It was winter 2024, and I used to be again in Baja, Mexico, to discover extra scuba diving across the peninsula from my van. I pulled right into a quiet spot to camp in Bahia Concepcion subsequent to 3 vans, every owned by a solo van lifer. A few satisfaction flags luffing within the wind instructed me I had magically stumbled upon household in the midst of the desert.
Van life in Baja feels loads like summer time camp. Individuals are pleasant, chatty, and useful. Everyone seems to be out having fun with nature, spending much less time on units, and choosing swapping tales across the campfire as a substitute.
Each time I share the place I’ve been and what I’m doing now, I normally get a number of questions. Nevertheless, this time was totally different. My standing as a touring PADI Scuba Teacher impressed one particular person to disclose their lifelong terror of the water. They shared about their upcoming fiftieth birthday and the way they wished to enter this new part of life. The theme? Dealing with fears. So, we devised a plan to get them within the water for the PADI Open Water Diver course and open the expertise to different folks within the LGBTQIA+ group.
Coming Out, Dealing with Fears, and Selecting Visibility
The layers of our theme of ‘dealing with fears’ grew to become actual as I spotted how this might affect my enterprise. No matter trade, there may be all the time a backlash while you establish as an ‘different.’ Promoting this journey meant popping out on-line and subjecting myself to bigotry. Remark sections are significantly difficult locations the place hateful folks really feel emboldened to say the wildest issues behind the anonymity of a keyboard.
I made a decision to be courageous and do it anyway.
Providing journeys and creating teams for marginalized communities makes scuba diving extra accessible, which finally means there can be extra range within the voices serving to us advocate for ocean conservation. For me, that’s the most urgent situation of our time.
Why Illustration in Scuba Diving Issues
The LGBTQIA+ Baja Dive Expedition with Dive Ninja Expeditions grew to become a actuality in January of this 12 months. 4 of the journey individuals enrolled within the PADI Open Water Diver course. And all of us bonded instantly over comparable life experiences as queer folks dwelling in the US. Because the Open Water Diver course progressed, it introduced out a way of deep camaraderie and care as every particular person labored by the triumphs and challenges of various facets of the coaching. Working collectively towards a standard objective is among the causes diving brings folks collectively. The distinctive experiences you share create long-lasting reminiscences.
Difficult the “Not a Drawback” Fantasy in Diving
Each time challenges or issues from the LGBTQIA+ group come up in scuba diving areas, I can count on two feedback to indicate up:
- “This isn’t an issue in scuba diving.”
- “This doesn’t have something to do with scuba diving.”
The feedback all the time come from people who find themselves not part of a marginalized group, so it’s regular for there to be ignorance and misunderstanding. The minimization of real issues from queer and trans folks is problematic as a result of for a few of us, merely current can put us vulnerable to a hate crime. Journey must be fastidiously thought out to reduce pointless hazard.
Occasions designed for particular affinity teams supply a novel alternative for these folks to attempt one thing new or discover the ocean whereas celebrating every particular person’s stunning, messy humanity. A typical false impression is that the objective of most of these occasions is about exclusion, and that’s not the case. It’s about giving extra folks the chance to see themselves within the larger group.
Within the case of the LGBTQIA+ group, we face hatred and erasure in the US. For these of us within the space, now it’s extra necessary than ever to create these affirming experiences.
How Allies Can Assist Make Diving Extra Inclusive
If you’re studying this and contemplate your self an ally, present up in your dive group.
- Schooling is step one. Understanding the historical past, tradition, and struggles of a marginalized group of individuals encourages empathy, and empathy is important for making a cultural shift.
- Sign that you’re an ally. Ask folks for his or her pronouns. Inform folks in particular person and on social media that you just help queer and trans rights. Additionally, for dive retailers, a easy rainbow flag or sticker within the window can present potential clients that the enterprise is a secure area.
- As people, in case you are confronted with bigotry, problem the individuals who say it, even when they attempt to downplay it as a joke. No matter whether or not you might be on a dive boat, within the store, or simply out in public, the folks round you discover whether or not you chortle or take motion in these moments.
- Encourage your queer and trans associates to grow to be divers by signing up for the Open Water Diver course.
- If you’re now realizing you don’t have any queer or trans associates, get on the market and make some.
Simply as in ocean conservation coverage, change begins from the native degree. We’ve to maintain each other and maintain one another accountable.
There’s big energy in constructing group based mostly on compassion and kindness. Let’s do it collectively.
This weblog was written by PADI AmbassaDiver Sarah Miller. Sarah grew to become a diver in 2012 and adopted her dream to grow to be a Scuba Teacher the 12 months after, ultimately transferring to Mexico to achieve extra expertise. A few years later, PADI Course Director Aitor Díaz and Sarah established their model Azul Limitless to show Divemaster and Teacher programs, “We took the momentum from our enterprise in Mexico and opened a bodily store in Indonesia the place we did fairly effectively till the nation shut down in 2020. Now, Azul Limitless is my on-line model the place I share scuba classes and vanlife adventures on YouTube.” Discover inspiration from Sarah’s journey adventures and useful dive security tips about Instagram.
