The Effects of Adultification in Schools and the Juvenile Justice Systems Kayla Perez
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hen adults view children as miniature adults, these ideologies influence how adults punish children. Black girls are often viewed as more mature, strong, and conscious of their actions (Morris, 2007). This phenomenon is called adultification bias. Adultification bias disproportionately affects Black girls in school as well as within the juvenile justice system. This ideology stems from racism and stereotypes society has directed toward young Black girls (Epstein et al., 2017). Historically, Black children were treated as chattel and forced to work as young as two years old and beaten if they showed any child-like behaviors during the time of slavery (Dumas & Nelson, 2016). Stereotypes of Black girls also developed during slavery, such as being mature, less innocent, and oversexualized. Stereotypes of Black girls developed during this period and have carried over to current media representations, such as being mature, less innocent, and oversexualized. Three central stereotypes of Black women developed in particular, including the concepts of Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire. According to West (1995), a Mammy was an image of an overweight Black woman but was a nurturer. Mammy’s represented an asexual being, a low-income Black woman that nurtured the family she worked for (West, 1995). The term Jezebel developed during slavery when white slave owners had complete control over Black women’s bodies, including their sexuality and reproduction (West, 1995). Jezebel represented a seductive and hypersexual Black woman (West, 1995). In the 1940’s the media developed another stereotypical image of a Black woman as loud and assertive; the Sapphire (West, 1995). These three stereotypes of Black women still exist across media today, and Black girls are still being affected by these images. Adults, including teachers in school settings, may generalize these stereotypical images and interpret Black girls’ behaviors as not aligning with the white femininity and subsequently respond more harshly to these students’ identities (Epstein et al., 2017), thus feeding into adultification bias.
Adultification in School Settings Adultification can be defined in two ways: children are put in situations and must act mature, and another is how adults view children due to stereotypes (Epstein et al., 2017). Adultification can take place in the education system, where all children should be protected. Instead, teachers have a predisposed thought of their Black female students. Due to this, Black girls have a different experience in school compared to their peers. Black girls experience an increase in school punishments such as detentions, expulsions, suspensions and are put on behavior conduct lists. One student found that fourteen percent of black girls were suspended at higher rates than other girls and boys (Watson, 2016). Black girls make up for one out of three school-related arrests and only makeup 26 percent of the school population nationwide (Watson, 2016). The rate of school punishments may be influenced by adultification bias by the staff at the school. In research from Morris (2007), teachers described Black girls as “loudies’’ and not ladies. Black girls who were outspoken were viewed as being assertive and controlling. Teachers perceived black girls’ behaviors, such as being loud and standing up for themselves, as less feminine because their behaviors do not align with the basic feminine traits such as passive and submissive (Blake et al., 2010). Children may be loud and defensive in school. Still, teachers view it as a race issue for Black girls as the stereotype of being loud when outspoken aligns with negative behavior. When Black girls voice their opinions in school, they are deemed as trouble, loud, and impolite (Morris, 2007). Morris (2007) found that teachers also viewed Black girls as being sexually mature. A study done by Epstein et al. (2017) found that Black girls were twice as likely as their white female peers to have a dress code infraction. Dress code infractions include wearing scandalous outfits, but if the teachers have this predisposed thought on Black girls being sexually mature, they will view their outfits as indecent. Teachers may be using their bias to write referrals on Black girls, which are then used as a tool to punish Black girls based on stereotypes. stereotypes.
