I started out on Tenor for the simple reason that the one tenor in our very small school would be graduating two years later, no problems with competition. I was a girl, too (now too old to be called a girl), but no one ever made any kind of comment to the effect that girls couldn't play Tenor. I even received stars in the music contests for solos. In college, I played both Tenor and Baritone saxophones in the concert band. Just don't give any credit to people who speak from ignorance and bias about something about which they know nothing. How would your section leader know that "girls can't play tenor," since he obviously isn't one? On the plus side, his sarcasm may have sparked a competitive edge in you, and if you use it constructively, it can make you a very good Tenor Sax player.