An Extreme Competition......

Remember this: Read the fine print then if your intuition tells you something stinks...it most likely does.

I was perusing the internet looking for hunting when I fell upon the Extreme Huntress Competition. I knew of this from previous searches but each time I always said no and moved on.

This time I looked a little closer.

In my critique, the first thing I looked at was the mission statement:

“Our goal—create positive role models for woman who want to participate in hunting. With 50% divorce rates and kids becoming invested in sports as (web page typo) a younger and younger age, we feel if mom goes hunting, so will her children. “~Extreme Huntress Competition Website~.

This was a poorly thought out mission statement. It needs an over-haul. There is nothing on promoting conservation, diplomacy, policy-making, individuality, family, or any thing definitive that supports this competition.

I was dumbfound. All of these participants were in the hunting arena already; not new-comers. Big truth here, mom going hunting doesn't guarantee or influence whether your child will be a hunter through and through all their lives. Unless the parent takes away his or her right to decision making, individuality, or the fact they have to agree with everything the parent wants them to do. Momma made me do it. I had no choice. Mom going hunting is not going to stop a son from robbing a store, flipping a new car, or having a shoot out with the police. Ergo again, going hunting with Mom is not going to save Mom the anger when her daughter or son finds a unsuitable mate that drags them away to some place where they forget hunting because bills and babies take over. If Mom or Dad is lucky their ideal dreams of a family will come true but the reality in this life time is, under the weight of the world, families are torn asunder. Family members are scattered to the winds.

Some of these women could be mothers eventually but there are some that have kids already. Quite frankly you can't dictate to a woman how she will raise her offspring. Another thought is how an outside entity takes it upon themselves to try and model adults who already have parents that raised them along time ago.

I then thought as Tina Turner would sing, “What does love have to do with it?” Divorce rates have no influence over becoming a hunter. Divorce might facilitate things but its not the one driving factor in break-ups; infidelity, people evolve with different values or ideas, or it shouldn't have been in the first place. What can push you to hunt is the fact you have no money or food and looking at a starving baby with no governmental or community support. You are a lamb tossed to the wolves. You shoot and eat them or they eat you. You either want to hunt or someone introduces you to it, willingly or not.

Mothers are all different. You can't guarantee a mother will be decent. Some women toss their babies in dumpsters. My old Professor of Bones at the technical college was a substitute teacher for the elementary school. She had a really bad kid then went to see his mother. The house had no electricity, food, roaches, and rats while being unlivable. The child in question was left there to fend for himself while the biological mother went out trying to score drugs and food for herself. She called the Child Welfare Agency who later let her adopt the child and he finished school. This substitute teacher wasn't his biological mother. Yet she took him as her own. There are some men that make better mothers than mothers. Having the title mother doesn't mean a thing if you don't do all the things an ideal mother would do (yet we all having human failings).

After I got through with the mission statement, I wondered what exactly in benefits where these applicants getting. I read the rules and regulations. I was concerned these ladies were being taken advantage of. Vanity will open the door for this mishap.

It seemed the Sponsor was the owner of all data. Reading into this I concurred that these women were really being used by the Sponsors because the Sponsors were getting the free advertising over and over for the competition. I bet that people holding it got a fat paycheck. I also went to each site and saw not one whiff of an announcement or even advertisement for what the Sponsor was offering in the way of prizes. As a Sponsor you should be defining what is to be offered to winners and participants because no one should go home empty handed. I gathered this because if you are promoting women in hunting; make it worth their while and don't waste their time or capitalize on their backs. They are not your personal mules for advertising or money; don't white wash taking advantage of someone because you know women want to be taken seriously.

I skipped down to the Finalists.

I see this: This hunt will be filmed for a series of videos called Extreme Huntress Competition. I wondered how much the company makes for these episodes which would be put up on the internet, world wide and television. I then looked at the Grand Prize which is an original award designed by artist Mark James and the fact they will reign as Extreme Huntress  for a period of a year. Any other prize detail will be at the sole discretion of the Sponsor. I guess after this its all merchandising, modeling, and face time to the masses.

