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Resources to Combat Adultification Bias and Other Empowerment Tools
Are "black girls less innocent"? Adultification explained | Khadija Mbowe
Are “black girls less innocent”? Adultification explained
by Khadija Mbowe
Through doll play, an L.A. therapist reminds Black girls of their innocence.
Through doll play, an L.A. therapist reminds Black girls of their innocence
by Laura Newberry
Renee Curry ushered four girls into the classroom and asked them to sit on the carpet. They were bright-eyed and giggly, jittery with excitement.
Curry emptied the contents of a large reusable shopping bag onto the floor. The girls, ages 5 to 7, wasted no time. They plunged their hands into a pile of tiny plaid skirts, gingham dresses and sparkly tutus, eagerly selecting their dolls’ first outfits of the day.
“Grab your doll and we’re gonna dress them while we talk,” Curry, now seated on the rug, said as she pulled Black and brown dolls from another bag. The girls let out a collective shriek and claimed the dolls they’d been playing with for the last few weeks.
Read the rest of the article here.
Addressing Adultification of Black Pediatric Patients in the Emergency Department: A Framework to Decrease Disparities.
Addressing Adultification of Black Pediatric Patients in the Emergency Department: A Framework to Decrease Disparities
Systematic racism and structural discrimination in the United States are factors that have negatively affected the health of Black individuals and families. One form of racism that often goes unrecognized and yet has a profound negative impact on the health and safety of Black children is adultification. Adultification occurs when children are perceived, or treated, as being older than they are.
Read the rest of the article here.
The Adultification Of Black Girls. She’s independent. She’s mature. She doesn’t require much help.
The Adultification Of Black Girls
By Julia Soplop
She’s independent. She’s mature. She doesn’t require much help.
These sound like positive qualities for a woman. The problem is when people inappropriately attribute them to young Black girls—not because of individual behavior or maturity level, but as a result of gendered racial bias. The results may negatively influence their paths.
In 2017, The Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law published the first quantitative study examining this phenomenon relating to Black girls, calling it adultification bias. Building on previous research indicating that adults often perceive Black boys as older than they are and punish them accordingly, this study surveyed adults, the majority of whom were white, about their perceptions of Black and white girls.
Read the rest of the article here.
In Part 1, we discussed the process by which Black girl innocence is stolen. Here are some personal and practical ways to give it back.
We Owe Black Girls Their Innocence: Four Ways We Can Give It Back- Part 2
by Andria Cole
In Part 1, we discussed the process by which Black girl innocence is stolen. Here are some personal and practical ways to give it back:
Crown Them Children
Black children are children. Black girl children are children. And if that concept strikes you as strange, if it makes you uncomfortable, you have quite likely been rocked to sleep by one of white supremacy’s most perverse campaigns to prove journalist and child advocate Stacey Patton’s theory of, “there’s no such thing as a black child.”
In a For Harriet article titled “Killing Black Children is an American Tradition,” Patton explains how and why Black children have been denied the privileges and protections of childhood. It should come as no surprise that the reasons have everything to do with ensuring that white supremacy thrives.
Read the rest of the article here.
Things I needed to hear growing up as a black girl.
Things I needed to hear growing up as a black girl
by Shalom Obisie-Orlu.
I had a lot going on when I was younger. (Spoiler alert: I still do.) I switched high schools as quickly as the weather changes, and struggled through almost every year. Like most kids in the 2000s, I turned to TV and the internet for comfort. I searched long and hard for black girls who were hurting the same way I was, but I couldn’t relate to anything I found.
The world fed me one narrative: that I was a young black woman, and that I was to be a “strong black woman.”
The “strong black woman” stereotype is dangerous. While black women are incredibly strong, I grew up in a world that told me that I couldn’t be anything else.
This can lead to several physical and emotional health problems going unnoticed, or dismissed as something else entirely.
Read the rest of the article here.
This exhibit from The Colored Girls Museum is reframing the conversation on Black girlhood.
