People pull me out of mosh pits because they assume I don't want to be there

I've been going to shows since I was 13. For those of you who don't know me, I've been 5 feet tall and 108 lbs since I was 13. As you might be able to tell from my size, I was very intimidated by mosh pits for the longest time. It always seemed like a male-dominated part of shows, so I would just stand at the edges of the crowd and enjoy the music. It wasn't until I was 19 that I realized moshing was for girls, too thanks to a feminist punk band from Iowa City called Slut River (https://slutriver.bandcamp.com/) when they came to Urbana for a house show. The lead singer pointed out the fact that girls tend to avoid violent mosh pits and it makes for a non-inclusive environment at shows. She ended up getting all the girls at the show into the pit.So anyways, I decided maybe I should start reviewing mosh pits and hopefully get some more girls in the pit. Parquet Courts, Thalia Hall, 2/16/16Chicago pits are always more violent than Urbana pits. I try to not let that stop me from getting right there in the middle. This show was no exception. I clearly don't look like I belong in a mosh pit, so a few people outside of the pit actually grabbed my arm to pull me out, thinking that somehow I got dragged in there and needed their help getting out. Thanks, but no thanks. Believe it or not, this happens so often that I'm used to it by now. Another thing that happens so often that I'm used to it is getting elbowed in the face. I definitely busted my lip open a little at this show. I was in and out of this pit pretty frequently throughout the show. It turned into one of those open circle pits a few times, which I'm not the biggest fan of. I go flying across this big open space, which as you can imagine can get pretty dangerous. They ended up closing with Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth, a pretty anti-climactic song to close with, but I forgave them since they're one of my favorite bands. Black Lips, Outside the Empty Bottle, 2/27/16Another Chicago pit. I was holding up pretty well for the majority of the show, but there was one guy there who pretty much took over the whole pit by himself. To give you some context as to why he was basically the only one in the pit, a lot of people at the show referred to him as "a wrecking ball" of a person. Huge dude. Nothing could stop this guy from moving. People would run into him and bounce off his body straight out of the pit while he remained unphased. Naturally, I figured I might die if I stayed in there, so I stuck to the margins. I did get back in there for their last song, Bad Kids, since it's one of my favorite songs. Got elbowed in the face, but I think it was worth it. Twin Peaks, The Accord, 3/9/16Back in Champaign-Urbana. Now this was a great pit. Pretty much no breaks from moshing for the entire show. Basically every muscle in my body was sore for the next few days after this. I'm not sure how it is for "normal sized" people, but being really small in a pit takes a lot of muscle. Most of it is arm strength in an attempt to protect my face. It's a good workout. Anyways, I experienced something new in this pit. Instead of people trying to get me out of the pit, one guy grabbed my hips and tried to "protect" me while inside the pit. It really annoyed me at first, but then I realized that I could do what I always want to do when a guy grabs my hips in any other setting; violently shove him off of me. I'm sorry I don't have pictures of these shows to share with you all, but I get a little preoccupied once the show starts. I'll be back with some more reviews in a few weeks. It might not seem like it, but a mosh pit has etiquette. If someone's on the ground, the pit stops and makes sure they get up safely, so that they don't get trampled, so ladies, let's take over those mosh pits. If I can do it, so can you.