Negative Stereotypes of Girls Do More Harm Than Good

To the Editor:

Although it was a true change to see an article exclusively devoted to the topic of girls, I was appalled at Susan Gray’s article (“Keeping Girls Out of Trouble,” September 18). The headline, photos, and general tone of the article — as well as the accompanying article on the Girl Scouts (“Girl Scouts Take On Inner Cities”) — perpetuate a long history of deficit-based and stereotypic depictions of young girls in our society. Such depictions do more harm than good.

As the executive director of Girl’s Best Friend Foundation, I was also displeased that my foundation was cited in a listing entitled “Foundation Grants to Prevent Violence by Girls: A Sampling.” Nothing is further from the truth. In fact, our mission reads that we “promote and protect the human rights of girls in Illinois by advancing and sustaining policies and programs that insure girls’ self-determination, power, and well-being.” We support those who challenge the status quo by offering alternatives to the societal messages that girls receive.

You refer to the “rapid rise in violent crime and other delinquent acts by girls.” What is the actual number of girls involved in these crimes? I believe the numbers are very small. Though you cite a 55-per-cent increase in the arrests of females involved in violent crimes from 1989 to 1993, you provide no information about the actual numbers, ages, and circumstances of those arrests.

Unfortunately, girls are often used by older men to carry drugs, commit acts of prostitution, and act as accomplices to crimes. The very messages and misconstrued statistics cited in this article contribute to the plight of girls in our society.

Although it is 100 per cent true that grants for girls’ programs are almost non-existent — merely 5.3 per cent of all foundation dollars are awarded to programs for women and girls — it would be more appropriate to encourage foundations to make grants available for girls’ programs that are rooted in a positive youth-development philosophy. In future articles, we urge you to consider a positive, health-based perspective.

Betsy Brill
Executive Director
Girl’s Best Friend Foundation
Chicago

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It is alarming that crime-prevention programs designed specifically for girls could lose federal funding under legislation pending in Congress. The growing number of girls and teen women who are involved in violence demands more, not less, attention and resources from government, policy makers, researchers, and philanthropy.

One urgent area of inquiry is the connection between girls’ own victimization and their propensity for violent behavior. A recently released report by the Center for Women Policy Studies, “Victims No More: Girls Fight Back Against Male Violence,” suggests a link between the victimization of girls and the increase in girls’ violent activity. Our research, partially funded by a small grant from the Sister Fund, found that girls may be responding to a culture of sexual abuse and physical violence by fighting back — often with knives, guns, and other weapons. …

Policy makers and researchers have virtually ignored the dramatic increase in the number of violent girls and the link with their own victimization. Moreover, as your article correctly notes, only a small number of foundations support prevention programs designed specifically for girls. Even fewer support research in this field. … For the government to make it more difficult for programs that serve girls to receive federal funding, and for philanthropy to avoid this issue, will only place more girls and young women in jeopardy.

Leslie R. Wolfe
President Center for Women Policy Studies
Washington