Overcoming The Girl Tutor Complex: Gender Differences in the Writing Center

Before beginning my job as a tutor at Western Kentucky University’s Writing Center, I worried about issues that I would later learn were common to first-time tutors: Would I have the ability and the knowledge to help students with their writing? I knew that writing centers typically employed graduate students, and being an undergraduate, I was reasonably uncertain of my capabilities. I had minimal experience tutoring peers, let alone ESL students. Despite my insecurities, I quickly found that students were generally willing to take my advice and work with me. Clearly, by making a session a collaborative effort, both the student and I experience mutual learning. Looking back, I've realized that my co-workers had similar concerns and that we were learning together. However, despite all of us being “in the same boat,” there was one dividing factor between us–gender.