The very spaces we cherish are steeped in histories of colonization, displacement, and toxic masculinity, shaping how we interact with the land and each other.
Disrupting Dominion: Challenging the Toxic Masculine Legacies in the Outdoor Industry with Embodied Feminist Leadership is a transformative 6-week class designed to confront these realities head-on. Led by Christina Torres and Erin Monahan, co-founders of Terra Incognita Media, this course invites you to explore the historical roots of toxic masculinity and imperialist narratives in the outdoor industry and equips you with the tools to challenge and dismantle them.
Whether you're a passionate outdoor enthusiast, an advocate for social justice, or someone seeking to deepen your understanding of these critical issues, this course offers valuable insights and actionable strategies to help you engage with the outdoors in a more conscious, equitable, and transformative way.
In this immersive course, we’ll explore:
The Legacy of Toxic Masculinity: Understand how toxic masculinity has shaped the outdoor industry, from historical figures like John Muir to modern media portrayals like the documentary "Free Solo."
Colonial/Imperialist Roots in the Outdoors: Delve into the Colonial/Imperialist roots of outdoor spaces, how this has led to the displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the ongoing impact of these complexes, systems, and structures.
The Warrior Complex and Militarization: Examine the "Warrior Complex" and how it perpetuates a militarized mindset in everyday life here in the so-called U.S., recreation, and connects to colonialism in other parts of the world as well, like the ongoing genocide in Palestine at the hands of the Settler Colony of Israel.
Somatic Practices for Healing: Learn grounding and centering techniques to support your journey of confronting this deeply ingrained conditioning to bolster your healing, as well as offer support as you advocate for change in your spheres of influence.
Pathways to Transformation: Discover how you can apply these insights to your personal life and professional practice, whether you're seeking healing, advocacy, or leadership.
This course is a call to action. You'll leave with:
Critical Insights: Gain a deeper understanding of how toxic masculinity and colonial legacies shape the outdoor industry and your own experiences within it.
Practical Tools: Learn somatic practices and strategies for addressing and dismantling oppressive systems in your personal and professional life.
Community Connection: Join a growing community of like-minded individuals committed to creating a more just, equitable, and safe(r) outdoor culture.
This course is an opportunity to challenge dominant narratives, reclaim your power, and engage in a community of like-minded individuals committed to transformative change. You’ll leave with practical tools and a deeper understanding of these critical issues.
Have you ever had that gut feeling that something is off or wrong, but you held back or hesitated to say something because you didn't want to make any "waves," disturb the "peace," or upset your friends, co-workers, boss, etc.?
Have you ever wanted to interrupt toxic behavior in your friend group or workplace, but you're afraid if it's not the "right time or place"?
Have you ever been gaslit, tone-policed, or silenced within an intimate group, or work setting when you've tried to speak out about toxic, harmful, or violent behavior and/or language, and now you're second-guessing yourself and wondering if you're the problem?
In this course you will gain an overview of how toxic masculinity manifests in the outdoor industry, receive actionable advice about how to interrupt/disrupt toxic masculinity, learn tools for self-compassion and nervous system regulation, and leave with a grounded sense of confidence to catalyze anti-oppressive change towards environmental justice in your personal and professional life.
All classes will be recorded and uploaded to the student portal within 48 hours of class ending.
1st class: Friday October 18th at 4pm PT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET
2nd class: Saturday October 26th at 11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET
3rd class: on Tuesday October 29th at 4pm PT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET
4th class: Saturday November 9 at 11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET
5th class: Tuesday November 12th at 4pm PT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET
6th class: Saturday November 23 at 11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET
Each class will be 2 hours long.
Get ready to take a critical look at the white supremacist, patriarchal sentiments littering mainstream outdoor media, and investigate themes like the warrior complex, as well as the myths of "Manifest Destiny," "The White Man's Burden," and "terra incognita."
Each class will concludes with an open Q+A, facilitated group discussion, and/or somatic exercise. We create a warm and open space where participants can chime in throughout our teaching, and share insights and ask questions too because we all have something to teach and learn. As a community, we hope to swap strategies as to how to make the outdoor industry a safe(r) space for all, brainstorm ideas, and create connections across time and space!
This course was inspired by the essay, "Ambient Dominion: How 'Free Solo' Points to an Epidemic of Toxic Masculinity."
We'll be sad to miss you at the live gatherings, but if you have any burning questions for us rest assured that you can email us ahead of time and we'll answer them in the Q+A portion of the class. Just send us a note at heyterracollective@gmail.com! The recorded classes will be available in your student portal within 48 hours of the event concluding. You'll log in with the email and password you set up when you first enrolled.
Students will leave this workshop with a heightened ability to pinpoint, understand, and discern what toxic masculinity looks like in the outdoor industry, as well as learn strategies for interrupting it in real-time. Students will also gain valuable tools for self-care, nervous system regulation, and compassion through a trauma-informed, somatic approach.
- Andreas Hopfgarten, Toxic Masculinity in the Outdoor Industry Workshop Participant Spring 2023
Class 1: The Legacy of Toxic Masculinity in the Outdoor Industry (Part 1): Defining Toxic Masculinity
What is Toxic Masculinity?
Peter Pan syndrome
Himpathy
Warrior Complex / Militarization of Everyday Life / “Taming the Frontier”
Class 2: The Legacy of Toxic Masculinity in the Outdoor Industry (Part 2)
Examine the roots of toxic masculinity and its ongoing impact on the outdoor industry.
Examine the historical forces that created systems of exploitation, extraction, and environmental degradation (i.e. John Muir and the National Parks).
Discuss environmental leaders and role models who are pushing back against these narratives.
