Media in a phone interview from her home in Portland, Ore.
香蕉视频直播滿ost of the social media we were seeing was a very specific type of person 香蕉视频直播� a thin, white, able-bodied person 香蕉视频直播� and that just didn香蕉视频直播檛 resonate with me.香蕉视频直播�
Other people on social media began to use the hashtag, and as it got more popular, Michaud-Skog started up a blog about some of the inspiring women she香蕉视频直播檇 interacted with online, body image and outdoor fitness.
香蕉视频直播淎 few months after that, I started doing group hikes, and then after that, I started a few chapters,香蕉视频直播� she said.
Her hiking website and social media accounts are now 14,000 Fat Girl hikers strong, wielding the motto, 香蕉视频直播淭rails not scales.香蕉视频直播�
Culture around hiking one large barrier for Fat Girls
Despite being an athletic child, there were years of Michaud-Skog香蕉视频直播檚 life where the intense societal pressure to look a certain way prompted her to give up playing sports and being active.
香蕉视频直播淚 have sort of what I call fitness trauma from my youth,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 loved running, but I was slow, and so I was seen as not being good at it. 香蕉视频直播� I had a lot of shame put on me for not doing this activity in a way that was proper.香蕉视频直播�
The same feelings would come during a hike.
香蕉视频直播淚 felt like I wasn香蕉视频直播檛 represented in media. I didn香蕉视频直播檛 know that someone my size could even hike 香蕉视频直播� I thought it wasn香蕉视频直播檛 for me,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 just want people to know that they can hike if they want to.香蕉视频直播�
Online commenters have criticized Fat Girls Hiking, saying the outdoors is obviously open to everyone despite their size or athletic ability, but Michaud-Skog said that couldn香蕉视频直播檛 be further from the truth.
From hiking gear often not coming in all sizes, to some hikers needing to take more breaks, are some of the factors that aren香蕉视频直播檛 always considered in what she calls a 香蕉视频直播減ush-yourself mentality香蕉视频直播� often practiced on popular trails.
Michaud-Skog said these groups give people the opportunity to pay attention to their body香蕉视频直播檚 needs in a weight-neutral space around people who often face the same barriers.
香蕉视频直播淔or us, it香蕉视频直播檚 more about the journey of being together in community and connecting with ourselves and connecting with other people, and also connecting with nature.香蕉视频直播�
Fat Girls Hiking looks to open Vancouver chapter
Fat Girls Hiking has grown greatly in the past three years. It now has five chapters: Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Knoxville, Tenn., and Minneapolis, Minn.
On Aug. 16, Michaud-Skog is hosting a pop-up hike in Stanley Park with the hopes it inspires a fellow Fat Girl to step up as an ambassador for a chapter in Vancouver.
香蕉视频直播淚 am a fat girl, and I am a proud fat girl, and I invite anyone who identifies as a fat girl to come,香蕉视频直播� she said.
The hike is open to people of all genders and sizes, she added. There is one rule: no talking about dieting or weight loss.
香蕉视频直播淧eople, wherever they are, can get together and have this body-positive outdoor community in a place that feels accessible and welcoming, where people will be supported and empowered to be outside.香蕉视频直播�
Vancouver Fat Girls Hike details:
- When: Aug. 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Where: Meeting at Third Beach Concession
- The hike: 5.3-kilometre loop from the concession stand to Avison trail and back on the Siwash Rock Trail
- Tickets are by donation to support the Fat Girls Hiking community
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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