Emma 0 #1 June 7, 2001 Has anyone noticed how very WASP-y skydiving is?Nearly all white, male and middle-class (before we even go down the route of sexuality!)No doubt this is partly due to the expense of skydiving, which keeps it the preserve of the relatively wealthy.However, it is also a sport which, by design or default, fails to attract ethnic minorities, and indeed, women.Now, please don't bombard my post with intimate details of individuals who are 15% Hispanic or have an Indian second cousin.....I am just making a point as this is something I've noticed to be a fact.....good or bad.Of course if your DZ is 95% lesbian Pakistani women, that would be an interesting demographic....Emma(white, middle-class, female) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #2 June 7, 2001 Very true Emma,I've had that discussion before, and some debatable things came up:1- I do remember that recently, a study came up showing a genetic pre-disposition to doing hi-risk activities. Maybe there is an explenation why our sport is so white and male (dont ask me to quote the name of that study... I have a brain like a seive)2- We also had a dicussion around the amount of disposable income "white" people have vs. other ethnies. I know in Canada, we had the same situation: very much a white sport, but, for exemple, the asian community was not necessaraly less affluent then average either, so not sure if that argument holds..That being said: WHO CARES! I know that I dont care about the color of the skin or sex of who I jump with!!! The more the merrier! As long as they dont end up slipping to the Dark Side.... jk ;-)Remi(whithish, especially after a week in the sun, and male, as far as middle-class, well, if a Brit can explain to me what the classes are, maybe!)PS: Emma, was that you that bought Karen's Rig? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emma 0 #3 June 7, 2001 Hey! Yes, it is me that bought Karen's rig...How trippy! Sorry about not recognising you in Empuria...I think it was being in a different context (country/ DZ/ frame of mind/ temperature!) which threw me a bit....I was like, 'How could you have sold me this rig? I bought it in England!!!' What a twat I love that rig, by the way....I had hard-housings put on and the brake lines tuned ... I can actually fly it without spanking in now too (mostly...he heh)...It's such a nice, neat little container, perfect for a girly...really comfortable. As it's my first rig I wasn't that sure what I wanted when I bought it (cos I had about 25 jumps )but now I'm really glad I did...Thanks!(Wow, I went off on a 'oh I love my rig!' rant there for a sec!)Hope you guys are doing ok - are you in Canada now? Hope you've got good weather where you are! Maybe catch up with you sometime later.Emma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #4 June 7, 2001 Good the see you like ur rig!As far as being back in Canada... nope, still in sunny ole England... down the road from Maidenhead (working in Camberley, living in Guildford)... talk about middle class!!!! Remi(who isnt driving around in a BMW, so I cant be that middle-classed) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jessica 0 #5 June 7, 2001 QuoteHas anyone noticed how very WASP-y skydiving is?I was thinking about this just the other day...Not so much the WASP part of it, because that's something you get used to very quickly on a dropzone, because ethnicity is so visually obvious.What I was wondering about was the lack of gay skydivers. I don't believe I've ever met a one, and I don't know why.My best friend, a gay male, plans to come with me soon. He's very enthusiastic about the idea. But all the dropzone "regulars," especially the men, seem to be STRAIGHTSTRAIGHTSTRAIGHT. Like, ARE-YOU-CALLIN-ME-A-QUEER???-type straight.I wonder why. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #6 June 7, 2001 Not too many around, ur right...But then again, if you were surrounded by "STRAIGHTSTRAIGHTSTRAIGH" guys, like u said, you'd probably would keep it quiet! I do know one, I think, but besides him being extremely camp, i am not 100% sure he is... not that it mathers, very good skydiver!Remi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emma 0 #7 June 7, 2001 Why? Probably some latent homosexuality or something.All that relly work, bunch of pansies holding hands in the air while they do the aerial equivalent of the YMCA (Y, Meeker, phalanx, zigzag...or summink)...Why do you think they like to do the 'zipper', eh? Nudge nudge, say no more...and all this obsession with 'donuts'...yeh, we know what donuts YOU'RE into boys....Food for thought......emmaps. RE 'I do know one, I think, but besides him being extremely camp, i am not 100% sure he is... not that it mathers, very good skydiver! Remi'Is he the same one I know? he showed me how to pack my pilot chute when i convereted to throwaways.....not sure if he's gay or just not fussy, as long as it has a pulse....or maybe we're talking about someone different?Edited by emma on 6/7/01 08:08 AM. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #8 June 7, 2001 cum on emma... if you want to say something, dont hold back! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deleted 0 #9 June 7, 2001 I am lesbian and find your comments very hurtful, rude and ignorant. Lesbinas need to be treate the same as other poeple, whether skydiving or not. Why is it also that male skydivers always ask if they can 'watch' lesbians making love. I love my partner very much and we are not some sort of freak show for men why can't you understand that???!!!sorry but I am not putting my name down hear because I don't want everyone to know that i amlesbina. Thank you Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #10 June 7, 2001 I agree Anonymous...All people should be treated the same! That includes respect, but also teasing and laughing with!Sorry you got offended... but I'm not sure about what... