Girly Hunters & Why We’re Here
Posted on December 13, 2010 by Katie in Katie's Blog, Lady Shooters, News
Recently we saw an interesting article on NPR about a young lady who enjoys hunting. While this might not necessarily be our cup of tea, we know that the majority, if not all, of hunters use their kill for food. In fact, for the young lady and her family in the story, the author points out that the family gets “almost all the red meat it needs for a whole year during hunting season”.
Evidently, some of NPR’s commenters were not to happy about this and a bit of a “comment war” erupted.
One of the things I found most interesting in the original post, titled “For Some Girls, The Ultimate Goal Is To Kill A Buck” (https://www.npr.org/2010/12/09/131390073/for-some-girls-the-ultimate-goal-is-to-kill-a-buck), was the opening line:
Looking at Magan Hebert in her orange-and-blue cheerleading uniform, you’d never guess that she could shoot a rifle and kill a deer with a single shot.
Her hair is teased up and pinned back into a pouf. Her cheekbones and eyelids are defined with bold, colorful sweeps of makeup.
Magan, 15, of Wayne County, Miss., defies the typical image of a hunter — a man wearing camouflage, holding a gun.
According to NPR, Magan is too girly and cute to be a hunter.
Really NPR? REALLY?! So, just because a young lady is a teenager and a cheerleader, she automatically could not at all be interested in shooting or hunting? So only men wearing camo can be hunters. Wow. And I’m guessing they can’t be attractive either, right?
Apparently you must resemble this guy to be a hunter.
And this, ladies, is exactly why we’re here. Girl’s Guide to Guns wants to change this image that women and young women and women active in everyday girly things and “cute” women and cheerleaders and women who identify themselves as conservative and women who identify themselves as liberal and educated women and lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, scientists, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers… well, you get the picture. We want to send the message that ANY woman can be interested in guns and shooting and hunting, no matter her age or what she looks like. Natalie and I met because we were debutantes together in West Texas. Yes, we both put on fancy white wedding dresses when we were 17 or 18 and were “presented” to society. And (obviously) we’re both interested in guns.
We’re also here to focus on the culture of guns, not just the guns themselves. Which is why we have sections for movies, television, and fashion & style in addition to products, gun safety, and information on learning to shoot. We realize that there’s not a lot of modern information on guns for the modern woman out there, and we really aim to bridge that gap. In the tech world, it’s called “Web 2.0″; well I guess you can think of us as “Guns 2.0″. We’re building this website and this brand to be empowering and fun while staying classy. Sorry guys, but you won’t see girls wearing bikinis shooting guns on this site. Because, well, that would not be classy. We might show you some outrageous photos in our soon-to-be re-done Classy/Not Classy posts, but it’s because that’s how we see it, and we hope you do to. But we’re always welcome to hear your thoughts and your stories. So please, if you have something to share, leave a comment or send us a message privately through our Contact form.
Well, if you want to know the aftermath of the “controversial” story on NPR, you can see their follow-up in their article titled “Girls Hunt Too — And Story About That Ignites Debate” here (or copy & paste this link into your browser: https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/12/09/131936533/girls-hunt-too—-and-story-about-that-ignites-debate?ps=rs).
One of the most striking comments they point out is this one:
– “NPR – I love you, but please provide us with something more enlightened than the subject of girls hunting. If this is intended as a ‘girls are equal to boys’ article, then it has chosen a poor example. The smart, strong, independent, and articulate women I know recognize the difference between causing unnecessary suffering for sport and responsible, enriching forms of entertainment that cause no harm. We are not Neanderthals – hailing hunting as indication of a gutsy girl is simply short-sighted, out-of-touch and evidence of a severe lack of compassion.” (Abigail M)
Girl’s Guide is here not to argue that “girls are equal to boys” but to educate and empower the modern woman. Guess what Abigail M, the modern woman is smart, strong, independent and articulate, and we’re here to let you know that all those things are not mutually exclusive from having an interest in shooting or hunting. We’d argue that having knowledge of and respect for firearms only enhances each of those attributes. And if that knowledge and respect leads a woman to hunting, more power to her.
Checking the poll at the end of that story, it looks like the majority of folks enjoyed it. And now we open the debate up to our own readers: what are your thoughts on female hunters?
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To be honest, I’m more taken aback by Abigail M’s comment than by what NPR said. Sure, NPR is guilty of propagating a stereotype, but at least they don’t seem to criticize her for defying it. They’re not openly saying that women who shoot are engaging in irresponsible activities that no strong, independent, articulate women would find acceptable. That just sounds like a load of closed-minded BS right there.