This exhibit from The Colored Girls Museum is reframing the conversation on Black girlhood
by Elizabeth Wellington
When I was 11, my mother insisted that I continue to wear my hair gathered in pigtails, but I was no longer allowed to play tag with the boys on my block. I was old enough to walk to the corner store alone, yet too young to understand why grown men would stare as I passed them by.
One minute I was a little girl who fancied drop-waist lace dresses and believed in Santa Claus. Then, before I knew it, I was headed full-speed toward womanhood.
Why? My parents were trying to protect my girlhood. In their minds, the longer I looked innocent, the longer I’d actually be innocent. Still, my parents intuitively understood that innocence wasn’t a luxury for Black girls because outside of the safety of our home, we’d be held to different standards than white children. Childlike behaviors like talking too much in school — something I was really good at — would lead to harsher punishments.
Read the rest of the article here.
Sharing social media posts can help raise awareness about adultification bias.
This helpful swipe-through explanation of adultification bias, developed by Context Project on Instagram, is an example of posts you can create and share to raise awareness about adultification bias. You can download and share this post on your social accounts, and tag Context Project, to join the campaign to #endadultificationbias.
MEASURE, in partnership with Lone Star Justice Alliance and the Travis County Juvenile Defenders Office, has trained over 700 Defense Attorneys to make sure they are genuinely representing Black girls.
The first person an arrested black girl sees is usually a Juvenile Defender who works exclusively for them. Their job is to be the voice of a child during prosecution and to make sure their rights are put first. Defenders are supposed to be the champions of our girls during the justice process and are also the only ones legally allowed to speak to Black girls to get their side of the story. These defenders need to know what adultification bias is and need the tools to fight against it!
Learn more at www.wemeasure.org
Follow us on Instagram: @weMEASUREus
Lesson Overview - Featured New York Times Article: “‘A Battle for the Souls of Black Girls’” by Erica L. Green, Mark Walker and Eliza Shapiro.
For years, education reform has looked at discipline disparities between Black boys and white boys. However, recent cases have brought to the forefront the ways in which Black girls are disciplined at rates close to those of Black boys — and in some cases, the inequity between Black girls and white girls is greater than that between Black boys and white boys. In this lesson, you will learn about several recent cases of Black girls being disciplined in school, and about the research conducted to illuminate the inequality and encourage activism and change. Then, you will reflect on the themes of the article or watch a portion of a documentary about the issue.
In this lesson, you will learn about several recent cases of Black girls being disciplined in school, and about the research conducted to illuminate the inequality and encourage activism and change. Then, you will reflect on the themes of the article or watch a portion of a documentary about the issue.
Warm Up
Before reading, reflect on your identity and experiences, considering how they might affect how you respond to the themes in the featured article. You will not need to share your responses with anyone, so spend five minutes free-writing in your journal to the following prompts:
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Do you feel safe and supported in school? Why?
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How do you think your identity has affected your experience in school?
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Have you ever had a teacher, administrator or peer make a negative assumption about you based on some aspect of your identity?
As you continue with the lesson, keep in mind how your experiences shape your understanding of the themes in the article.
Therapy for Black Girls published an article about understanding the difference between the adultification of black girls and embracing sexuality.
A 2017 study conducted by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality found that in comparison to White girls, Black girls between the ages of 5 and 14 were perceived as:
- more independent
- knowing more about adult topics and sex
- requiring less nurturing, protection, support, and comfort
These adultifying views of black girls are rooted in historical stereotypes of black women, categorized into three dominant themes, that emerged in the South during slavery:
- Jezebel – hypersexualized, seductive
- Sapphire – loud, aggressive, angry, emasculating
- Mammy – nurturing, self-sacrificing
The following statistics represent the sexual consequences of the adultifiying views of black girls that the Georgetown study found:
- 40% to 60% of black women report being subjected to coercive sexual contact by age 18
- 1 in 4 black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.
- African American girls and women 12 years and older experienced higher rates of rape and sexual assault than White, Asian, and Latina girls and women from 2005-2010.
