The purpose of this study was to explore, describe, and explain how people (gbtlq identified persons in particular) experience gender and body in wilderness settings. The motivations for this research include: the current context of gender and gender oppression in American society; the potential of wilderness experiences to offer different ways of being and escape from social constrictions; and gaps in the literature on gender and wilderness. A qualitative/interpretive approach was employed for this research which encompasses aspects of phenomenology, feminist methodology, and grounded theory. The results and analysis for this study yielded an analytical story about ecological belonging which includes locating the self, awakening of the body, feelings of connectedness, wilderness as refuge from normative gender, vulnerability, and the wilderness setting. In this story, we find that participants can experience wilderness as a refuge from normative gender because wilderness is unpatrollable and because wild places can offer refuge from un-accepting people and judgment; and because wilderness is a sort of holding environment for freedom of expression and safety in change and transition. This study also shows how participants are able to experience a profound sense of connection and ecological belonging because they experience themselves as human animals; an experience which awakens ones sense of vulnerability. Connecting with our bodies, with our animal-selves, and feeling vulnerable as a human animal changes the potential for ecological belonging; it allows us feel our mortality and acknowledge that we are not at the top of the food chain. This research concludes by offering substantive and theoretical conclusions including recommendations for wilderness educators and managers; future research directions for gender and wilderness; and how wilderness experiences can inform ethical models for living in contemporary society. For instance, while the lessons wilderness offers may be infinitefrom this study we can at least discern that part of repairing the human relationship with nature means repairing our relationship with all oppressed Others whereby domination is justified through faulty presumptions of moral superiority. Imperative to this is experiencing ourselves as animals in an ecological system and recognizing the damage caused by the social structures that placate our wildness.

This study examined the changing roles of ciprés de las Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum) in the lives and livelihoods of Tortel community members. A political ecology framework built on concepts of power, scale and social construction was used to problematize the availability of the tree as a resource by revealing the multiple, contrasting perspectives of different socio-political actors. National and international policy documents were analyzed in order to uncover the discourses that drive decision-making at those scales. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore local peoples knowledge, perceptions and opinions regarding the difficulties they face in accessing and utilizing ciprés, as well as the significance of the tree species to their lives/livelihoods. Ultimately, an examination of peoples relationships to ciprés and their interests in the continuation of those relationships speaks to whether and how ciprés can or should remain an important part of their lives/livelihoods.