I.
Being a female sound tech in the scene fucking sucks at first. No, really, it does. For a lot of reasons.
Bob discovers very quickly that most people are douchebags. Guys will take one look at her and reach for their zippers, women will call her a slut and a whore because she's always hanging out with men, and the worst of the lot will pretend they never did any of that and then come up to Bob with big fake smiles when they want something from her.
II.
Dating within the scene is a messy thing for Bob. A lot of guys have a hard time dealing with the fact that Bob's job, and really her life, involves being around a lot of other men. There's jealousy, possessiveness, and other shitty behavior.
For a while Bob decides to date women. She figures it's easier and smarter, a way to keep herself out of the mess of sex drama in the scene, but doesn't anticipate that a) there's a fucking stunning lack of bi or gay women in said scene, and b) she actually doesn't like pussy.
III.
It gets better after a while. Or, no, it stays the same, but Bob spends some time coming to terms with herself after the whole failure at being anything but straight. She loves what she does, she wants to keep doing it, and so she gets the fuck over the part of her that is overcompensating for her years as a slightly chubby outcast.
Bob switches out her short skirts, low-cut tops and shit-kicker boots for band t-shirts, black cargo pants, and flat-heeled Docs. The t-shirts are form fitting, the pants hug her ass and the boots have a set of lyrics written on them in silver marker by the lyricist of a promising band that broke up before she even met him. She thinks it's a nice safe middle ground.
Dating becomes a rare thing and even casual sex is infrequent. Bob knows that glaring men at her shoulder when she's running a board, or rumors of who she's fucked at some party, are just going to make things more difficult for her in the long run.
IV.
If it's a sacrifice then it doesn't feel like one, not when it works. She gets more gigs, avoids the sleaze, and figures out that even the douchebags (of either gender) have more to them than just their doucheness. More importantly, Bob makes a name for herself that has nothing to do with shock that she runs a board and has, like, tits.
V.
Even once Bob earns respect in the scene, learns how to find the decent people among the throngs of assholes, she never forgets that she is one of the few women in a room at any given time.
She gets her own drinks from the bar, even if someone else insists on paying, and doesn't leave them unattended. She cuts herself off before she makes it beyond buzzed and always says no to anything harder except weed that she herself has purchased and rolled. She makes her own way to parties, bars and venues as often as possible so that she doesn't have to rely on someone else to get her home or spend the night in some stranger's apartment. She's wary of gestures of friendship for as long as it takes to examine the situation closely for hidden agendas.
And she's always armed. Just in case.
VI.
It's not any better or worse once Bob starts touring. It's just different.
.End
Story Notes:
This was initially posted as an untitled snippet in my LJ but has since been expanded.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Written at the request of go_gentle on LJ.