Padi/diving & sexism

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nessum once bubbled...
Anyhow, this is what my paper is on.

And, one way or another, the lack of gender neutral pronouns is discriminatory, whether one considers it awkward or not. And in most contemporary writings they have caught on if for nothing more than for fear of being labelled sexist. Which would at some level be true.
I have noticed that in the divemaster text & in most of the Padi videos they alternate between using "he" & "she", etc.

Now, again, this is for school. Personally, I'm pretty laid-back about these things. But sexism does exist, often in BLATANT use and while these subtle forms of it don't bother me as much as is suggested they should by my sociology course, they are worth examining, especially considered my english prof is a bit of a feminist himself.
So again, I'm not trying to stir things up, & the intention of this thread is not for opinions on diving & sexism... but observations of it. If you would like to express your opinion I ask you to kindly take it to another thread.
Thanks again,
~ness
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Actually, whether one considers something sexist is indeed an opinion, since what is sexist to some might not be sexist to others....but you don't want any opinions...even though you've expressed yours...

Sounds to me like you are looking for sexism....and going backwards....Much research explores it forwards...looking for examples of behavior and asking a statistical sample of people what they feel about it...(not suggesting either answer) and then analyzing the results...

So, what "facts" are you after?
 
ar,
ok, again, was looking for help, not arguments...

And it's not JUST padi that i'm looking at here, but DIVING as a sport, community, etc, etc.

When I was doing my rescue course, for your information, the MALES in my class (& I was the only female) found the materials to be sexist. They thought that the video made it seem that more often than not the female was the victim & the male was the rescue diver. I didn't notice this personally, but when some men actually do notice sexism, there is LITTLE doubt that it exists.

AGAIN, not trying to stir up crap. NOT dissing padi (I am pretty sure they are over-hauling their courses, are they not? This will certainly address the few issues I have seen)... just looking for FEMALE experience, & observations. Please, if it interests you THIS much start your own thread!!!! I'd be happy to DEBATE with you further somewhere else!
Besides, I personally didn't take much offense to the material covered, as it is outdated & relatively tame. Not to mention, it is hard to offend me, considering some of the company I keep & the jobs I've worked (& the people I've worked with).

And as for facts.... I have not ASKED for facts, I would rather not use internet boards for the facts in my essay. Those I will be taking directly from articles, textbooks, etc, etc.
I am looking for female experience, observation.
 
nessum once bubbled...
...when some men actually do notice sexism, there is LITTLE doubt that it exists...
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There are plenty of French people who don't like good food and plenty of Americans who have zero interest in cowboy hats. No one was ever born an authority in their field...


I am looking for female experience, observation.
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Unfortunately, I can't help you with that. Unless you're interested in hearsay :)
 
Arnaud once bubbled...


No one was ever born an authority in their field...

[/B]
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"THEIR" field?

Was this a deliberate attempt to avoid the his/her debate?

:)
 
PADI and other agencies take great pains to make their books, videos, etc. as gender-neutral as possible. For example, in the Rescue Diver course most of the time the person is referred to as "the diver" "the victim", etc. Are there instances when someone is referred to as "he"? Yes. There are also times when someone is referred to as "she".

What evidence do you have that there is a correlation between your perception of gender bias in training materials and sexism in diving?
 
SubMariner once bubbled...
PADI and other agencies take great pains to make their books, videos, etc. as gender-neutral as possible. For example, in the Rescue Diver course most of the time the person is referred to as "the diver" "the victim", etc. Are there instances when someone is referred to as "he"? Yes. There are also times when someone is referred to as "she".

What evidence do you have that there is a correlation between your perception of gender bias in training materials and sexism in diving?
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The Rescue Diver Manual that I have & was issued to me this past August is NOT gender neutral. It ONLY refers to a diver as a he. As soon as I noticed this while I was reading I paid very close attention. It could be that I was not provided with the newest addition of the manual, if you have one that is gender neutral.

I do not personally find most of the material sexist & haven't noticed sexism in the videos (though I would like to have another look @ the rescue diver video after hearing what the guys said they saw in it.
 
I think this is an example of sexism in diving:

In the Florida Keys there is a diving operation that features daily shows of mermaids diving in a choreagraphed fashion. . . and they refuse to hire males as the mermaid divers. Not that this in any way offends me, but it is an example of sex discrimination in diving.

Women get hired as divemasters, but men cannot get hired as mermaids?

:D

theskull
 
After my OW class and 4 dives I went back to my LDS to purchase my complete gear setup.

The Instructor that did my OW checkout told me ,"that women have ruined the sport "demanding" all the colors - everything should be black". Of course this was said tongue in check - but said all the same. If you think it or say it - a person must feel it in some way. I don't care one way or the other - I feel that there are some male divers that don't care for the "female invasion".

I will try and think if I can remember any other examples.

Becky
 
theskull once bubbled...
...Women get hired as divemasters, but men cannot get hired as mermaids?
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Mermaid, from the Webster:

a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish
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I can't speak for PADI since I tend to shy away from them. I do carry a PADI AOW card for international acceptance, although my 35 year old LAC certification trained me to do everything the PADI card did.

In the dark ages (before PADI) sexism seemed much more prevalent than it is today. I remember other males in my LAC class taunting the 1-2 females that dared attend. It was rare to see a woman diving back then. Now some of the best divers I know are women... great divers, great instructors and great people. This would have been extremely rare when I started diving.

Dr. Bill
 
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