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.
sa国际传媒淲e just wanted a place where we felt represented,sa国际传媒� Michaud-Skog told Black Press Media in a phone interview from her home in Portland, Ore.
sa国际传媒滿ost of the social media we were seeing was a very specific type of person sa国际传媒� a thin, white, able-bodied person sa国际传媒� and that just didnsa国际传媒檛 resonate with me.sa国际传媒�
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 shesa国际传媒檇 interacted with online, body image and outdoor fitness.
sa国际传媒淎 few months after that, I started doing group hikes, and then after that, I started a few chapters,sa国际传媒� she said.
Her hiking website and social media accounts are now 14,000 Fat Girl hikers strong, wielding the motto, sa国际传媒淭rails not scales.sa国际传媒�
Culture around hiking one large barrier for Fat Girls
Despite being an athletic child, there were years of Michaud-Skogsa国际传媒檚 life where the intense societal pressure to look a certain way prompted her to give up playing sports and being active.
sa国际传媒淚 have sort of what I call fitness trauma from my youth,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 loved running, but I was slow, and so I was seen as not being good at it. sa国际传媒� I had a lot of shame put on me for not doing this activity in a way that was proper.sa国际传媒�
The same feelings would come during a hike.
sa国际传媒淚 felt like I wasnsa国际传媒檛 represented in media. I didnsa国际传媒檛 know that someone my size could even hike sa国际传媒� I thought it wasnsa国际传媒檛 for me,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 just want people to know that they can hike if they want to.sa国际传媒�
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 couldnsa国际传媒檛 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 arensa国际传媒檛 always considered in what she calls a sa国际传媒減ush-yourself mentalitysa国际传媒� often practiced on popular trails.
Michaud-Skog said these groups give people the opportunity to pay attention to their bodysa国际传媒檚 needs in a weight-neutral space around people who often face the same barriers.
sa国际传媒淔or us, itsa国际传媒檚 more about the journey of being together in community and connecting with ourselves and connecting with other people, and also connecting with nature.sa国际传媒�
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.
sa国际传媒淚 am a fat girl, and I am a proud fat girl, and I invite anyone who identifies as a fat girl to come,sa国际传媒� 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.
sa国际传媒淧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.sa国际传媒�
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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