Boy Scouts

            I am an archery instructor for the Boy Scouts of America, with the job comes sexual harassment and sexual discrimination because of the stereotyping of what girls should be doing and what girls can be doing.
             When fathers bring their troops to the archery range and I am standing there, a majority of the time they ask where the instructor is. As if I am not qualified to teach boys how to use a bow and arrow. Generally when I say I am the instructor they make a face like oh ok but you are a girl. .
             After half and hour instructions, most fathers still go back and correct their sons. As if they are afraid that I am teaching then to shoot like a girl. Or as if the way I teach them will not make the arrow leave the string. .
             I have a little shanty on the shooting range to keep all the equipment, they the kids and fathers are allowed to go in, if they get cold or break an arrow. After the session is done I have to clean up and count the broken arrows. I sometimes find the phone numbers of the troop leaders and some times the older scouts. Even though it is a harmless gesture it is still a blow to my reputation as a serious instructor. It does make me feel like I was put in charge of the range for eye candy. To get more dads to bring their sons, and troop to the archery range. .
             Yes I am a girl, and yes I don't try to be a tomboy. But that does not mean that I have not gone through the training and worked very hard to hold the position of head archery instructor. Because of the stereotyping of girls I do have to work twice as hard to prove my self as professional and serious when I go to work. .