I need to ask the women out there a stupid question: do you like the way your feet feel in high heels? I know, you never want to take them off. You just pretend you’re in pain at the end of the day only so you can merit a foot rub once in a while, right? Wrong. We women are in pain because heels were designed by men, for men, and somehow the market for these shoes has been successful regardless of how women feel. Since the emergence of play- boating, boats have also been designed by men, for men. Mark Lyle from Dagger has been around since the beginning of freestyle, but he weighs about two hundred pounds and is as wide as a refrigerator. Wave Sport’s designer Eric Jackson may not be the tallest paddler out there, but his biceps are also the size of my head! Corran Addison once said that he’d design a Riot women’s boat when women started cartwheeling. I recall kicking his butt at a rodeo that same year, but still no boat! I think all of these men have designed great boats, but how could they possibly think small? And furthermore, how could they possibly think female?
Until now there’s been little need for smaller boats. Eighty to ninety percent of paddlers were men. But over the last couple of years, women and smaller, younger paddlers have been emerging onto the scene. They can’t wait to learn the moves being pulled off by the men, but can’t understand why it’s so much more of a struggle than it looks. A few boats have been designed for women, but if you’ve ever seen an average-sized guy cram into one, it’s obvious they aren’t really suitable for women at all. They’re ego boosters for guys who couldn’t throw down their own boy boats.
Here’s the skinny: men and women have different power-to-weight ratios. For the most part, men weigh more and carry more muscle than women. Since this can be rather deceiving, I tested my theory by asking a few relatively small guys to try out some bigger boats. These men looked smaller but in fact weighed more and were inherently stronger than I, and were able to handle the bigger boats. So it’s not just about weight ranges. Women need even smaller and lighter boats because of smaller upper body muscle mass. And that doesn’t even begin to address the issue of fit. Thigh-hooks, displacement, width and length, you name it—they all need to be built differently to fit women.
Damn, it would be great to change places with my ape-shaped boyfriend for a day. His argument that I’m not trying hard enough would no longer hold ground after experiencing the many boat handling struggles I have ventured to explain in the past! And when he finally saw the light, I’d go throw a hundred flatwater cartwheels and then stuff my face with chocolate cake!
High-heeled shoes were designed because men thought women looked sexier wearing them. They’re still around because women think they feel sexier and keep buying them. When it comes to boats, guys think it’s sexy to see a woman throw down in a hole. But boys, where are the boats? Perhaps you’d rather we gain 40 pounds so we can flatwater cartwheel for you? Then how’d we look in those heels?
This article first appeared in the Winter 2002 issue of Rapid Magazine.
