Originally Posted by sallylou

I grew up in the South and I've never fit the role of a good Southern belle. Being labeled a "smart girl" was social death. If only I would have been the quiet, subservient girl that my family wanted... *sigh*

I'm also old enough to remember having to check the temperature to see if I was allowed to wear pants instead of a dress to school that day, nurse kits instead of doctor kits for girls because girls are nurses only, etc.

You're younger than I am, dreama, and you live in a different country. I hope that your experiences were different. It may also be that discrimination against you for being disabled was worse than any other form discrimination. No matter what the basis for the discrimination, it sucks not to be treated as an individual with her own goals and strengths.