Doing it Mermaid Style
Posted By Claudine Sinnett on 27 July 2001
So are things different for women in the diving world? Are we more buoyant? Are we calmer? Are we a risk? Basically, are things different for us? There are lots of good and bad things about being a diver chick.
Lets start at the beginning.
When packing, sad as it may be, I will pack extra waterproof mascara. Ok ok, I admit it, its not needed, but waterproof mascara is a must. Hey, you never know who your buddy might be, and if he is going to need to breathe "buddy-style", you gotta look good, while he is sharing your air haven't you?
When arriving at the airport with a bag full of dive kit, (and fellow staff writer Caroline Hawkins has admitted it too), we will often smile sweetly whilst twirling our hair and get away with a few more Kilos, sorry to admit it, but a bit of girly manipulation never goes amiss in at the Excess Baggage Counter.
One of the few bad sides of being a female diver is, when entering a dive situation for the first time, you are still nearly always expected to be a beginner. I arrived in Bora Bora with my then boyfriend who had only just passed his Open Water and I was Advanced; we were immediately briefed and he was told to look after me and keep an eye on me, they were expecting him to be the more advanced. When I informed them of our different qualifications, they laughed and made a joke about which one of us was wearing the trousers. It did make me laugh, and it doesn't happen often, but it was so boringly predictable. Unfortunately, we tend to have to work that little bit harder to prove ourselves, which shouldn't happen anymore should it?
I have experienced a few male diving instructors that have completely stripped me of my confidence in a matter of minutes. Is that my fault? I hear you say. Surely the job of the instructor is to support, understand and encourage, but on one particular occasion, I had to dive a few days later in a different location with a different instructor, just to convince myself that I could still dive without having my hand held. Sad, but true. Not a nice man.
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