I know what you are probably thinking, Ana, the Barbie Movie came out a month ago-- But after finally having the time to see it, like everyone else, I am obsessed and connecting the dots to our society. And for me, the dots are between the Barbie Movie and underrepresentation in the outdoors.
I had two stages when I was growing up. The first stage was when I was unforgivably girly. You know, pink tutus, sparkles up the wazoo, and tiaras. The following stage was when I was unforgivably Tom Boy. For awhile, I shredded in my pink and sparkles. Boys would see a flash of rainbow when I sped past on my bike. But one day, pink became uncool. I can't remember when this happened exactly, but there was a day where I stopped being a Backwoods Barbie and tried to blend in with the boys.
I was born and raised in Grand Junction Colorado and spent the summers mountain biking and river rafting and the winters skiing. There were only a small number of gals who did these kinds of activities with their families. So, most of the time I was surrounded by a disproportionately large number of males. To this day, I have more friends that are male than female because of my love for the outdoors. I'm not sure if being surrounded by boys and men influenced my distaste for pink, or if its because it became uncomfortable for me to stick out like a sore thumb on the slopes. I remember often being told that I couldn't do things because I was a girl, so it always seemed easier to try and suppress my girlies in an attempt to fit in.
But the thing is, I always could keep up, and a lot of the time, I was faster. And I started to realize that there is power in wearing pink and having dirt under your finger nails. Why do these things have to be mutually exclusive? Who wrote the rules of Tom Boys play outside with the boys while Girly Girls play inside with dolls?
Greta Gerwig's storyline made me realize how silly the classic female and male archetypes are. Why are horses and brewskis a symbol of male power? Why are women sexualized for being unforgivably women? And when did Barbie transform from making me feel like I could do anything to making me feel like I could never belong because I was a girl in the outdoors who didn't wear high heels? The truth is, we don't think these things until society tells us. When we are a little girl taking our Barbie on a safari in the backyard, we don't stop and think that our Barbie doll is a sexual icon and a symbol of fragile femininity.
For quite some time now, I have been embracing the pink and sparkles in the outdoors. I've realized that with the power of pink, you feel unstoppable scaling a mountain or shredding the trails. Outdoor brands take things too seriously. They try to channel an agenda of winning and strength through a palette and silhouette that lacks femininity. But why does femininity align with weakness? These brands have created an underrepresentation of the outdoors through dress.
The Barbie Movie helped spark on idea. I want to create functional, fun, and feminine outdoor apparel for women. Maybe through clothes we can bring back youth, sparkles, and the power of femininity into the outdoors. We don't want to limit you to kakis and button downs. Here I want to embrace the tutus and bows. At the end of the day, the trees, flowers, and bees don't care what you show up in, wear what makes you inspired to go outside.
To see more, follow me on TikTok @helio.apparel
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