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

(Terry Nelson, the journalism teacher and adviser at Muncie Central High School, has been active in scholastic journalism and First Amendment circles since the late 1970s.  Nelson is a former Dow Jones Newspaper Fund teacher of the year. She is an adjunct, participating in training and development programs, for the J-Ideas program at Ball State University, also in Muncie. Here, she shares her professional perspective on the Knight white paper on gender.)

By Terry Nelson
Muncie Central High School

It may be the traditional cultural role that the past generations of females have been taught either actively or through observation that women are more passive and more of a peacemaker than their male counterparts. 

If this is true, those gender roles would explain why the would not favor flag burning as a legal choice of expression.

In my own school situation at Muncie Central, the boys tend to gravitate to newspaper publication staffs, and my girls to yearbook publications staffs.

Currently, on my staff of 24 high school newspaper staffers, only seven are female  - four are photographers and only three are reporters. The heavy turnout of male staff members began happening years ago when the student newspaper started covering harder-hitting, more-controversial stories. The newspaper kids had to be emotionally a little tougher to handle the criticism from administration members over some of the stories, perhaps giving the publication a "macho" image. 

And although I am female as their adviser, the bulk of my newspaper staffs since that time are male, supporting the Knight Foundation's findings that there may be a gender difference when it comes to knowledge and support of the First Amendment.

In more formal testing situations, female journalism students tend to fare better on their tests, including tests over the First Amendment and law and ethics. However in practice, the reverse is true.

I also find it interesting that many of today's high school females have more maternal and conservative ambitions than their mothers did a generation ago. Whereas my generation delved into non-traditional college majors and prided themselves on entering the traditionally male dominated job arenas: attorneys, accountants, doctors, CEOs, etc., our daughters now dream of getting married (following graduation from some sort of college study, which they understand they should get), having children, and hopefully marrying well enough to stay home and raise their children.

Perhaps it's natural, or a condition that each generation values the opposite of what their parents valued. Both of my parents smoked, none of my five brothers or sisters smoked, ALL of our children smoke (sometimes WITH their grandparents!)

I'm not sure if they actually know less information about the First Amendment, or that they are predisposed to make ethical choices that are more traditional and safe.

During the first decade of teaching journalism, my publications staffs were ruled by female numbers. In the past decade of my teaching career, publications staffs, the newspaper, in particular, have been dominated by male numbers.

This is, in part, due to the ability of the adviser to attract or recruit certain individuals. Sometimes male teachers (who are perceived to be cool) attract more female students, whereas female teachers may attract more male students.

In high school, a boy often is more interested in choosing a sport in which to become involved because he is interested in becoming a "man," whereas a female may not have as many experiences or role models in the athletic arena, and have more time for more academic pursuits. I think with laws created to eliminate gender bias in sports offerings, all of that cultural choice differences are beginning to dissolve.

Another factor that may be considered, is that like tends to attract like. If there are many girls on one publications staffs, their friends will more than like join them.

This is why it is particularly important that the publications adviser be cognizant of the diversity within the high school, and attract or invite male, female, black, Asian, Hispanic, White, learning-disabled, athletic and academic individuals.

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