Then I see Finalist Expense: All expenses not specified herein are the sole responsibility of the finalist, including without limitation all transportation to and from departure point for hunt competition and awards dinner, award dinner tickets for guest or spouse, award dinner lodging and meals. Texas hunting license, personal expenses, medical insurance packages, trip insurance, trophy prep, taxidermy, and other miscellaneous costs participant chooses to incur.

I thought if you got that far with things the competition Sponsors should foot the bill. Its their contest they made up while sticking the bill to the participants. I am sure the Sponsor will be making a percentage of all earnings off the winner or any of the other participants if they should choose to use them in upcoming competition advertisements, interviews, etc. Trust me, unless they are not financially savvy, someone is making money somewhere. Otherwise ,why do it?

I read the release which makes it sound like the disbursement of the prize is the participation in hunt/skills competition. I wondered if this meant the participants already received their prize in the form of the hunt/competition? I read that the Finalist prize package had a retail value of no less than $5000 per finalist. So there is 20 semi-finalists. I also think I read it changes depending on what you kill. Prized before you compete?

I then see Hunt Cancellation: The Sponsor is not held liable for fees, costs, financial obligations to finalists or Grand Prize winner.

This particular item made me think these people were not people of honor or their word. Here they are willing to walk off with no responsibility for bringing these participants into a game then when things go belly up; walk off and leave the women holding the empty bag.

Really and truly when you read the Conditions and Participation the women have to agree to such terms just to be able to participate. Its not right. They do all the work, one gets some glory but the Sponsor reaps the benefit and moves on to the next face the following year.

My thoughts on this were grave yet appalled. I can't believe some days the lengths people will go to take advantage of people or use a woman for selfish ends.  There must not be much to hunting with these competitions. How can you take another hunter or huntress and put them in a game, knowing they could get hurt or killed then turn your back on them because of a condition the Sponsor and the competition generated? This is sacrificing someone through their desire to be renown for a title that doesn't have much value after a year except to the person who doesn't need it anyway and on top of that there is someone out in the world that could hunt your pants off but they aren't vain or can be manipulated through vanity. I guess the trophy could be melted down, recast and sold as a kudu statue.

My thoughts were this was a sham and a shame. Of course, I could be completely wrong in this but there was no information to dictate the contrary.

I thought instead of a competition, why not review what these women have done over the course of a year because hunting is a life long thing not just X amount of episodes that are under confined conditions for mass consumption and entertainment. Each one of these women could be doing something different and unique unto itself yet they are being defeathered meticulously. Pushing their essays out is one thing but really getting into the grit of a person is another thing. I could probably go a googling on the internet and find someone who really does have a handle on hunting ethic and ideology to bang out a good essay that makes me look like a saint while my true self is questionable.

Instead of telling you who they are and what they are about it the same old thing you can find on the internet, kinda like a telephone monologue at Pizza Hut. "We have thick crust or thin? Which do you prefer?" They will tell you what it takes to get them chosen to win. People lie on job interviews all the time but when it comes time to do the job; you'll be found out.

In the way of competitions, I wondered where were the scholarships, prizes of merit for a mother that would help make her life easier, what groups would this Extreme Huntress be representing, and how much work would she be asked to do to cover ground, or being reimbursed. You can get more done with more than one woman. Who would she be uplifting? What actually are the platforms she would be working from or on? Why make one woman bear that much weight on top of her daily life and trials when she has sisters all over the world? Why weren't these women taken into consideration?

If anyone were going to sign up for something like this you have to question some things. Is it going  to help women who hunt instead of showcase one person with very little or no outstanding of personal ideals on hunting? If this global or national push for showcasing women in hunting can be expressed to the public to uplift anyone or is it really is nothing more than a beauty contest based upon shallow popularity and a short essay?

 

I do suspect there will probably be some anger to my writing this but I am not bashing the competition but I do think the ladies can be treated a little better and with respect; not a commoditity to give a second or third party publicity.

If you are going to expose the world to female hunters find a better way of doing it. The public at large needs to see the forums, the activity, issues being addressed, and average people doing the work. There are faceless people doing astounding things everyday yet we push one or two people because they won a competition that gave them an accolade. A work of art on your mantle does nothing for conservation or hunting. It gathers dust which causes you more work because you spend time cleaning it instead of doing something more productive.   