It is apparent that the adultification of black girls is rooted in racism and puts black girls at higher risk for sexual abuse. This is a public health crisis. We must continue to advocate for the protection of black girls and to demand media depictions of black girls and women that do not perpetuate the adultification of black girls.
Now that we understand the adultification of black girls and it’s sexual consequences, let us explore what it means for Black Girls to embrace their sexuality. According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control in 2017, an estimated 55% of male and female teens have had sexual intercourse by age 18. This finding suggests that black girls, among other teens, are embracing their sexuality. This also suggests that 45% of black girls and other teens may be practicing abstinence.
How do we understand the difference between the adultification of black girls and embracing sexuality?

An important difference between addultification and embracing sexuallity is the mental health impact. Sexual abuse or trauma are associated with post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, substance misuse and eating disorders. Survivors may feel ashamed, guilty or shocked and may also experience flashbacks. If you have been sexually abused, it is important to remember that the abuse was not your fault. Healthy sexual expression is associated with increased confidence; decreased stress, anxiety and depression and improved emotion regulation.
Another important part of this exploration are the conversations that take place between black girls and their parent(s). Adolescents who have open, caring and non-judgmental conversations with their parent(s) about sex are more likely to delay having sex or use condoms and contraceptives. (CDC, 2014) If you have created a safe space for your teen to talk with you about sex, they may also be more likely to talk to you if they have experienced sexual abuse. Open and honest conversations also create a space to define consent and abuse, further empowering teens to know when they have been abused and to report it.
A key theme in this post is respect. Society needs to respect black girls by dismantling racist stereotypes that lead to the adultication of black girls. Black bodies, to include girls, boys, women and men need to be respected. This not only applies to sexual abuse but also violent acts commited by police and white supremacists. Finally, parents are encouraged to show their children that they respect their bodies and autonomy by having safe and healthy discussions about sex. These types of respect may lead to the elimination of the adultification of black girls and healthy sexual expression.
If you have experienced sexual abuse, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) for support. Many therapists specialize in treating sexual trauma. To find a therapist, check out the Therapy for Black Girls Therapist Directory.
Through doll play, an L.A. therapist reminds Black girls of their innocence.
In the first study of its kind in 2017, Georgetown researchers found that adults believed Black girls needed less nurturing and protection, were more independent and knew more about sex than white girls of the same age.
“Adultification contributes to a false narrative that Black youths’ transgressions are intentional and malicious, instead of the result of immature decision-making — a key characteristic of childhood,” researchers wrote.
The study asserted that such bias contributes to the harsher treatment of Black girls in the education and juvenile justice systems, and fewer mentorship and leadership opportunities being available to them. Black girls are nearly six times more likely to be suspended than their white counterparts, according to research by the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School.
As a therapist, Curry knew that if children aren’t given the time and space to play, imagine, explore and be free of the pressures and stresses of their world, there’s a much higher chance that they will be more childlike as adults.
“They’ll struggle with responsibilities to take care of their own,” Curry said in an interview with The Times. “They’ll struggle with intimacy. They’ll struggle with having conversations with their partners. So we want them to experience childhood at appropriate age levels.”
Curry had observed this early abandonment of childhood firsthand.
In 2018, she helped lead a therapeutic dance program for school-age girls in the Imperial Courts public housing development in Watts. Instead of engaging in what is traditionally thought of as play, the girls interacted by showing each other Instagram posts and YouTube videos. She heard a man in the community casually call one of the girls “woman.”
When Curry got to Crete, she asked the girls she counseled whether they played with dolls. Some said they had a doll at home but were sometimes stopped from playing, and were instead told to take care of a younger sibling or to brush their teeth. One girl said her grandmother sold her doll because her family needed money for rent.
“Playtime from their perspective was like a privilege, and so I just wanted to change that narrative for them,” Curry said.
When she read the Georgetown study on adultification bias, a light bulb went off.
“I totally think this is real. This is a thing,” Curry told Crete Principal Hattie Mitchell after sharing the study with her. “I want to do something.”
