Setting Out on a Journey to Unveil Underrepresentation of Women in Adventure Narratives

Thelma & Louise (1991) Credit: MGM

My journey to find a Master’s research topic close to my heart and challenges societal inequalities has led me to a personal revelation. As a devoted consumer of women's adventure literature, I couldn't help but notice glaring underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in adventure narratives and outdoor storytelling. This realisation, combined with the recurring themes I encountered in existing research, ignited my passion to explore the topic more deeply. 

Women are consistently underrepresented in adventure memoirs and are too often cast as the “damsel in distress”, a role that is not only demeaning but also inherently gendered. As a kid, I consumed a lot of mainstream Disney media. Memorable examples include The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Tangled, and Mulan. It wasn’t until recently that I reflected on how, despite featuring strong female leads, these stories rarely stand alone without the presence of a male character.  

Take The Lizzie McGuire Movie, for example. Lizzie, a middle schooler, travels to Italy, a bold and exciting adventure for a 14 year-old. Yet the plot centres on her romantic pursuit of an Italian boy rather than her personal growth or cultural exploration. This theme was common in Disney’s major box office productions featuring female leads throughout the early 2010s, stories of adventure and self-worth that inevitably pivoted into love story endings. 

You might be wondering, what's wrong with a sappy love story or an adventure story that also includes a male lead? You're right; there isn't anything wrong with this. The issue isn’t with romance or male characters; it’s with the overwhelming imbalance. Stories of women leading adventures independently are vastly outnumbered. 

As I grew older, my interest in films matured, and I gravitated toward adventure stories like Wild, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Thelma & Louise. While these films celebrate female adventurers, they often oversexualize their protagonists or focus on the dangers women face when venturing out alone. This theme is echoed in many women’s adventure memoirs, reflecting societal expectations and the marginalisation women experience when they step outside traditional roles. 

This tension between representation and restriction is at the heart of my research proposal which I have set out to explore further.