This week while attending a conference, I was reminded of another reason why sexist remarks matter. A speaker reminded us of several studies that have documented the unequal treatment that judges and prosecutors mete out to girls who commit status offenses (acts that are not offenses when committed by an adult, like running away from home, truancy from school, or curfew violations). That is, girls who commit status offenses are treated more harshly than boys who commit the same offenses.
One study found that girls are twice as likely as boys to be detained for these offenses, with detention lasting five times longer than for boys. And the more time these girls spend in juvenile detention for status offenses, the greater the likelihood that they’ll get involved in real crime later. The speaker noted that criminologists who study the issue have concluded that judges and police treat girls more harshly because they consider status offenses like running away as more normal for boys and deviant for girls, and therefore more deserving of punishment.
In other words, the roots of our unequal treatment of girls are gender-based expectations that are shaped by how we talk about girls and boys. Here then is another reason to pay attention—and counter—the seemingly innocent comments we hear that reflect assumptions about both young people and adults (we previously addressed some of these here). Words matter—words shape people’s attitudes, and those in turn affect the real decisions made by people who have in their hands the power to alter girls’ lives for good or ill.
Steve
