Women's experience of wilderness recreation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore women's lived experience of wilderness recreation, and develop a deeper understanding of the "lived meaning" of the phenomenon. The research was guided by the principles of feminist and phenomenological methodology. Four women participated in the interview process, and data analysis of the resulting protocols followed Colaizzi's (1978) phenomenological method. An exhaustive narrative, focused around seven essential themes, was written. The seven themes which emerged from the data were: 1) personal agency: entering the process; 2) the dance with fear and doubt; 3) being-in-relationship; 4) a microcosm of life; 5) joy and power: the embodied experience; 6) states of grace: transcending ordinary experience; and 7) a way of being. The fundamental structure, or central meaning, of the phenomenon was explicated. This fundamental structure was drawn from the invariant aspects of the themes and an essay incorporating relevant literature with the findings was presented. Implications for counselling and the limitations of the study were considered.