Sexism?

[sskasser]

Personally, I'm sick and tired of cave diving women undressing me with their eyes and purposefully dropping their gear at dive sites, knowing I will bend over to pick it up. I've even had to stop wearing my ruby slippers. And I've had to remove my " honey bee" antenna off my dry suit hood! Where does it end?

I'm sorry!! I can't help myself!!! I'm weak

[patpicos]

I think the broader questions you should be asking are. Why are there so few women in Cave diving? Would I want my sister, wife, cousin, girlfriend, or daughter to go into Cave diving? What would you caution them about? The women cave divers I know are exceptional, we could use more just like them.

I wouldn't. I dive to get away from them heheheh

[MORGAN]

I spent the 1980's crack epidemic as an urban paramedic in a "knife and gun club" area, with a female partner for 9 years. She was a great paramedic, and she used to always tell new female EMS staff, "If you can do the job, you'll get the respect, from the people whose respect is worth having. The people who don't respect your ability to do the job aren't people whose opinions you should be concerned about."

My cave diving retired detective lieutenant wife used to tell new female police officers: "It's not about your gender, it's about your ability to do your job. There are people who will try to crap on you for being a woman in a "man's job", but if you're easily upset or offended, perhaps this isn't the right career for you. Just do your job, stand up for yourself, keep your sense of humor, and don't sweat the small stuff. Most of the sexist stuff is just boys' lame attempts to be funny. The problem is not "women in a man's job", it's "boys in a grownup's job - 30+ year olds whose level of maturity is stuck somewhere around middle school."

I've spent the last 21 years working in ER's, ICU's, and doing critical care transport with a lot of highly capable people of both genders. It can be kind of fun when some old drunk sees my graying beard but not the RN on my name badge and thinks I'm a doctor and that a female doctor is a nurse. I'll say, "That's really a better question for Dr. Chickering here, and they'll get all confused. Yes, the 50-something guy with the gray beard is the nurse, and the young attractive woman is the doctor.

Mike

[OFG-1]

............. give me bacon.............

After that entire post, this is what it really boils down to.

[Picea]

There's always the few men who feel threatened if a women does anything but smile and keep quiet, and an occational idiot who makes 'funny' comments about your p-valve. However in general I've been treated very equally, which is great! Maybe it would have been more difficult had I started diving when still young and pretty, which seemed to trigger more silly behaviour from men than being old an chubby.

Why anyone would buy a piece of dive gear just because there's a half naked girl in an add staring at you like she's just had a lobotomy (which i guess is supposed to be the sexy seduction look) has never made any sence to me, though.

[victorzamora]

Why anyone would buy a piece of dive gear just because there's a half naked girl in an add staring at you like she's just had a lobotomy (which i guess is supposed to be the sexy seduction look) has never made any sence to me, though.

It's never made any sense to me either, but it's certainly required internal monologuing to resist the urge

[JillHeinerth]

Thanks everyone for the great thoughts! This is all very helpful. I have to step away from the conversation for a bit... heading to Cuba to shoot a Nat Geo project in the caves. I'm told there will be no contact with the world.

[MichaelAngelo]

A few years ago all the dive shop owners and employees returned from DEMA with a fake cover of Scuba magazine with a picture of themselves and Jessica Alba (sex pot bikini babe). For awhile you couldn't go in a dive shop around here without that cover in your face. I'm thinking the "No Bimbos" campaign must not have worked out too well. But you know it's not really any different from all the male models in dive ads. Where are the old bald overweight geezers - the real men of diving?

skip

At the local dirty book store

[cavekrazi]

Jill, Is this article focused on sexism in the dive industry or the cave diving industry? I'm not quite sure that this forum is gonna give you a very representative sample of the dive industry as a whole. For God sakes, our recent pole says that 65% of us (cave divers) are over 40 years old. I'd have to say that a good smattering of divers, and particularly instructors and tech divers who got tired of pretty fishies and moved on, got into diving because there was a bikini involved, but these grey-haired cave divers you're talking to have forgotten about that, have daughters that they are looking out for, and are happy to have competent, interested female companions in our cave diving community.

[JillHeinerth]

....Jill, Is this article focused on sexism in the dive industry or the cave diving industry?

It's the industry as a whole and this is not the only place I am asking for feedback. It's just that you are my peeps and I am interested in your feedback!