I want to hear about YOUR DIVING JOURNEY!- My Anthropology Research in Womens' Scuba Diving

[Cassidy]

Hi brilliant divers!
My name is Cassidy, I am a student at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. I am currently researching the female scuba diving community for my anthropology class! I chose to research female divers because of the passion, dedication, and close knitted-ness of the community.
My study is nothing too intense, as I am interested in the exciting parts of your diving experience! I would love to know...

• When/why did you start diving?
• What makes you passionate about diving? Why do you love it?
• What do you value about diving as a sport? What do you value about the diving community? How has it helped you?

I am also interested in:

• How do women acquire knowledge about locations, sites, shops, gear, techniques, etc?
• What is your favorite thing about diving?
• What draws you to this specific online diving community?

My email is cjhorn@butler.edu. I would love to hear about your answers to any of these questions (don't feel pressure to answer all of them). All of your information will remain completely 100% anonymous, and will not be used outside of my class. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. The success of my study depends on you so I am so grateful to anyone who would like to share! Thank you so much!

 

[Esprise Me]

Hmmm. I'm a woman and a diver, but I haven't found this close-knit community of women divers. Most of the divers I've met have been men. And I'm happy to report that my experiences have still been overwhelmingly positive. I've felt very included, and not creeped-on, and at the same time treated like an adult, not patronized. But I don't claim to speak for anyone but myself. So I think it's cool you're interested in hearing from women divers, but make sure you really listen, and don't just fit our stories into the narrative you've anticipated.

 

[Kimela]

I will be sending you an email. I love that you're doing this!

Like @Esprise Me , I haven't found the women to be particularly close knit (I don't mean that as a criticism) - but I have found divers, in general, to be a group of warm, welcoming, down-to-earth folks. Yes, you do get the jerks who will ask "so where have you been diving lately" only so they can spend the next 40 minutes telling you where they have been. But they're the outliers and not the norm (IMO). The women who have been really super nice are usually older (60+) - and I wonder if it's because they're past the "gotta look good, be an awesome diver, be super cool" stage. I'm 59 so I might be in that latter stage - still worrying about my mascara and lipstick!! And I've never been creeped on by guys either - but I started diving when I was almost 50, so I probably wouldn't attract attention anyway!

Can't wait to hear the results of your studies. Good job!

 

[morecowbells]

My best childhood memory was vacationing with my large family in Key West. My dad took us out on a boating charter to go snorkeling(I think my Mom stayed at the beach with a drink to escape the five of us). I instantly fell in love with the ocean. Everyday after that, I spent the entire vacation snorkeling. Over the years life got in the way; college, work, mortgages etc. 13 years ago, my husband and I visited Maui. I desperately wanted to recreate the magic of the ocean from my childhood. Everyday we snorkeled along the Maui coast, and I was not disappointed. The only drawback was the damn seasickness from the surge on top of the water! One of my friend's suggested diving as a method of remedy for my surface seasickness. I thought "right...." but then I realized how much my husband loved snorkeling(Maui was his first time)and it would be an awesome hobby to start together. Fast forward to today, we are passionate scuba divers!

My favorite things about diving? For starters the colors. Once you descend the deep blue, the color of the corals and their inhabitants pop. There is no noise from people talking, cellphones or cars. It is both peaceful and invigorating. Quite honestly about the women? I have met some friendly women on the boat, but more often will talk to the guys. Usually they will initiate the conversation by asking about my camera(nothing sophisticated). I am talkative, but have a difficult time initiating the conversation. Guys seem less guarded.