Is scuba very hip for chicks?

I've found as I have gone diving with my husband around the world, that not many woman seem to dive. I usually find myself on a boat full of men who say their wives just aren't into it. Why is this?

I admit, I was a bit nervous when my husband approached me about it because I have never been much of a water person - but I really have fun with it. I still can't go as often as he can, I prefer one dive in a day a few times a week instead of multiple dives in a day every day of the week!

Still, I can't talk my sister in law or my own mother into it. Though now my dad & brother in law are both addicted to diving! Ah well, nothing wrong with hangin' with the boys I suppose!

Jamieleigh

Jamie,

I think it has to do with the perception of risk taking and how testosterone drives that. Guys, that is not a bad thing at all, it is irreplaceable.

Additionally, guys have superior spatial and abstract skills and equipment and technology gets their motors running just shy of chicks. ;) Us girls have the benefit of using both cranial hemispheres for communication, which is why we can understand that when a fellow woman asks their man; "Do you think I'm fat?" rather then meaning "Do you think I'm fat?, as the English language would seem to imply, what women are are really saying is "I need you to reassure me that you still find me physically desirable and that I am the most fit and attractive women in the world, now hold me". ;)

Us girls tend to be a tad more risk averse, a little bit less gear oriented, and WAY more beautiful animal & beautiful ocean's oriented. Guys will live on a cramped liveaboard to get that testosterone dive, whereas we like the land based resorts a little more.

None is better or worse, that is why we mesh so well together :)

I love the wee critters myself.

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Originally Posted by iDiveChick

Guy swill live on a cramped liveaboard to get that testosterone dive, whereas we like the land based resorts a little more.
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Actually, I don't mind the cramped dive boats or liveaboards...
I think it just has to do with the individual... and how much they want (or love) to dive.

I found this out, too! I do not understand it either. I love SCUBA diving, and I cannot understand how someone who has tried scuba could not love it. I mean, maybe that's it. Maybe most women do not even try it.

I have always loved water, though. I learned to swim very early, and I have loved water ever since. I wish I could dive all the time. When I got pregnant, it was one long summer without diving.

Ill chip in with a bit of a guys point of view on this. If its the unglamorous parts of it then you got nothing to worry about. Guys look just as appealling as girls when they take their mask of and half their face is covered in a big snot gobblin. As for not tough enough to do it. I think that is a big falicy. I know of a lot of girls doing bigger dives than most guys would look at. And being able to do them with no support or all female team support. More than likely apart from that they have to do it twice as good everytime so the guys will stand up and take notice. Why try and play with the same bat and ball take it and run with it and play your own game.

Matt

I think many women enjoy being active and are more athletic than you think. I dive and know many other woman who do also....just one of my friends, but I have met many women on dive trips. They dive and they are good at it!

I think that a person who scubas is not into the whole "sit at the pool and look pretty" mode....men or women. Give me a day of diving anytime!
It's fun and adventurous. Yes, I can sit and relax by the pool, but only after a day of diving.

I met many woman on this last trip to Bonaire, women who were over 50, 60 and even 70 years old, who were enjoying the day diving.

I love to see the world underwater, love the fish and the whole nature component.
I've seen manta-rays, turtles, sharks, dolphin, and a kazillion fish!
You can't do that on land!

My husband's recent photo of me after a dive:
http://www.pbase.com/christhorpe/image/73712759


Okay, I've ranted enough!

Hi Alida, I am so delighted you joined up!

Guys, at some point, we're all in for a treat, just wait till you see her photos!

I know a lot of women would rather sit around the pool trying not to get their hair mussed up, but the guys I like are the guys who like adventuresome chicks! :)

Hmmm, curiously, my most regular dive buddies are women. The last dive I had to get on a plane for, we ended up being an all-female foursome (two of them dive buddies themselves for over a decade now). Somehow, the male divers who initially expressed interest in the trip backed out due to family or work pressures.
Not that we didn’t have work pressures of our own. Mylene holds some kind of managerial position in an advertising agency (and she’s in constant training as a triathlete). Benita is a doctor (enough said). Cathy is in thankless customer service. And I’m in corporate communications with a perpetual publication deadline.
It seemed all of us had a common response to feeling “toxic.” We became more stubborn about sticking to our dive plans. We don’t always win ‘em all of course (in fact, I recently missed out on three days in Apo Island [in the Philippines] because of presswork, oh well.)
But there you go, my most regular dive buddies are women (and sometimes they bring their partners for yet another intro-dive :) ).

