Watch out

February 1, 2017 at 8:41 am (Uncategorized)

I  am white. I  am upper  middle class.  I  am  a woman ‘of a certain age’.  The first two things put me in a protective  bubble.  The third puts  me in  the corner.  I can be ignored.

I was 13 or 14 when I first learned  the power of not counting.  Another girl and I joined a town soccer team.   Back when  high schools aged teams were just starting to be mixed.  After  the first practice, my  friend never showed up again.  I  stuck it out.  It  was really  awkward.  I  was uncomfortable.   I  hated practice drills.  But I  really  liked playing  soccer games.  I  was a halfback.  I knew  what the rules were and where I  was supposed to be (so rare for me at  that age) .

One game I went offsides.  Not  on purpose,  but it happened.  One of  the boys on  the other team pointed this out to  the ref.  The ref: She’s a girl, she probably  doesn’t know  the rules.

I  was never a great, or even good, soccer player.  I understood that part of sports was pushing the rules.  But my soccer playing changed.  I  was a girl , I didn’t count and I could flout  the rules.

It wasn’t the only time.

So that overweight, sometimes awkward, grey-haired woman  over  there?   Might be more dangerous  than  you  think.