For starters, there is a shortage of sleeping space on board, so you either have to have seperate quarters for women, or women who don't mind sharing sleeping quarters with men. This means all men in the crew, not just the ones they might find attractive. There is no private area to dress and undress. Not to mention "Hot-Racking". Also, there is a rank-privelage to selecting your bunk. Usually, the newest crewmembers have to sleep in a common area in the Torpedo Room. If there is a seperate quarters for women, then they are outside of this, getting special treatment. The same goes for bathroom/shower facilities. The Officers have one, the chiefs have one, the Captain has one. The rest of the crew,(approximately 90 sailors) share 2. That means 3 shower stalls and 5 toilets. With limited space and privacy. The chances of harassment complaints (real or imagined) are huge. Did I mention that space is tight on a sub? There are many areas where two people approachine each other have to pass sideways. I can already hear the cries of "He rubbed up against me!"
Then you have the cultural issues. Submariners are a different breed of sailor. Under the sea, things get a little more informal. Crude humor, friendly harassment, pronography, and vulgar speech are the norm. Again, huge potential for harassment. So now, you would be forcing an entire group of people to change their way of life for individuals. Women will be resented because of the special treatment that they will get, because of the rules that they will bring, and because of the eggshells on which the rest of the crew will have to walk on around them. I haven't enve gone into the potential of "Hook-up" drama. Submarine life is already very stressful, the crew needs to be a cohesive as possible to survive. Having women on board will work against that cohesiveness.
I could go on about this for hours, but it is very difficult to explain submarine life to the uninitiated.
Thanks for the information.