This is a cultural thing as well. These are countries, such as Japan, where the female-to-male ratio of divers is 3-4:1. I'm moving there ASAP.

Nice to see dive buddy MissyP (SoCalDiveGirl) is already a member here.

yeah I think pinay diver was right, The last time I dive Here in Palawan, I only have 4 girls as a companion, and would you believe that fellas I am the only thorns amon the Roses WOW!! hehehehehe well I'm the only guy in the group hehehehehe:D

I don't think I would call one guy amongst 4 girls a "thorn" among roses.....

"Kid" in a candy store does come to mind though..... ;)

yeah - poor fella. tough to pick a buddy to pair up with - :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iDiveChick

None is better or worse, that is why we mesh so well together :)

I love the wee critters myself.

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All critters wee which is why I'm very glad I use an FFM when diving.

Tip for the uninitiated - always swim up current of any diver in a wetsuit on a long dive ............... unless you are cold!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iDiveChick

I don't think I would call one guy amongst 4 girls a "thorn" among roses.....

"Kid" in a candy store does come to mind though..... ;)

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hmmm ok, I hope you can be my dive buddy hehehehehehe can that be?:D

Back in my dating days I considered diving or aerobatic flying as a filter to separate the wimpy gals from the ones I might be interested in.

Great observation about the correlation between spatial relation abilities and activities such as diving and admitting on average there is a difference between the sexes.

When I'm teaching, the one thing that I WILL NOT "teach through" is panic. You have to be able to think clearly and problem solve underwater to have my name on a certification card. And, as much as it saddens me to say this...I've only had females come up with the panic issues.

Yes, ours is a more strenuous pasttime than scrapbooking. But you look at all of the female athletes in other sports. Snowboarding, Rock Climbing, Surfing... I'm confident that more women will join our sport. And that they will come from the Gen X'ers and the Millenium Generation. Less stereotypes there about what women "should" and "should not" do.

I think iDiveChick hit the nail on the head. My wife dives, and she LOVES to dive, that being said there are major differences in our behavior.

1. I would dive multiple dives every day if I could. I dove yesterday, and I am going again today. I will never miss a dive unless I am too ill or I have a previous obligation. My wife will dive with me usually, but does not like to dive every day and does not like many dives in one day. If she feels even feels slightly bad, she won't dive.

2. I like liveabords a lot, with many dives and being very dive oriented. She perfers all inclusive resorts, that have a few dives/ day, but offer many other non dive activities.

3. I am a gear junkie!!!!!!!!!! If there is some technical gear, I want it. If I get my hands on it, I usually take it apart so I know how it works. I repair and maintain all of our gear and I trust no one to touch my stuff. My wife never wants to change her gear for something new unless it is causing her a problem where I will get something new just to try it out. She also perfers that someone else deals with her gear. Of course she sets up her equipment, but I clean and store it. She also likes the dive operations that carry your gear and likes to dive in a big group with the DM, I really don't like that at all.

4. I perfer cold water and wreck diving, my wife perfers warm tropical diving.

I know there are even more differences, but that is what I thought of off the top of my head.

Bottom line, even though our diving is different we both have the same passion for our sport. I am VERY thankful that I have such a great partner and dive buddy! :cool:

I'm a 'girl' (well a bit older than a girl!) and I like to dive. My husband will dive, but once in a blue moon.

I have dived with sporty girls, and as a dive instructor I have taken some very nervous men and ladies into the water.

I have also dived with some very glam ladies (lipstick between dives glam). I think that social stereo typing has an effect on the way that some women view diving and other active sports, including diving. There is still a view that only the 'sporty' girls / tom boys enjoy 'out doorsey' active sports such as diving. I have to admit that I have always been a bit of an active girl, I have always enjoyed being able to fix stuff (I service my own gear), and I really enjoy the company of my male friends just as much as my female friends.

The powers that be responsible for marketing the sport need to be more proactive in promoting diving as an inclusive sport, and not just for women. We should also consider the lack of ethnic diversity within the diving industry. For those of you attending DEMA or any other large dive industry show take a look and see how many folks you spot who are of Afro Caribbean heritage for example.

