What Women Want in Adventure and Outdoors

There is something missing. Go and grab a selection of outdoor and adventure – or even sports – magazines. Have a look in a newsagents or café, or even the waiting room table at your dentist’s. Flick through the articles and count:

How many were written by women?
How many are about/feature women in an outdoor environment?
How many are aimed at women before men, without being covered in pink or flowers? Or just somehow less serious?
Are there women’s gear reviews?

(Actually go do it and comment below. I’d be very interested to see your answers!)

What Women Want

Since featuring adventurous women as guest posters on this blog, I’ve noticed something. In fact, you’d have to have a blindfold on not to notice it. There are LOADS of women and girls who are in adventure, in sport, getting outdoors and doing amazing things there. They are jumping up for a platform to share on.

The Intrepidesses are already out there. They’re the ones attempting their first ultra, or climbing volcanoes or teaching in the outdoors. They’re the ones who spend their time dripping with sweat, getting mud under their fingernails and having fun doing it. It’s not “girly”, but who cares.

Many, if not most of these women aren’t professionals. They do it for the love of it. There’s a great array of abilities too – and sport and activities and skills. We have so much to share with eachother

Then there’s all the people who dabble. Do a bit here and there, but would really like some guidance and support. They dip their toes into the water of adventure, but then stand at the edge of the water looking for a direction.

What Can We Do About It?

I asked Twitter, as you do, whether women want an adventure and outdoors magazine. The answer was very positive.

Thank you very much if you voted, or retweeted or liked. You formed the social proof I was after to actually give this a go. Here’s the crazy idea – let’s have a magazine for women in adventure, outdoors and sport. Here’s the even crazier idea – there isn’t one already!

What Will It Be Like?

It is NOT going to be a women’s magazine in disguise.

This is NOT going to feature models in sports clothing, or be made “girly” or somehow dumbed down. We don’t need that. This is going to be a magazine with a focus on what we actually do, not about the fact we’re female and doing it. Instead of having mostly men’s gear reviews, we’ll review the girls’ stuff. Instead of writing mostly about the guys, we’ll write mostly about the girls.

To address some of the other comments that came up on Twitter:

I hadn’t even considered that people outside the UK might be having the same issues. Looks like this women in adventure is a problem spread across the world. Yes, we’ll make it so it can be shipped abroad!
I completely agree about the ads. I’ll work really hard to make something that isn’t just ad after ad after advertorial. This magazine will be content led. Sure, we might have funding issues at the start, but I’m working on that. I’d rather it was the sort of quality that women deserve.
And Andrew Cooney, you are a legend.

Edit: We are now LIVE and accepting orders!

Check it out here: intrepid-magazine.com/womens-adventure-outdoors-magazine

ALSO! Before you go, please comment below with any ideas you have for this idea. The more the merrier – let’s make something brilliant.