The Social Control of Girls

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how policing female sexuality in the guise of rehabilitating fallen women and punishing female criminals has been virtually synonymous since the birth of the institution of the prison. It looks at how attitudes have not really changed since the 19th century and how, even today, women are still punished harshly for transgressing the stereotype of how women should behave.

From the Paper:

"If these 19th century examples of institutional control of young women seem extreme or too far removed from our own era, consider that in 1950s and 1960s America, many unmarried young women who became pregnant were sent away to reformatories or religious schools when their pregnancy became visible. Torn away from their families, often unable to graduate high school, they were penalized for sexual activity and made examples of for other girls, while the fathers of the children were not. The young women were often not allowed to decide if they wanted to keep their children. It was assumed that having made a 'wrong' decision, that they should abdicate all social control over their own bodies to their elders, including their parents and the people who ran these houses (Fessler 2006). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bronte, Charlotte. (1966). Jane Eyre. New York: Penguin Classics.
• Fessler, Anne. (2006). The Girls who Went Away. New York. Penguin Press.
• Mumm, Susan. (1996, Spring). "Not worse than other girls: the convent-based rehabilitation of fallen women in Victorian Britain." Journal of Social History. Retrieved 10 Oct 2007 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_n3_v29/ai_18498207/pg_2
• Shelden, Randall G. (2004). "Female Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System." Part I: Delinquency among Girls. Retrieved 10 Oct 2007 at http://www.cjcj.org/pdf/girls1.pdf
• Verhoveck, Sam. (1993). "Ban on Pregnant Cheerleaders Lifted." The New York Times. Retrieved 10 Oct 2007 at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFD71E30F930A35752C1 A965958260

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