Should I teach my daughter to hunt?
Powderhook’s Claire Eckstrom sheds some sunshine on the topic.
In a lot of ways, I’m like your typical girl. There’s a soft spot in my heart for designer shoes, I can’t pass up a Starbucks skinny vanilla latte, and I love the occasional mani/pedi. Unfortunately, a lot of stereotypes about women are based on shallow and materialistic qualities such as those. So how do I show the world that, as a woman, there’s much more to me than the constant quest to expand my closet inventory? I hunt.
Beyond the pure recreational enjoyment, hunting serves two additional purposes for women. First, it’s a stereotype buster. Bearing the stench of doe urine, properly loading and firing a weapon, and holding a dead animal are not typically “girly” activities, and that’s the beauty of it. Show somebody a photo of you with a handful of mallard necks, and suddenly, their judgment of those pink stilettos you’re wearing just became obsolete.
The second perk that being a hunter provides women is as an escape back to the earth. We sit in the center of western capitalism, and sometimes it’s hard to ignore the incessant materialism. Yes, those jeweled flower earrings may be beautiful (and on sale!), but I promise you this: it cannot compare to watching the petals of a real flower tousle in the wind while you hold completely still because you notice that a deer is enjoying the same beautiful sight as you.
Women, reschedule that frozen yogurt date with your BFF, because it’s time to take your talents to the duck blinds and goose pits of the world. Men, tell the most important women in your life that they deserve to know the glory of your deer stand, too. Mother Nature is calling us all to take part, regardless of whether we choose to watch “Gossip Girl” or the Golf Channel. Fresh air awaits!
Visit www.powderhook.com to access your next adventure.