My Personal Battle with Gender Discrimination

My Personal battle with Gender Discrimination

You know that feeling. When you can feel the blood gathering in your cheeks, your clammy fists clench, and your limbs tingle, wanting to spring out and smash something. Then you yell, whine, complain to anyone who will listen. Their only condolence is, “boys will be boys”.

Every year in August, my family on my mom’s side gathers at my aunt and uncle’s house for a family reunion. They own a huge portion of land in the heart of Missouri containing several ponds, a creek, a golf course and lots of camping area. The property is a haven for the outdoorsman, which seems to inspire testosterone in my uncles, male cousins, and even my father.

I have been a tomboy since I could walk; I always preferred building forts outside to playing with Barbies. I played soccer instead of volleyball, I bathed in a creek instead of the bathtub, and I rode my bike more than I walked. I HATED wearing dresses and often preferred running around in the dirty jeans and an oversized tee-shirt. I was deemed “the weird kid” in elementary school. As a child, my feisty nature compelled me to argue for respect and attention from the adults in my boy-favoring family. My grandmother especially favored my male cousins over the female cousins; however, my constant spirit and determination won my Grandmother’s attention and honor of being her favorite grandchild.

We have several traditions at the Schulz family reunion including tractor rides, storytelling, and card tournaments. Then, there were the traditions that I fought: the men’s fishing trips, golf, and horseshoe tournaments while the women make dinner. After the daylong events, the men would arrive back to the campsite, eat the prepared food, and go back to their previous activities while the women cleaned up and did the dishes. Out of the four days, the men made possibly one meal. I brought this up to my mom, and she replied by saying “If we didn’t do it, the men never would.”

Being a very “boyish” girl, I always wanted to go on the fishing trips. What could be more fun than riding a mile on a trailer pulled by a tractor down a giant hill on a snake infested path to a creek filled with bass, frogs and other Missouri natives? One time, I got the courage to ask my dad if I could go on the fishing tr...

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...rpillars out of his trees when the boys wouldn’t.

I have dealt with gender discrimination all of my life. Granted it has always been very minor cases, but it still weakens my spirit. I want to feel like I can do anything I dream, but sometimes people don’t take me seriously because I am a girl. That is why I have been on a conquest to impress and gain the respect of the people in my family who haven’t taken me seriously. I have become a very dedicated skier and soccer player not only because I love the sports, but also because I wish to advance in a male-dominated sport. When I ski or play soccer with my male cousins, they always try to point out my mistakes rather than my talent, even though I am much better than them. It seems like a hopeless goal. No matter how talented I become, I don’t receive their compliments because I am a girl.

I hate being discluded from the activities that I love because of my gender. I hate being told that I can’t possibly do something because I am a girl. I also hate the fact that no matter how much I accomplish, my accomplishments aren’t as important because I was born a girl. Someday, I will show them that I can do anything they can do, better.