Mad Mom Makes a Difference

​Mad Mom Makes A Difference; by Gayle Cosmaz
 
As 1960’s teenager enrolled in a patriarchal controlled high school in a rural village, I was forbidden to take what was considered a boy’s class only. I wanted to enroll in drafting class instead of home economics and was denied, I was told by the principal that drafting was for boys and home economic was for girls. Later that year I retaliated by building a giant pink birth control pill snow sculptor with the woman’s symbol on top. I created it on the front lawn of the high school just outside the principles window. Back in those days this was considered an outrageous action.
 
Many decades later after we moved to a new area, my daughter wanted to be included in what was considered a boy’s sport.  I was triggered when this small patriarchal rural high school, denied her participation. This mom immediately acted. I faced down that wrestling coach, bringing to his attention that my daughter was already a metal winning athlete and it was against Canadian law to exclude her.
 
She proved her athletic worth by being the only one in 20 years on the boys’ team to continuously bring home the metals for the next four year. She became the nightly dinner table conversation as the coaches praised her to his own 2 wrestling sons. When she won the right to compete in the Nationals she was denied again, this time for being too bit for her age, there was no weight class for her age group. I wrote a powerful letter not only the headquarters of the Canadian Wrestling Association, also to the Olympics in Switzerland, a few years later women’s wrestling was in the program. One of the coaches’ sons grew up to be a high school wrestling coach who includes girls on his team.