Evening star., 1935-06-06
Pertinent Discussion Along Lines of Interest in the Wos

OF 10. MY parents nave JOlO
me that I cannot play ball
~ this Summer. The only rea-
son they give for forbidding
me to indulge In this, which is my
favorite sport, is that I am a girl. I
am never permitted to go places, while
my brother, who Is only year older
than I am, goes wherever he pleases.
Every Monday we have a club sOciable.
II I come in later than 10 I have TO
stay in for two whole weeks. while my
younger brothers never get a bawltng
out even If they come in at 1890.
But they are boys.
1 am good looking and would be
popular II my father and mother did
not think that I should be kept at
home all the time because I am
girl. Why wasn't I born a boy2
MAIDIE.
Answer-Millions of other women
who have felt themselves hampered
at every step by their sex have asked
that same question, Maidie. but none
Of them has ever gotten an answer
that helped any.
FOR If you are born a girl, you are
girl, and you are simply out of
luck AS long as you live there will
be millions of things that you want
TO do and can't do for no other reason
than that you are a woman And
there will be other millions of things
that you won't want to do and that
you will have TO do, just for the same
reason. You are a woman.
This is mans world and the men
get all the best Of it, and that is a
fact that cannot be altered. The only
thing that women can do is Just sc-
cept it and not wear themselves out
in rebellion against il. They are al
ways trying to and they are always
beaten in the end, because you can't
out-smart Nature.
WHEN women go into mems occu-
pations We make a great to-do
about II. but even when they are first
rate stevedOreS or steeple climbers for
women, they are still second-raters as
men. They are like what johnson
said about the dancing dog. The
wonder was not that the dog danced
so well but that il danced At all"
You hear Of woman ball pitchers. but
there are no female Babe Ruths And
probably if you would admit the truth.
your small brother is a better ball
player than you are
So. If you want to make a success
of YOUR life. Just give up deplOring the
fact that you were not born a boy and
make the most of yourself as girl.
There is sound sense in the old adage
that advises us N stick to our lasts.
and you will find that the women who
have achieved most in the world are
those who capitalized their sex and
worked along the lines of their heredi-
tary aptitudes.
THE most famous actresses are those
who interpret feminine roles: the
most popular woman writer's are those
who reflect the women's point Of view;
the business women who make the
most money are those who keep board
ing houses and beauty shops and who
are designers and buyers of vomen's
and children's clothes.
But restricted as womens oppor-
tunities are and hampered as they are
socially. you can still thank God that
YOU belong to this generation. in which
girls have far more freedom and far
greater opportunities than they ever
had before.
lust think. when vour grandmother
was girl she was never allowed
In 60 out without a chaperon, or to
talk To a boy unless mamma was in
earshot. There were no athletic
games No outdoor sports No free
companionship between girls and boys
as there is now. No gainful occupa-
tions open 10 girl Nothing she
could look forward 10 except marriage
and settling down even more than she
was already settled.
But now YOU have thousand amuSe-
ments. q thousand opportunities to do
things even if YOU CART do all that
boys do. Your father and mother are
quite right to keep on eye upon you
though I don't see any reason why
they shouldn't let you play ball if the
other girls in your community do. but
they are wrong in not giving you a
reasonable amount of liberty and
letting you have enough fun to keep
you from envying your brothers.
DOROTHY DIX.
YEAR DOROTHY DIx-we are
group Of girls from the ages of
Is to 1s who would like to know If
boys prefer baby talk to drawl. How
can a girl tell If boy likes her If he
doesn't say so? We would like to
know. S. V. P.
AnsWer-I never saw boy who
liked either baby talk or a drawl be-
cause either one is an aIectation, and
If there is anything tl,at boy can't
stand 1t Is put-on.
THE greatest mistake that a girl ever
makes is when she poses as being
something different from what she is.