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeekStreak 0 #11 June 7, 2001 Anonymous,QuoteWhy is it also that male skydivers always ask if they can 'watch' lesbians making love.Since I am suffering from a chronic case of foot-in-mouth disease, I'll answer that one.1. Hetero males like girls. You like girls. Do lesbians like to watch girl-on-girl movies? I bet so. I have seen the movies at the video store.2. Two girls is better than one 3. If you've spent much of your life with a compulsive urge to stick your penis into something, it's fascinating to wittness a scenario where you are not needed.4. Every hetero male has had a girl-boy-girl fantasy. Watching lesbians might be as close as some men will ever get to that.5. Related to item 4... In a man's mind there's a chance that at some point one of you is gonna want some dick.QuoteI love my partner very much and we are not some sort of freak show for menCome on out. If you are "out" you can personally deal with each and every crude dude that makes an insensitive remark. As long as you are in, not out, things like that are eventually gonna make you miserable, need therapy, or both.flame away !1111,GeekStreak Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skreamer 1 #12 June 7, 2001 OK, I just read through this thread twice to be sure, and I could not find ANYTHING malicious towards any minority or sexual orientation (given the context everything was said in).Sheesh, a sense of humour might help (I wonder if anonymous is a skydiver, hard to believe that the way she fired up so unnecessarily!)./s Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeekStreak 0 #13 June 7, 2001 ... Maybe it's really just Emma jerking our chains AGAIN! 1111,GeekStreak Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skreamer 1 #14 June 7, 2001 QuoteEmma jerking our chainsHmmmmmm, we wish.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #15 June 7, 2001 I'm pretty new here, but I am starting to connect the dots: Emma... videos... chains... I knew she looked familiar when I saw her at Hinton.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skreamer 1 #16 June 7, 2001 Well, she did invite me to Hinton for a rodeo dive, then I realized she wasn't talking about skydiving!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #18 June 7, 2001 ooohhhh i feel a flame....... and i'm not even gay! lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deleted 0 #19 June 7, 2001 I want to do my own thing. I need to do my own thing. I like to do my own thing. Nobody else wants to do my thing. Would anyone want to do their own thing with me? I have a thing. I have a large thing. It is a so cool thing. Come watch me do my thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monk 0 #20 June 7, 2001 Well I'm not going to address the sexuality part of your comments Emma, but I will address the WASP part. My DZ might not be the norm but it certainly is the standard as being the largest DZ in the world. It is an international DZ. On any given day there will be French, Japanese, Germans and Norwegians (sp) and Belgians etc.... In fact I was telling a girlfriend of mine about that very thing. How I thought it was so incredible and we all go out and have fun and throw together a last minute dive in the plane without even speaking the same language sometimes. So maybe...just maybe, your preception of the all white males stigma you've just tried to place on skydiving is limited to your neck of the woods. Just a thought. As for Gays...ok.. I will address this. Lesbians, Yes I have seen and jumped with many. Gay Guys...Nope haven't seen any. I just think it is not their bag. But that's their choice. Skydivers are incredibly liberated and free spirited individuals and I would like to think that we would not treat gays unwelcoming. (if that is a word). Well I have rambled on long enough without any coffee...so I'm going to go get some.CiaoMonk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DZBone 0 #21 June 7, 2001 spectre, this is a very dangerous attitude. It is thinking life this that has led to some very dark episodes in our history.Also, to set the record straight (so to speak), "the way it is" may not be what you think. How do you know who is gay or straight (or, as Merrick so eloquently put it "on a sliding scale")? Unless you have them wear badges, or something.As far as begin afraid of people "that try to force you to accept their lifestyle", my God is this hypocritical! Why are you trying to get them to accept your lifestyle? Or even worse, you would rather they not be on your dz, so you are excluding them from something that you find to be so important that you will sacrifice a lot to have it.Sorry to get hot-headed. Emma wanted controversy, she's getting it.One of the best things about skydivers is that they are open, inclusive and watch out for each other. Why should we care about race, sexual orientation, etc.? We ignore class, background and everything else, except maye whether you are "one of them damned freefliers".Sheesh! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
what42 0 #22 June 7, 2001 QuoteAs for the others,let them find something else to do.I like not having to be around gay people either that try to force you to accept their lifestyle.Why do I skydive,I like the class of people that skydive.Lets just bring in more women and leave the rest to do their own thing. I've never been around a single gay person who tried to "force" anyone to think or do or accept anything about them. Most of them just want to be able to live their lives without harrassment. Because you disagree with how someone lives their life is no reason to exclude them from your life. There are many people that do things I would not do but I still can enjoy talking to and spending time with them. Excluding everyone but the people just like you from your life is a quick way to miss out on life.Wesley--I want to fly! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jessica 0 #24 June 7, 2001 I'm sorry about your nephew, but you're confusing homosexuality and pedophilia. Please don't. It's not a fair comparison. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
