Why Venture Out? Why allies matter. And, what you can do.

We’ve been fortunate lately to have major outdoor retailers sponsor and endorse us.  This helps give us visibility, offers us access to gear and opportunities, and of course, provides us with the funding necessary to keep our non profit going so that we can continue to offer scholarships and subsidized outdoor adventures to our queer and trans community. 

Often when our partners post about us there is a great response with so much support for who we are and what we do. But sometimes, when our partners post about us, some of their followers, who may not be familiar with the queer and trans community, have things to say. Some of these are seemingly innocuous like, “Why do you need a special hiking group for LGBTQ folks? I thought the outdoors was a place for everyone.” And some are more targeted and directly hurtful.

Despite social media becoming a place for anonymous critique and bot-driven abuse, we do our best not to read these comments.  We try to let them go and remember that for every negative comment like that there are myriad more positive comments.  Or more importantly to us, there are queer and trans people out there seeing themselves reflected in our stories. There are people out there who feel a little less alone, or a little more hope, or maybe, who decide to come hike with us.  But when every day you wake up to your rights as a trans or queer person up for debate on TV, in the Supreme Court, in schools, in hospitals, in statehouses, it’s hard to stay strong. It’s hard to feel like you’re not just someone’s political fodder or a sensationalized story.  

Queer and trans people don’t want to be reduced to ‘before and after’ photos.  We don’t want to be just a sob story of overcoming depression or suicidality or ‘making it’ after being kicked out of our homes.  We want to be seen as full, complex people who are so much more than just our trans identities. We want to be seen as outdoorsy people who have every right to hike and climb and ski and bike and surf - we want to be able to do that safely. We want to feel as though we can go camping and not lie awake at night in fear of what someone else in the shelter might do or say to us as we sleep.  

So why, you ask, do we have a queer hiking group? Why does Venture Out need to exist?  Because we don’t always, or even often, feel safe or welcome in outdoorsy spaces. TVOP was founded for the queer person who feels the stares of strangers at the summit (when they should be taking in the view!), the queer person who cuts their time outside short when confronted by unwelcoming company to avoid physical or verbal altercations. We exist to help every LGBTQ+ person feel as though they have a right to take up space in the outdoors because, spoiler alert, they do.

We want to create an outdoor community of LGBTQ+ folks and their allies that supports and nourishes and teaches each other. We want to be a place where we can build resilience and feel at home. We want to be a place where we can ski and hike and bike and surf as our truest most authentic selves.  And right now, we need the power of community to make that happen.  

So we ask you, community members and allies and sponsors, please speak up - show your support for us.  Host an event with us. Invite us to your climbing gym, your store, your ski mountain.  Make a donation. Hire queer and trans people. Engage in the conversation - even and especially when it’s hard. Or just like our posts, leave us a good comment, help us remember that there is more good than bad out there and that you see value in who we are and what we do because we see that in you.

This article was originally published in 2019, and was updated April 2024.