I read all twenty of the essays. There were several women who I thought of yet I voted for one. The people who quoted work like a resume didn't appeal to me because they were going solely on accolades and accomplishments not personal beliefs or what drove them forward in hunting. 

She was the one that I read her entire essay. The one little girl that admitted being a hardcore huntress didn't look positive. She has thought about how she wants to represent herself and what she is doing. She's honest and tells you she is financially challenged in a humble way. She put in the effort and was offered jobs based on the work she was already doing. Her wording of the conditions of not being taken seriously, how its not about the money its about the experience and the knowledge of learning something in particular. At her age, she understands its not about fame.

Fame doesn't last but it is what you do with fame in the way of hunting and other people being introduced to the sport. The best thing she did was write about her mentality and how she respected hunting as an act. I still liked Sandra Mas and her ballsy-ness at becoming a hunter in Africa, Helga Wimmer, and Nikita Dalke but my favorite was Beka Garris because she vocalized it better. I don't give my vote lightly.

Overall, I could see where this would spotlight women in hunting but it being the best and most well thought out platform; no. Most likely the person who really deserves it will not get it.

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

Here is the link if you would like to vote and give your thoughts. Nothing like free advertising.

http://www.extremehuntress.com/category/current-huntresses/

Being Taken Seriously Or Not?

Remember this: Maintain your reputation at all times. Don't let anyone drag you down.

Recently, I have been seeing a lot of blogs and posts on the behavior of women, I assume, that hunt. I  thought every once in a while you have people that call out others who are charicatures of the hunting endeavor, male or female.

My mind set was traveling along the lines of differing view points. I asked myself some questions.

Do women want to be taken seriously overall?

I would think the answer to this is yes. Women actually do want to be out in the field with their prospective other, even if they are man handling a gun or not. On the other hand, they might want some me time while the prospective other is out beating the bushes or talking a lot of bat guano with his friends. This is a win-win situation.

People in general like to feel accomplished. Believe it or not. Some women do feel the need to be regarded as the prospective other's rare jewel, instead of shame and regret. Men like to know they have something rare that their buddies don't have or probably never will have. That is one of the underlying tones of trophy hunting. How good a specimen it is and if its rare.

Rarity.

Men will brag on their woman like they would brag on their favorite hunting dog, gun, or truck.
Men are just simple that way.

As for security sake, I asked the question to myself: What if the prospective other was injured, which caused them to be unable to provide? What if there was no prospective other?

Women do not like to worry about the basic necessities of life, such as food and shelter. If the other half of your union, be it legal or not, is down for the count, you certainly want some reassurance  that life can be handled with very little anxiety. If you are by yourself, the last thing you need to be thinking about is how someone is going to circumvent what you have to do to survive.

If a woman ever left a man it was because of anxiety to her thinking.

How does seeing women prostrated on social media in pseudo hunting photos help the cause of women in outdoor sports?

Undoubtedly, it is not helping the role of women to much. It has generated a topic of interest. These pseudo images do generate a lot of merchandise sales for the product, but not necessarily the model.
As for posted photos, it's either going to make you want to be like that, exercise like crazy, or go on an eating binge with ho-hos. There is no way in this lifetime you'll ever look like that without a plan and commitment.

If you put a photo up of a nice looking, mostly naked woman in hunting gear she will be all the craze by men's post. Another woman will view the reaction, then mimic it hoping to get the same result. She will get the same result but not the one she was hoping for. In her mind, she was hoping to find the one. In real time, she's just being objectified like the model in the photo. Unfortunately for her, the only one getting paid is the model.

Posting seductive photos of oneself is zero in your bank account.  You also open yourself up for ridicule, losing someone you could have had a chance with, or total ruination; at least in your mind. On social media, smearing someone can go all the way to the end of Google Planet. That is as far as it gets.

Hunting aside, there are people out there with low moral character. You've made yourself a target for people of low moral character who will stalk you while making you slowly pull your photos out of sight. There is such a thing as negative attention.