Whilst I appreciate that this space is dedicated for 'lady' topics I felt that this (the accessibility of SCUBA to a broader audience) is a subject worthy of further discussion. I'd like the dive industry as a hole to be a lot more active in promoting the sport as a 'sport for all', and I'd also like to see more SCUBA within mainstream TV and print media.

That's my 2 cents worth!

The sport is unbalanced, weighing in more towards the men than the women.
I personally would love to see more women in the sport, for the diversity that it would bring.
So what is keeping women from the sport? What can be done to attract women towards the sport?
Studys show that diving is becoming a younger generation sport.
Is it the younger female generation we should be focusing the attention towards?

I, Too, Have Noticed The 'lack Of Females' aboard The 'live Aboards'. ;)
However... I Think There Are plenty Of Us Out There. As Women , We Tend To Be Passionate About The Sports Or Hobbies We Undertake. It's Not Just A Fly By Night Gig. I Have Met The Most Amazing Divers From All Over This Beautiful Earth And They Just Happen To Be Female As Well.

I Believe That The Women Just Taking It Up To Hang Out With Their Partners/friends/etc.... Will Realize That It Is An Amazing Indulgence. One That Can Clarify The Mind As Well As The Soul.

I Encourage All My Chick :d Friends To Go With Me On Dive Trips.

So , Hey.... I Hope We Meet Up Someday And Show The Guys Just How Its Supposed To Be Done ....;)

Hi Caliscubagirl, welcome to the SMN Community! Fun avatar!

What I like about diving with my fellow girlfriends is we're not doing it to prove any point about anything, we're doing it because we like to and we get to enjoy the marine life.

But I like diving with guys just as much, they are silly and fun to flirt with. ;)

You'll find more divegirls on liveaboards if the entire thing is chartered by your group/club. The best part about liveboards is that a diver is a diver. There's no pressure to hang out with the non-diving wives at the spa or at the resort nursery or risk being labeled "anti-social" or "dive-snobby". Too much drama for when on vacation!

In NYC there a group called the Sea Gypsies that organizes divegirl-preferred trips. You'll find divers there of all levels.

Of course things are MUCH better now than they were in the early 60's when I began diving. I think there was one girl in my OW cert class, but I'm not sure (it was a long time ago). Great to see more women diving these days. Perhaps some of those that don't are afraid they just won't look fashionable in a 7mm wetsuit! Of course I live near LALA Land where appearances are everything!

Simple, because we love it. What we would miss if we could not take advantage of seeing what is in our lakes and oceans as well as on our earth and be able to appreciate it, understand it and take stories of it back to our non-diving friends and colleagues. It's diverse, it's beautiful and it's peaceful. More ladies need to get into this sport, but it's hard. It takes a certain kind of lady - one that doesn't want to spend all her vacation week lying in the sun, shopping, going to that spa, getting drunk and looking a million dollars! Now we can all do a little of that but all of a sudden it's not as important as the deep dive at 8am the next morning, or the long boat ride out to the special location or travelling 1/2 way round the world for diversity and different creatures. Looking a million dollars after 3 dives, in the heavy rain when you're cold is just not possible. Sorry guys! But if you want that girl she's probably not a diver and if she is, grab her now!
Now I happen to think scuba is very hip for chicks! But that's because I'm a chick and I dive and I love it. Every lady diver that comes through our classes I want to encourage a little more than the guys. Some of them are doing it for them, but a lot of them do it for the men in their lives and I want them to continue and love it as I do, regardless of the men/man in their lives. If the man goes, do they give up diving. Many might, but if they then encourage their girlfriends and they encourage their girlfriends we'd all have more friends diving. Unfortunately, a lot of my girlfriends don't dive. Some that do dive only dive occasionally. I agree that more TV on diving and diving destinations may well encourage, but what it really needs is for us ladies to encourage other non-diving ladies to dive - it's hip and it's cool, and we all know there are plenty of cute guys out there diving as well. :)

OK, male speaking (writing) here ...

Nothing more attractive than a woman who is into being a "partner in adventure". I can't understand guys who are into prissy little chickie-babes who hang out by the pool, afraid to get their hair wet ... unless the issue is that those guys have identity/confidence issues, and are threatened by a woman who'll suit up head to toe in neoprene and jump into the briny deep with them. Don't play into it, ladies!

So I can play with the cool toys...

Yes, diving is hip for chicks.