Socio-cultural constructions of outdoor and adventure education in India: Indian women practitioners’ perspectives on disrupting hegemony

This paper reports a study of Indian women practitioners' contributions to the growth of outdoor and adventure education (OAE) in India. The OAE fields in India have grown rapidly along with the 21st century globalisation phenomenon. Indian men OAE practitioners are mostly credited with contributions and leadership in the fields, overlooking women's roles, participation, and contributions. This marks the need for examining diverse socio-cultural constructions of OAE fields in India. In the specific context of gender and OAE, the authors examine if hegemonic masculinity is maintained in the Indian outdoor industry and if so, how do women practitioners challenge it. The analysis of semi-structured interviews with six women practitioners reveals their effective participation, contributions, and leadership in progressing OAE fields in India despite barriers and challenges from male-centric approaches. The findings highlight women practitioners' transformative agency and leadership role in disrupting hegemony in OAE fields in India.