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"Gender, and the First Amendment: Females More Interested in Joining School Media,
But Also Less Supportive of Press Rights"

“Michael Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter in "What Americans Know About Politics and Why it Matter" (1996, Yale University Press) note the gender difference on pages 221-222 in knowledge of courts and civil liberties.  This research certainly aligns with my experience and that of my colleagues.

My colleagues and I (former teachers) have found the boys to be more interested than girls in their rights, i.e. asserting their rights, arguing about their rights, exercising their rights.  

Why are the boys different from the girls in this regard?   We do not know.”

Victoria Hughes
President
Bill of Rights Institute
Arlington, Va.

"Free speech isn't some romantic notion to be viewed from afar.  If females fail to appreciate the First Amendment up close, the subtext is that we have misunderstood what it takes to foster a deep appreciation in all our students.  

These numbers remind us that running student publications alone is not enough.  Schools must redouble their efforts to develop focused curricula that empower every student, particularly those who have been historically undervalued."

Stephen Chiger
Second Vice President
Garden State Scholastic Press Association
Teacher/ Adviser
Jersey City, NJ



“I did not notice a significant difference between male and females students in regard to their knowledge of the First Amendment and their rights under that amendment. Most were almost wholly ignorant of the First Amendment and its protections.

“There was a significant difference between the genders when it came to journalism enrollment. It was not unusual to have a 3-1 disparity between female and male staff members on student publications I advised.

I attribute this to more comfort and facility with writing on the part of female students. They tend to read and write more in adolescence and do not see writing as a challenge. I believe that writing is not seen as a particular "guy thing" by many adolescent males. There is certainly not the same reinforcement and attention they receive from participating in sports in journalism from their peers.

Once we began offering radio as a course I noticed the radio classes were almost mirror opposites of the newspaper and magazine classes, males predominated in radio. The verbal seemed to be more of an attraction to the male students.”

Steve O'Donaghue
High School
Media Consultant
San Francisco, Calif.



“For the most part, I have found that girls are still more compliant than boys when it comes to “getting in trouble” and are less likely to agitate the school administration or any other authority for that matter.

I am not sure I have seen a lack of knowledge of the First Amendment on the part of girls, just a lack of interest in exercising those rights.

As far as the gender gap in enrollment, I have always had more boys in newspaper and more girls in yearbook. I have always attributed this disparity as a need for immediate results for the boys and the patience girls tend to have for longer term projects. I suppose this could also translate into more opportunities for the newspaper staff to exercise First Amendment Rights.”

Betsy Ahlersmeyer
Teacher/ Adviser
Burris High School
Muncie, Ind.

“I feel it’s an area we need to explore.  Girls tend to be more socialized toward the quiet, passive learners, whereas the boys are the aggressive go-getters of the classroom. And we see that in the field of journalism—are the girls going to pursue the stories as aggressively as the boys might?Even if you examine commercials that target children for toys, many times you will find mothers along with the daughters, with the Barbie dolls and baby dolls, we are conditioning them toward a lifestyle of being a family focus but not necessarily toward a business executive. Little boys are playing with their fathers, it’s rumble tumble and more aggressive.”

Carolyn Wagner
Teacher
Lake Zurich High School
Lake Zurich, Ill.

“(At our school on a Native American reservation) we are a matriarchal society, so I don’t see the girls as being the ones that are quiet about their rights to speak, petition, things like that, the girls are actually at the forefront and the boys tend to be on the quiet side. When my girls get a hold of stories, they are a lot more willing to dig and to tip the apple cart than the boys are.”Lori Norton Teacher Red Mesa High School Red Mesa, Ariz.“We really care about the First Amendment and we’re always careful to obey the rules, but we always want to make full use of the First Amendment as well. We do that by contacting the SPLC, we talk to other journalism advisers, other school newspapers.  I don’t really see a difference between boys and girls (here)…as a journalist, you should feel strongly about the First Amendment no matter who you are, no matter what gender you are.”

Jason Kim
Student
Sunny Hills High School
lFullerton, Calif.

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