Photography Group and what it has taught me about women

I'm a member of a photography group. It's very casual and accepting. You simply post a photo every day. You can also ask for feedback on your photos or ask for photography tips. Photography is a hobby for me and I joined the group because I wanted to improve my photography skills. When I first joined the group, I had little expectations about cultivating any kind of friendships with the women in the group ( besides the woman who had invited me into the group). I don't like women as a group. I know it sounds biased but its true. I view or rather viewed women as either competition to earn the affection of men or as adversaries. I associated women with the mean girls in high school who always ridiculed me. Then I saw that most of the pictures posted were mostly of the women's children and I thought oh boy, here's a group of women that will look down on me for not having kids. I even posted a few pictures of a friend's daughter who resembles me so that I wouldn't get ousted from the group. As the group progressed, my feelings about the group changed. I realized that the women in the group were supportive. They always offered positive comments and were more than willing to offer feedback and assistance with photography questions. From this group, I came to realize that dynamics between women can be positive. They don't need to be competitive. I came to realize that photography is about being genuine, it's about providing honest documentation of your life and putting yourself out there. I realized that a leader, like this group's leader, can engineer things so that women band together rather than work to beat each other out.