Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

If someone tells you that you can’t be good at something just because of your gender, then they’re wrong. While there are definitely challenges when a particular sport or hobby is dominated by one particular sex, it doesn’t mean you can’t do it if you put your mind to it.

There are some sports, hobbies and jobs that people often see as being “for” one gender or another. Football is not just for boys and ballet is not just for girls – hobbies like these have an image problem because they are dominated by one gender, and skateboarding is another good example. It doesn’t need to be this way though.

If you want to skateboard then you should absolutely do it. I can tell it’s daunting for you because you feel like more eyes will be watching you – and perhaps you’re worried people are hoping you will fail. That may not actually turn out to be the truth. Even if you’re right and people are staring at you, that’s just more people whose mind you can change.

It takes a lot of courage to do something like this, but you’ll probably find that if you can do it with confidence then you’ll get respect from a lot of people. The way that you act can often define how others act towards you – if you think and act like you shouldn’t be skating then it’s easier for people to think that too.

Try imagining a few years from now, when you can look back at how you’ve spent your time. If you don’t ever try skateboarding then you’ll never know  what could have been. You may regret letting other people’s opinions hold you back.

Check out our message boards where other people share their hobbies and interests. You could post something too if you like.

You can also talk to a counsellor at any time.

I hope that helps.
Sam