women on submarines

[b13thy]

why can women not serve on submarines - the website i was looking at cited the reason as 'medical' but what does this mean?

[joko]

i don't know the answer, but racked my brains for possibilties

i can only assume its a gynaecological issue - what else could affect women and not men?

perhaps the cabin pressure can affect ovaries or womb - and what if she got pregnant while under? unlikely but you never know...

or perhaps, if they empty the toilets into the sea - could menstrual blood attract sharks??? mmm...but they are inside the sub, so why would that matter?

perhaps its more of a 'men going stir crazy and attacking' thing...though i don't think they can stay under for that long, supplies would run out...though if something did happen they would have to deal with in the sub, they could not just separate them or tell someone to leave

possibly they don't have the facilities to have separate quarters or bathrooms, which could cause issues of 'unwanted attention' and accusations of assault

its very odd, sure got me thinking

[stanleyman]

They would talk too much and use up all the air!

[b13thy]

lmao @ stanleyman

[Octavius]

I presume you were looking at the Royal Navy website, which says:

Service in submarines is closed to women because of medical concerns for the safety of the foetus and hence its mother. This restriction is purely medical and does not relate to combat effectiveness. The potential risks to the foetus do not arise from hazardous radiation, but from contaminants in the submarine's atmosphere.

The Institute of Naval Medicine (INM) reviewed the exclusion in 1999, as did subsequently both the Defence Scientific Advisory Council and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Their outcomes supported the conclusions of the INM report, that the exclusion was justified.

[Octavius]

However, Commodore Carolyn Stait of the Royal Navy is the first female commander of a British naval base. Responsible for the safety of eight nuclear-powered submarines, a host of warships and 7,000 staff at Faslane and Coulport, she is effectively Britain�s most senior woman in uniform.

[joko]

but surely they could do lots of tests beforehand and/or fit a coil?

if she is already pregnant then fair enough, but the worry that she is, or might get pregnant is a bit of a wide assumption, and easier to confirm or dismiss.

and arent some female officers older than 55 and therefore less likely to be able to get pregnant?

[simsfreq]

I don't think the armed forces would recruit you if you were that old...
I agree that the chance that a woman could get pregnant is a bit stupid. If the woman could prove she was on birth control maybe this wouldn't be an issue... Or all-female submarines to rule out the possibility.. LOL

[Octavius]

Perhaps, the potential damage refers to the long term effects, maybe a young female submariner ould endanger her future child bearing capabilities. I am no expert and I am not defending the ideology I just quoted the MOD.

The Commodore I mentioned above is about 48 yo.

[scotty]

Lets be honest a woman shouldn't be allowed to join the navy ,army or air force they should be in the kitchen cleaning the oven , making bread etc and when they have finished that they should be making beds and vacuuming. Frankly i've never heard anything so ridiculous!