Christina Torres and the “Change the Name” campaign
Jolie Varela and Indigenous Women Hike
Dominique Drakeford's work
bell hooks, unsung environmental hero
Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Audre Lorde
Class 3: The Legacy of Toxic Masculinity in the Outdoor Industry (Part 3): Examining Outdoor Media and Its Impact
Explore how outdoor media perpetuates harmful narratives and reinforces the toxic masculine, colonial legacies in the industry
the "Good Guy Trope" and Patagonia's greenwashing
Deconstruct the dominant stories about who belongs in outdoor spaces and how those spaces are used.
We’ll analyze key examples of media that "disrupts dominion" and discuss how to challenge ahistorical narratives and make room for voices that have been marginalized in outdoor spaces.
Class 4: Somatics for Outdoor Advocates: A Path to Disrupting Toxic Masculinity
Somatics 101: Why Somatics are essential for Outdoor Advocates
The “Window of Regulation,” embodying your values, and living into your purpose
"SPACES": a guide for interrupting oppression
Somatic exercise
Class 5: Reclaiming the Mind, Body, and Gut for Liberation
“Sites of Shaping” (Haines)
Recognizing DARVO tactics and how to interrupt self-gaslighting
Somatic exercise
Class 6: Practicing Embodied, Feminist Leadership in Your Sphere of Influence
Last class!
Myths of leadership
Journal and group exercise: Recognizing your unique skills, talents, and gifts
“Undulating waves in collective liberation” (YK Reborn)
“Tending to Your 500 Sq. Feet” (Betty Soskin) to avoid succumbing to despair
Leadership meditation
Somatic exercise
This course is an evolved and extended iteration of our original "Toxic Masculinity in the Outdoor Industry" workshop. Since this is a beta launch we're offering this course at an exclusive, discounted rate in exchange for honest feedback and testimonials! This special offer is available to a limited number of participants who join us on this transformative journey.
Full Price: $597, Beta Price: $397
PAYMENT PLAN: 2-month payment plan of $198.50.
Early Bird pricing (through October 6, 2024): $347 ($50 off full beta price)
PAYMENT PLAN: 4-month payment plan of $86.75
ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT OPTIONS: We believe in equitable practices and accessibility. For clarity on where you fall in our alternative pricing model please refer to Alexis J. Cunningfolk's sliding scale model.
Extended Payment Plans available: If you can pay the full amount, but could use more time to pay it off, we can offer an extended payment plan of 5 monthly payments. Just reach out to us at heyterracollective@gmail.com and we'll set you up! (Unfortunately this website only allows us to offer 2 payment options, so please reach out if you could use the support!)
Partial Scholarships Available: We offer partial scholarships to folks who have been economically marginalized. Please consider your proximity to privilege when requesting a scholarship. If accessing health care, housing, food, child care, etc. are a struggle, if you're living paycheck to paycheck, or are in significant debt, we invite you to request a scholarship. Please send us an email stating you'd like a scholarship, no need to justify or explain, and we'll reply as soon as we're able.
DONATE A SPOT: As an act of restorative justice, if you are of means and are financially secure (meaning this would not cause you any stress or setback), we invite you to donate a spot to a community member in need. Since our scholarships are self-funded (meaning we're unapologetically unsponsored) this would be greatly appreciated. Email us at heyterracollective@gmail.com if you'd like to contribute in this way!
For questions email us at heyterracollective@gmail.com
Christina is a Kawaiisu-Paiute descendant of Tejon Indian Reservation and Chicana. Writing and riding in the unceded ancestral lands of the Munsee Lenape - Wappinger peoples in so-called New York. Zinester of Cyclista Zine. Blogger of City Girl Rides. Mobility justice and recreation to rematriation advocate.
Erin is the co-founder of Terra Incognita Media and a European settler on the traditional and stolen lands of the Osage, Miami, and Oceti Sakowin peoples, otherwise known as St. Louis, Missouri. She is a writer, speaker, educator, and a trauma-informed mindset and business coach with a background in anti-oppressive facilitation.
Erin is driven to spread the feminist and gay agenda, cultivate a nourishing and supportive community, as well as build an informative and robust educational platform for folks who strive to dismantle systems of oppression in their personal and professional lives, so we can see tangible shifts towards environmental justice.
"Toxic masculinity is constantly in the headlines, images, narratives and films of the outdoor industry. This workshop interrogates how we got to this point and lays bare our history and socialization that permits harmful patterns of abuse that ultimately lead to the dehumanization of women, Indigenous communities, people of color and The Land."
Christina Torres, founding zinester of Cyclista Zine
There are no true safe spaces, but we can work to dismantle imperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy as bell hooks called it, and strive to create safe(r) spaces where everyone's humanity is uplifted and honored. Let's expose toxic masculinity and re-write the dominant narrative of the outdoors.
Join us for this powerful course and start disrupting the cycles of oppression that shape our outdoor spaces. We can’t wait to be in community with you, and learn, unlearn, and heal together!
With all of our feminist killjoy rage, solidarity, and care,
The Terra Team
- Andreas Hopfgarten, Toxic Masculinity in the Outdoor IndustryWorkshop Participant Spring 2023
Cite Your Sources and Give Credit
We expect attendees to cite and give credit to any of the sources within this course. This also goes for the facilitators' spoken or written words, conversations, images, likeness, etc or any of the above when it comes to attendees.
All intellectual property and related material from this course is the sole property of Terra Incognita Media. Unless expressly stated otherwise, you shall not copy, reproduce or replicate any Intellectual Property.
Unauthorized copying, distribution, modification, public display, or public performance of copyrighted works is an infringement of the copyright holder’s rights. You agree that you will not use our course to infringe our intellectual property rights, or anyone else's. Please report copyright infringement claims to heyterracollective@gmail.com