When I started into the field of study that is speech pathology, I quickly learned that I was a minority. The speech profession is probably at least 95% female, if not more. This does not bother me, really, and by now I've gotten used to being the only guy. Take this semester, for instance. In my class of about 20 students (give or take 1 or 2), I'm the only man there.
Why this is good:
- I'm easily noticed. I don't exactly blend in, so to speak. This means that everyone knows who I am, knows my name, and knows a good deal about me, all without my having absolutely no idea who some of these people are.
Why this is not good:
- I'm easily noticed. I don't exactly blend in, so to speak. This means that everyone knows who I am, knows my name, and knows a good deal about me, all without my having absolutely no idea who some of these people are.
Here's a quote I often hear, and only from other guys:
- College Guy: "Dude, I've seen those speech girls, they're all incredibly hot!"
- Post-College Guy: "Yeah, I dated a speech major when I was in school. It was great. Good choice of major!"
Most people, at least those who tell me this, either don't know I'm gay or would rather not consider that option.
Anyway, the male:female ratio has never much concerned me. I love my field of study, and am perfectly content with everything as is. However, sometimes things happen that catch me off guard, and remind me just how alone I sometimes am in the field. I offer the following anecdote:
I'm in class last night. It's a 3-hour long class, and even though it's going well, I'm eager for a break because, to use the girls' phrase, "I really have to pee!" When the teacher calls for a break, it's all I can do to keep from leaping over people in class and then running through the building to get to the restroom as fast as possible.
I arrive, and suddenly everything is better. The world is not going to end after all. I open the door to the men's room, and what should I see but a fellow classmate inside, washing her hands. She looked at me, completely calm, and said, "Oh hi. I just popped in here because our teacher is sick and so I didn't want to chance using the women's restroom."
What amazes me is not that she was in the bathroom so much as it was that she was so completely calm about it, as if this sort of thing is nothing out of the ordinary, in fact it is quite common. So now I know, I guess. Even with the few men I encounter in this field, I really am alone. Oy vay.