I think there are some obvious reasons why thats true.

My brother was pretty good at chess and won some trophies on the school team so I tried to join. (he told me when he joined he didn't even know how to play.)

This ended up being one of the most explicit experiences with sexism in my life! The first time I showed up they pretended I was in the wrong place. "This isn't the chess club it's the Anime club."

I told the advisor who now resented me for making him come to the meetings. 1/

So, now they couldn't get me to leave by lying ... no one would play against me since "you don't have a rating its a wast of time"

I managed to get a few games out of the advisor (who clearly wanted to be grading papers) unlike my brother I came to the club already knowing the game.

On the third meeting they relented and they had what I learned later was their best player go against me. Of course I lost very quickly and badly!

"You see there's no point in your being here."

2/

Looking back I can recognize that I was "ruining" their club in a way they couldn't articulate. Because not everyone there was already skilled and with time... I probably would have beat one of the weaker players-- and this just couldn't be allowed to happen.

That's how I read it.

I remember calling my brother at college and asking "did the chess club haze you or anything?" and he was so confused.

I tried out for the fall play and when I got cast I forgot all about those guys. 3/

Well, mostly forgot about them. They were the "hardcore STEM crew" so I kept popping up wherever they did.

I remember riding with one of their dads down to the state science fair finals. Seeing them at math competitions.

I think if they didn't have some kind of masculinity fear complex we could have been really great friends.

OH WELL sucks for them.

4/4