A new report details the negative consequences suffered by black women and girls when people perceive them as older than their white peers.Researchers at Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality reported their findings Wednesday after speaking to groups of black girls and women across the country about whether their real-life experiences reflected what the
Choosing to focus specifically on black girls, the 2017 study found that adults saw black girls ages 5-19 as in need of less protection and support than white girls the same age, and that black girls were more independent and knew more about adult topics, including about sex. The women in the focus groups recounted
Research has already shown that adults view young black girls as older and less innocent than their white peers. Now, the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law Center has affirmed the findings of its 2017 study. Through focus groups conducted with black women and girls nationwide, researchers learned that they are routinely subject
“Kathleen got so frustrated with Kelly playing with me, so intensely angry, that she grabbed my arm and ran her nails down my arm with both hands and drew blood,” Abraham recalled. “I screamed at her and was like, ‘What are you doing?’ She was like, ‘I can’t play with you because you’re Black; I’m
[A]dultification,” was first documented two years ago by researchers at Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality. Now, a followup study reveals that, not surprisingly, black girls and women sharply feel the impact of “adultification.” As one study participant put it, “[T]o society, we’re not innocent. And white girls are always innocent.” …They found a
A new study from Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality has found that black girls regularly experience something called adultification bias. In 2017, the center published its Girlhood Interrupted study, which showed that adults view black girls as more adult-like and less innocent than white girls. However, this new research has taken it a
Then came the topic of adultification of black girls by American society, where they are perceived as being older than their actual age. “Studies show that black girls are seen as adults at age five,” said Wadler. “They’re disciplined more harshly, and they’re seen as less innocent. They’re expected to act as adults, even though
Naomi Wadler is a leader, and the Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Initiative on Gendery Justice & Opportunity is proud to work with her. Below is an excerpt from this Teen Vogue op-ed, which covers Naomi Wadler’s reflection of her year since her viral March for Our Lives speech. “Did you know that black girls
Black girls are also ‘adultified’ in this manner. Recently, Rebecca Epstein and Jamilia J. Blake of the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law released a report describing how black girls as young as 5 are perceived as older and less innocent than white girls. Beliefs that black girls are older and less innocent