Would a woman that hunts want something better for herself? Does the belief the questionable, sleazy redneck is the way to go?

Then again, you can find a person of low moral character wearing a business suit. Trust me when I say, they are on the internet right now googling.There are some people that do take pictures of themselves, but before social media hit, that was something private for yourself.

Is it necessary to show the whole world what your mama gave you?

Sadly, men might comment up and down on a post of  naughty girl pictures. When it comes to their mate they don't feel like sharing, especially with the whole world and their buddies.

As a guy, do I really want ten of my buddies getting a good look at my gal's back or front porches? What if said buddies got the idea to come over while you weren't there?

Male animals fight over females all the time, good breeders or not.

Does a woman want her picture posted up beside a trophy kill? Isn't she the same thing? One more conquest to claim or reminiscence over? Valueless and the topic of some gaggle of men's degrading comments? The butt of someone's jokes that makes others perceive her as less of a human?

Anytime you place a visual out in the public you are inadvertently, unintentionally advertising. Let us get one thing straight though, people do know what they are doing and what will come of it. In this case, do not feel so bad for them when overtly sexual comments ensue. The road travels both ways on this subject. .

The creepy little mind is what connects the dots on what the viewer thinks you're saying even if your message is different from the one they receive. With that being said, I do exclude the more formal sports where tweed is worn (only because tweed is awesome). You don't have to dress in camo all the time given the game you are chasing. We are looking at allowances here because they exist.

If there is a group of people that contend women were not a part of hunting and shooting before, this is a valid statement. (For those that say, this is not true, go visit a museum, that illustrates the idea; a museum where out-of-date reliquaries are left out of mainstream; it is history, not current). Instead of being a by-standers, they are actual participants. There is also within that group, like minded people that feel to maintain a momentum of self-decorum or even self respect, it would be prudent to exercise some kind of restraint when being a role model (even if you don't think you are one or chose to be one) for other women. I can understand arguments ensuing on this subject. People tend to want to do whatever they please, even if it brings them grief at their own hands.

Overall there is an undertone of hunting being under attack, so how one would present themselves to avoid a bad reputation to the outdoor sports, or to oneself, is something you need to take into account. Never make what you are endeavoring to do look bad. If you make it look bad it will reflect poorly on you. I say that, but the Herblock that I am, must ask the tough questions.

You are your own salesman.

I would think it would be the same thing for women. If before in the past other women were not mixed up in the hunting soup, but now you had your chance, why would you do things to make it seem uncomely or a turn off?

Women in hunting want to make strides without setbacks. Once you can overcome the supposed difference in men and women, there can be a camaraderie between the two sexes when out in the field. If that leads into something else that is a little bit stronger than a passing physical infatuation, then so be it. You will not suffer for it. If you take up hunting merely to find a husband or a boyfriend, eventually he will see right through you. You'll be back at the house, as a non-participant or by-stander.

There is also the scenarios where you will be thinking you've found "a live one" only to be disappointed. The person is trolling for someone they can enjoy for the moment or a fantasy.

The bigger question is overall as a group, do women want to be respected for our skill and our respectable position in society? Do we use hunting only as a platform to get a date or a husband?
No one that I know of likes to do something for the sake of nothing. At the same time, one person would be insulted that the strides they make in the global outlook on hunting is degraded by the acts of a handful of misguided souls.

There is a big difference in sharing yourself with one or two people versus sharing yourself with the world.  Even with one or two people, they only glimpse a small fragment of you and not the deeper self of who you are. Non-disclosure can work wonders for your self-esteem.

As a female who hunts, I don't think about this as I get ready to go spend my time in the woods or on stand. I just enjoy myself and let that be a controversy for late night blogging after the hunting is done.

Again do you want to be a person who posts as an activist with words of rage while squirming in your computer chair hoping to get someone to notice your tirade? Do you desire to get in an online altercation or are you just going to do what you do without all that tantrum crap?

Really it boils down to a personal choice. What do you chose to do? Sexual innuendo photo on social media or not?

Do you want to be taken seriously or not? If so, act like it.


~Courtesy of the AOFH~