Growing up female

[Waiting For Everyman]

61. I played on the state all-star softball team (early 1960s) but wasn't allowed to play baseball.

Because it was "too dangerous for a girl". There was no future for any girl in sports, really, so I gave it all up in high school. I won an athletic letter in junior high in one year. It was set up to take 3 years for most boys to win one. Only two other girls in the history of the school had done it, and both in 3 years. Three boys in the school's history (20 years) had done it in one year.

There weren't even athletic scholarships for girls in my area. Fortunately I got an academic scholarship anyway though.

When I was in high school there were very few accepted occupations for women: teacher, nurse, clerical work, stewardess or waitress. It was next to impossible to find a job anywhere at all if under 18. Just babysitting. There was no such thing as women getting credit, much less a mortgage - that was unimaginable.

People today sometimes forget that boomer women were not trained or prepared for the world we're in. The ground has been constantly changing beneath our feet in my lifetime. The opportunities are awesome, but it has been hard to keep up with in real time as it happened - especially the expections of people. It hasn't all been so easy as it might seem.