by Betsy Haynes
Katie pointed to a letter in the Dear Bob column. "The officials wouldn't let her, that's who. They said she could get hurt, and Bob agrees with them."
"Well, she could," agreed Beth.
"That's not the point," Katie protested. "Anyone who plays can get hurt. If she's good enough, they ought to let her do it. Girls play on baseball teams. I'm going to write Dear Bob and tell him what I think of him. I don't know why they let a man write this column anyway. Mostly girls read the magazine."
Christie joined in. "But football's different. It's a contact sport."
"Maybe it is, but Geena McNatt could play on a football team and do real well, if she wanted to," said Katie.
"I have to agree with you about that," said Jana, giggling. "The only reason they might not let Geena play on Wacko's team is she could hurt someone else."
"What's the big difference?" asked Melanie. "There are lots of other things she can do. Girl things."
"Don't you see?" Katie complained. "She doesn't want to do those other things. That's the big difference. That's the trouble with everybody. They say girls can do some things, but they can't do others. I don't want anyone telling me what I can or can't do."
"Well, that wouldn't happen at Wacko," said Christie. "Girls can do anything they want there."
"Hey, if you want to try out for the football team next fall, go ahead," said Beth. "I'll bet they'd let you, but I wouldn't want Geena McNatt's brother Max leaving his footprints all over me."
Katie flipped the magazine closed. "That's the trouble with everyone. They don't realize how much bias there is, even at our school. I bet Elizabeth Cady Stanton wouldn't let them get away with not letting her daughter play football."
Jana looked puzzled. "Who's Elizabeth Cady Stanton?" she asked.
"See!" Katie retorted. "Do any of the rest of you know who she is?" The others shook their heads.
Katie rolled her eyes. "She was only the person who started the whole women's movement, that's all. If it wasn't for her, women probably still wouldn't be able to vote."
"Look," said Beth. "When you run into something that you can't do because you're a girl, let me know. I'll help you protest. But I'm not going to get bent all out of shape over a letter to Bob."
Frustrated, Katie looked at her friends. They all seemed so unconcerned. Couldn't they recognize bias against females when they saw it?
Katie gets her chance to defend women's rights a lot sooner than she expects. Only her efforts backfire, and she finds herself in trouble with a lot of people, including Tony Calcaterra, the other girls in Wakeman Junior High, and the school principal. But Katie also gets unexpected help from someone from a long time ago in The Fabulous Five #19: The Boys-Only Club.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Betsy Haynes, the daughter of a former newswoman, began scribbling poetry and short stories as soon as she learned to write. A serious writing career, however, had to wait until after her marriage and the arrival of her two children. But that early practice must have paid off, for within three months Mrs. Haynes had sold her first story. In addition to a number of magazine short stories and the Taffy Sinclair series, Mrs. Haynes is also the author of The Great Mom Swap and its sequel, The Great Boyfriend Trap. She lives in Colleyville, Texas, with her husband, who is also an author.
Table of Contents
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