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Words of empowerment, submitted by a 21 year old male.
Words of empowerment, submitted by a 21 year old male.
Prosecutors can play a powerful role in ending the effects of Adultification Bias.
Watch here to see Florida's state attorney general's stance on adultification bias
Prosecutors can play a powerful role in ending the effects of Adultification Bias. Watch here to see Florida’s state attorney general publicly establish, as a matter of policy, that she would refuse to approve moving forward with any case of young children arrested for misbehavior in school, specifically to end contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline.
A coalition of organizations in Austin, Texas is combating adultification bias
A coalition of organizations in Austin, Texas is combating adultification bias against Black girls in response to the call to action in Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood. Their community has decided on six courses of action:
1. A community empowerment and Girl Scouts recruitment event focusing on Girls of Color
2. The development of an online tool to connect parents and guardians to lawyers when faced with potential criminalizing outcomes
3. Training 50 defense attorneys in Central Texas
4. Pushing for a public health approach to potentially criminalizing behavior in schools
5. Launching a public education campaign
6. Issuing a report with the support of Georgetown University on the impact of the adultification of Black girls in Central Texas.
Let Black Girls Be Girls: End 'Adultification' Bias – https://t.co/X6AIXDCx3H
— S.R.Toliver, Ph.D. (@SR_Toliver) June 12, 2019
Black girls experience multiple forms of oppression including being hypersexualized from an incredibly young age. We must end the adultification of Black girls and ensure they, like other children, receive the care and support they deserve. #EndAdultificationBias #LetGirlsBeGirls pic.twitter.com/KiTjKpVE1o
— rights4girls (@rights4girls) May 28, 2019
"Black girls and women told the reports co-authors they not only experienced adultification bias, but that it often translated to harsher punishments and higher standards for Black girls in school." @nrojas0131https://t.co/Dc0zN4XRp7 pic.twitter.com/gLWXd4eOHU
— The North Star (@TheNorthStar) May 22, 2019
The research is in! Adultification Bias: Study Shows Black Girls Are Treated More Harshly Than White Peers Of The Same Age via @bossip https://t.co/uwyas41NEx
— Alabama NAACP (@AlabamaNAACP) May 20, 2019
"A new study shows how racism and bias deny black girls their childhoods" @GtownLawPovCntr
Their study on adultification bias has given me the language and data to support what I've witnessed my whole life. Please #LetBlackGirlsBeGirls. Protect them. https://t.co/u2tSanBsRd— Jamile the Teacher (@jamiletheteachr) May 20, 2019
“Almost all the black girls and women we talked to said they’d experienced adultification bias as children." #LetBlackGirlsBeGirls https://t.co/0RqBR3TBy3
— RALIANCE (@RALIANCEOrg) May 20, 2019
“A new report shows how racism and bias deny black girls their childhoods” – @GtownLawPovCntr highlights impact of “adultification bias” #LetBlackGirlsBeGirls https://t.co/r2WbMp6VYK
— John King (@JohnBKing) May 20, 2019
Principal of @FrazierElem Nicole Hill-Avery takes time with girls to do a hand-clap rhyme. @GeorgetownLaw #endadultificationbias pic.twitter.com/eiuWfba17J
— Sharon L. Contreras (@scontrerasGCS) May 18, 2019
A new report on adultification bias shows how adults presume Black girls as being more "adult-like" and less innocent than white peers https://t.co/35V9WnAT2J
— VICE (@VICE) May 17, 2019
We stand with the @gtownlawpovcntr campaign #LetBlackGirlsBeGirls to help end “adultification bias”—the perception of Black girls as less innocent than their peers. Share your story and help us change the narrative: https://t.co/XZ25dlaMq0#blackgirls #ourgirlsaresacredandloved pic.twitter.com/tpHkusGhm6
— National Black Women’s Justice Institute (NBWJI) (@NBWJInstitute) May 17, 2019

When I was 12 years old, I was in a car that was involved in a car crash.
