My resume is long. I have filled my high school experience with all kinds of activities. Show Choir, Student Senate, Mock Trial, Dance Marathon, Student Ambassadors, Journalism, Theater. All of those things are very different from each other, but I have seen a pattern in each one. The boy soloists at show choir competitions receive more attention, more cheer. The boy lawyers in mock trial are objected at a lot less by the opposing team than me and my other women lawyers. During a show choir competition, the different groups you compete against can watch your performances. Traditionally, after a soloist sings, the audience cheers. But there is a noticeable difference between how the audience reacts to male soloists vs. female soloists. I will hear a girl singer hit an E flat in her belt, while also still dancing, and receive some cheer from the audience. But if a boy does a simple riff while standing still, the gets joyous applause. That may seem like a frivolous example, but it is evident to me an my friends that there is a difference. The point that I am trying to make is that sexism doesn’t just exist in the classrooms. It bleeds into everything around me, even the activities I love to do. It’s disappointing that that’s how it is, but that is the reality.
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