EDUC6164 – Week 6 - The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have a grandson who joined cub scouts.  This organization requires a parent accompany the Cub Scout on all outings.  When my grandson was in second grade, he wanted to go to a spring campout, held in a cabin, for an entire weekend.  I signed him up!  As the only available father figure, I went with him as his accompanying parent!  I am his grandmother!

When we walked into the cabin, sleeping bags in hand, the room became silent.  Everyone stared.  You could have heard a pin drop!  We found two bunks, and unpacked.  My grandson soon found some friends, and ran off to play.  Soon after, the pack master approached me.  He asked if I was staying!  He told me that I could pitch a tent outside if I wanted to.  It was February, and very cold! 

I felt oppressed!  I was a woman in a man’s world.  I felt a significant amount of bias, being requested to camp outside in the cold and hearing comments about my gender.  I felt that if the other parents know of my camping and outdoor skills, and of my love for my grandson, that they would not show prejudice against me!  I was treated as a substandard adult.  The other parents, all men, socialized and worked as a team.  I sat off to myself.

The first evening, I spent time by myself and with my grandson, and tried my best to ignore the other parents.  The next day, I joined in every group activity available.  One man kept an eye on me all day, ready to step in and complain if I were to need help or cause trouble.  His constant vigil made me very uneasy.  The boys seemed to enjoy the presence of a woman.  One child approached me when he fell, and just wanted a hug.  Another boy fell sick, and wanted a mom’s touch.  The boys made me feel welcome.

On the final day, the pack master approached me, and commented that the weekend went pretty good with me along.  He also told me that he was glad that I wasn’t one of those women who constantly nags and complains, needs makeup and mirrors, and wears high heels in the woods.  I explained that his cub pack had some boys with no fathers, and those boys were not being treated equitable, they could not attend campouts.  He said his only issue with women in attendance was that he and the boys had no privacy when changing clothes.  The next campout, I took several dark blue sheets, hung them from the bunk above me, and made myself a small cabin in the lower bunk.  I announced when I was giving the men private time, and retreated into my bunk.  I enjoyed the privacy, and so did the men and boys.

I turned the weekend retreat into an opportunity!  The next campout there were three women!  The other two women were happy to take their boys, who did not have fathers, and therefore had missed out on all previous campouts.  The pack master and the other fathers are now open to women attending the camp outs.  I no longer feel ostracized when attending camp outs.  I no longer hear whispers and insults.  I am no longer given the option of leaving a heated cabin to sleep outside in a cold tent.  I have proved myself through persistence and education, refusing to quit, and showing the men that I could handle the situation.