Extremeophile wrote:I just received the May edition of the NSS News and there's again an article by Amy in which there's the requisite boob description. I don't come from a place of experience, but I just don't understand why it's such a prominent part of every cave activity. I'm sure others would find it odd if all of my trip reports included a section on penis management issues. I'm not sure that climbing rope with big boobs or doing big vertical drops as a woman is a pioneering accomplishment.
In this article, and in other locations where she has published, there's some background framework that suggests caving, and especially vertical caving, is male dominated. She suggests that she regularly encounters the attitude that women simply aren't capable of doing these types of things and that she is proving these people wrong. I applaud her accomplishments but I certainly hope her experience with gender discrimination is unusual and isolated. Although I'm male, and my experience may be biased by that fact, I thought we had long since moved past any culture of male superiority in caving. Many of the most skilled and accomplished cavers (vertical or otherwise) that I know or know of are women, and many of them have been caving at or above the levels of their male peers for a very long time. I've been inspired and motivated by such greats as Pat Kambesis, Carol Vesely, Nancy Pistole, Pat Crowther, Barbara AmEnde, Erin Lynch, Heather Levy, Andrea Croskrey, Johanna Kovarik, Peg Palmer, Jan Conn, Jen Foote, Rene Ohms and Hazel Barton. These and many other women have been role models for many cavers, regardless of gender. In fact it's one of the things I like most about caving that we have, at least in my experience, such gender equality.
I am a female TAG Caver (since 1994). I
never experienced any problems of being made to feel inferior because I was female. I never felt any gender discrimination. When I started caving I was never coddled. I was expected to keep pace with the group and I did. As I progressed in my caving I helped mentor a fair number of beginning male cavers and for several years was very active in teaching vertical caving to members of my grotto (both male and female).
However, one time there was a guy (on a trip where I was the only female) who suggested I go inside the cave and wait while he changed clothing. This was a summer trip to a cave involving a long hike where we were wearing shorts and tank tops. Everyone else including me was changing into caving gear at the entrance and no one thought anything about it. I told him to go find a private place if it bothered him as I was staying with the group. The rest of the guys backed me up and said he should be the one to move if the situation bothered him.
I think both male and female cavers should be treated equally. There are strong and weak cavers of both sexes. In my opinion "sticking out and hanging down parts" are just a part of who we are.
If you have 'em you manage 'em.