When I was 12 years old I was in a car that was involved in a car crash. I was the first to climb out the totalled car feeling battered from the impact and the wind knocked out of me. The cops on the scene ask me “was I driving the car?” I was so confused I looked at them like “huh?” The EMT even told me “you must of done something” because I started to say “I was scared”. When they took in my brother and his friend to the children hospital they hesitated to bring me to the children’s hospital. I was a thin girl and weighed like 90 pounds so no I didn’t look like a developed woman. The way those first responders treated me never left my mind and now I know why. My brothers friend step dad a grown man was driving the car FYI. So till this day it makes me angry thinking about the first thing that police officer did was question me about what happened. No one comforted me or treated me like a child instead they wanted to criminalize me while I lay in the grass in pain. (Source)
My child has feelings
Since pre-k, my biracial daughter has been adultified with adult skill sets applied to her normal childhood behaviors and differences and nefarious intentionality ascribed to her behaviors. She is not afforded the presumption of childhood innocence or the right to the childhood developmental expectations. She has repeatedly been removed from her classroom, received lunchroom and recess punishment, pathologized (recommended for counseling 1x/week for crying in kindergarten, and suspended several times for merely crying in class). She was accused and investigated in 1st grade for bullying and vandalism because parents in our school view her as “a bit of a mean girl,” “a ring leader, “aggressive,” “hostile” and having “something wrong” with her. Parents have described her as smart and calculating … at 6! When incidents have happened to her, they are underreported or misreported, minimized as not being all that hurtful or problematic. My child has feelings, does feel pain, and deserves to be valued and cared for as do all children.
To be adultified..
“To be adultified is to be stripped of your pride and innocence. By telling a black girls she’s too "aggressive" or "sexual" forces her into a stereotype others may never let her live down.”
When A Bad Call Brought Courtside Humiliation
It was the day of the championship game. If we won, we’d move on to the next division, with a shot at the state championship title.
We were all pumped up and ready to go as we saw how full the gym had become with family members, friends, and townspeople. I gave my parents the usual smile and wave and got on the court. The game was about to start when I realized the referees were all huddled around the scorer’s table looking and pointing at me. Confused, I looked at my parents who shared the same expression. In front of the large crowd of people, the referee pulled me off the court and started asking me questions about my age. “How old are you?” The referee stared at me long and hard not accepting my constant answer of “Eleven.” Continuing to say “You shouldn’t be playing right now. You’re not eleven.” and “You shouldn’t be lying about your age.”
The world seemed to stop as everyone stared at me in what felt like, disappointment. Tears stung my face as I stared at my sneakers wishing I could’ve disappeared, wishing that this was all just a bad dream. I never liked being called a liar and here I was being called one by an adult in front of all my peers. My parents had to go back home to retrieve my birth certificate before I was able to play; Costing me half the game. When the referees realized that I was eleven and developed for my age, I didn’t get an apology. Instead, they just let me back into the game, conveniently glossing over their blatant humiliation of me. I will never forget that moment. The shame that came with it or how I then became more conscious of my appearance.
Looking back, I remember the conscious efforts of my mother putting barrettes and beads in my hair, how she made sure that I “dressed my age.” Now, I see that those decisions weren’t just for the purpose of fashion, but a form of protection.
Resource: Cinematic Portrayal of Black Children
The media is very much complicit in how it portrays children of color and how children of color are absent from major films for children.
Hypersexualization Can Affect Health Care Experiences
When I was 19, I decided it was time to go to the OBGYN for the first time. I had lost my virginity to my boyfriend and wanted to get on birth control. The doctor was an older white man. He came into the room and started asking me questions about my sexual history. What was striking and insulting, was that he asked in very assuming ways. He asked. “So, you’ve had 4 or 5 sexual partners, or more?” I told him I had only ever been with one man. Then he asked, “So, then you’ve been active for, what, 5 or 6 years?” I was shocked and angry. I replied, “No. I didn’t start having sex at 13 years old. I just lost my virginity a month ago.” To which he responded, “Hmmm.” I left feeling terrible at all of his assumptions about my sexuality.