Queer men’s hikes about activity and inclusion

A NEW hiking group established earlier this year is looking to give queer men a space to connect while keeping active.

With experience organising many of Ballarat’s LGBTIQA+ initiatives, Jay Morrison formed the OUT in Nature group in January after hearing many in the community’s male demographic weren’t engaging in the region’s events.

“There’s been a lot of pride events happening locally,” he said. “But men aren’t engaging at the same levels as other groups.

“As part of my work with Frolic Festival, it was clear that about 80 per cent of people who attend don’t identify as male. “We wanted to have a way that men could meet other men but also open up for engagement with the broader community as well.”

Having picked up hiking a few years ago, Mr Morrison found the activity to be an ideal one for queer men looking for social engagement.

“Hiking’s a great activity because there’s no alcohol involved. There’s no loud music. If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to talk,” he said.

“A lot of the people that attend are quite shy, but with hiking you’re not having a face-to-face conversation, you’re walking towards somewhere and conversation flows a lot better.

“It’s less intimidating.”

The free OUT in Nature group met for the first time in January and has grown from about four initial participants to a dozen each session.

The group now meets once a month, with the location and day intentionally irregular to allow for greater accessibility.

Hike locations have included Werribee Gorge, Mount Buninyong, and Mount Beckworth, and coordination is kept similarly informal.

“The group decides where we want to go and we rotate who wants to lead the hike,” Mr Morrison said.

“There’s been a lot of people attending by themselves which is great.

“One person that attended said it was the first time they’ve attended any pride events, and they grew up here, but they didn’t feel accepted in any of those previous events.”

“From that, they’ve then come to other pride events after the hike which is what it’s about.”

The primary meetups are intended to be a maximum of 45 minutes outside Ballarat, although the group is considering a trip to Lorne over summer. Visit bit.ly/4dKxOek for more info.