Behaviour
needed a buddy or any pointers on how to get around the fl ow.” Some women described how they
felt unwelcome at particular dive sites and on certain charter boats. They felt there was an immediate assumption that they were less skilled than their male counterparts. As a result, they felt they were under greater surveillance in general, and were more likely to end up as the subject of somebody’s Internet rant. Men often suggested these stories were not about gender, but rather about capability. Men said that “nobody wants to buddy up with a lesser diver”, who might limit their own experience in the water. Women countered, saying this argument was an excuse and maintained they are equally capable of participation. I recall an exchange I had
checking in for a dive charter. The man beside me said, “Oh, you’re going on the tech boat with those guys? They do those long dives, don’t they? Do you get bored waiting for them or just enjoy sunning while you wait?” I smiled. It was an easy enough mistake. He meant no harm, truly. I was saved from answering as we both got called up next. Standing beside him signing in, I opened my c-card book on the counter and pondered aloud “Hmmmm, should I use my Trimix Instructor card or my Cave Instructor card?” Another woman brushed off
unwanted attention, “At fi rst I was kind of taken aback by the number of times I got hit on, but then I realized diving isn’t unlike any other co-ed sport. It’s human nature. People are going to fl irt with each other and think that they need to help ‘the weaker sex’. As long as everything is kept respectful on all sides there is nothing wrong with having a little clean fun now and then.” A pioneering woman Navy diver
had a very diff erent experience. There were times that she wished she had some attention or support from her male comrades. She was training to become a Navy diver when she very nearly fl unked out of the program. “We had to go down the ladder,
do a project, then climb back up the ladder to the deck. I was having trouble climbing back up the ladder. I failed twice. I thought it was because I was not strong enough to pull myself up. The instructors told me that I had one more chance to make it before I was kicked out. One of the offi cer supervisors pulled me aside and told me that I was bringing
24 Magazine
my legs up high enough, but was missing the ladder rungs, going outside of them instead of hitting them. The ladder was only about 12 inches wide and they were easy to miss with the Mk V helmet on since you couldn’t look down to see where your feet were. He suggested I try to pigeon-toe my way up. So the next time I was in the tank, I did what he suggested and made it up the ladder no problem. I had to wonder why no one else made that suggestion before my two failures.” After her success in dive school
she found the command climate to be equitable; once she’d passed dive school, she felt respected by her peers and her command. A Florida charter captain said he
liked to include women staff on his boat. “As a captain I always made better tips when I had a female Dive master (DM) on the boat. No exceptions. If everything went well this DM got great tips. Some of the gratuities came from other women who would say things like, ‘It’s nice to see a competent woman guiding dives’. If the shit hit the fan for any number of reasons we would still make great tips. Maybe the mostly male clientele thought, ‘she’s a woman and she’s trying’. I’m not sure, but I can tell you that when the customer service was lacking with a male DM on the boat the tips would suck, and the male customers wouldn’t hesitate to call him out. Not so with female DMs. It seems there would be some sympathy for a female DM, even if she was doing a bad job.”
Downplaying gender and
emphasizing experience
A woman boat captain and
professional diver in the Caribbean told me, “When I used to drive the boats in, people would clap their hands if I docked in one smooth maneuver, yet if a guy did this it was considered average, routine.” A Northeast wreck diver
Multi Emmy
award winning videographer Becky Kagan Schott on the cover of DIVER
intentionally sought out mixed gender charter opportunities, saying, “On the dive boats in New Jersey there are lots of women divers. I’m sure sexism is alive and well aboard these vessels, but for the most part I’ve seen very capable women divers ‘holding their own’, and male divers treating them with respect and as equals. I do notice a little less trash talk when there are ladies on-board.”
Strategies For women trying to fi nd a gender- neutral diving context, there are some strategies that were off ered. Women frequently seek out advice on ‘women-friendly’ operations and boats. They search for guidance on selecting appropriate instructors and sometimes specifi cally seek out other women as mentors and teachers. Women choose to avoid certain operations, instructors, and notorious shops, rather than face discrimination or harassment. A self- described male ‘senior diver’ said, “Some women may get into diving because they are a wife, daughter or friend of a diver. There seems to
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