This collection of interviews celebrates women's participation in national and private expeditions to Antarctica. Based on 130 interviews the book ranges across the first women scientists to visit Macquarie Island in 1959, to contemporary "winterers".
Given the extent to which men have traditionally marked out the territory, physically, socially and psychologically, how do women experience an Antarctic stay, what attracts them to remote places, and how do they depict the stunning beauty of Antarctica itself. Who are they, how do they speak of their work and their experiences, and what are the effects on their lives of working in Antarctica?
Robin Burns has not only talked to women from many different backgrounds in order to answer such questions, but has also been a summer expeditioner herself to gain authentic experience of her subject. The result is a comprehensive account of women in Antarctic expeditions. She discovers the deep-seated longings of women to join these expeditions, the barriers they have to overcome, the good times and the bad, and the ways they would like their experiences and reflections to be passed on to others.
