When I was a young gal, I played a lot of sports. I started out with the usual t-ball, then soccer (which I recall regularly trying to get out of because I hated getting kicked in the stomach all the time by the other players), then baseball (on a boys team...there was only one other girl on the team with me). I remember that being short-lived, because I moved over to softball. I enjoyed softball, and I enjoyed the fact that my dad frequently was the coach for my teams each year. It was nice bonding time with him, it taught me the value of team-manship, working hard, and competition at a healthy, recreational level. It also taught me to be loyal.
I recall a time in the third grade, where after a game that we had lost, one of my team members took it pretty hard and had a good cry afterwards. I remember comforting her, and then we held hands and walked back to the dugout together. Someone on the other team cried out "Ew you are so gay!". I didn't know what that word meant, since I was only 8 or 9, and no one had ever explained that to me. So I asked, "what is gay?" to the offender. She proclaimed that it was when two girls loved each other. To that I replied, "what's wrong with that?", and walked away, still holding the hand of my friend.
Discrimination is not inherent, it is learned. I am thankful that I had parents that did not teach me to hate.
