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Jaylin Coleman
9 Honors Lit and Comp
Ms. Smit
January 5, 2016
Women in Court: Part One
An Analysis of Feminism Injustice in Amy Efaws After
Women have to make numerous decisions in their daily lives, some of which are life
changing. In the book After, Devon Davenport makes the deadly decision to throw her newborn
baby in the dumpster. She got pregnant at 15 and was unsure of how to handle it. Amy Efaw
examines the social injustice of sexism through the character Devon Davenport in After.
Devon was an all A student, an all star soccer player, and more responsible than her
mother would ever be. She was used to her mothers late nights spent at the bar, and early
mornings with a new boyfriend. Devon scribbles on the notepad given to her by her attorney
Dom, My mom didnt really give permission to come inside. She was actually hitting on him
(Efaw 273). Dom says if they can prove that Devons mom did not verbally grant the detectives
access to their apartment, it is not admissible. Her mom was a very sexual person and they claim
that her flirtatious vibe is what the detective could have mistaken as come on in! The detective
admitted that her mom came off as flirting but he did not really pay attention or notice it until
now. As a woman, their body language and how they present themselves is very crucial on how
other people, especially men will take it. I feel as if women have to be careful on what they say
and do because their actions can easily come off as a slut or hoeish.
As the trial goes on, Devon sits there and listens to testimony after testimony, witness
after witness, and hear all the nasty words they have to say about her. Mr. Bingham was the

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person who first discovered Devons squirming baby in the trash while walking his Labrador
retriever. On the witness stand, his finalizing words were, What kind of- cold hearted psycho
would do something like- then was quickly cut off by the judge (Efaw 266). These harsh words
were Mr. Binghams initial thoughts, without knowing the full story or all of the evidence. This
incident was not fully Devons fault and he had no sympathy for her. Devon made the decision to
throw her baby in the trash but it was an impulsive act and she was very scared. Although the
defense witnesses had some pretty awful things to say about Devon and what she did, the judge
made the desicion to try her as juvenile and not adult.
Allison was a speaker who came into Rennan Hall to talk to the girls about relevant
topics. The previous questions she asked them, she did not get a whole lot of discussion or
answers. When she brings up the topic of dress, it causes a buzz of chatter in the room. Meaning
has an adult ever made negative comments about what youre wearing? (Efaw 179). Many of
the girls start to talk and bring up all these stories that happened to them. The characters and I
both feel that girls and women are often shamed by the way they dress. Females have to worry
about what they wear in the sense to avoid getting sexualized or judged. People will already
have preconceived notions about a woman right off the bat and it is often by the way they dress.

The World Today: Part Two

A Contemporary Synthesis of Sexism

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The issues discussed in Amy Efaws After, are not too different from the ones happening
in the real world. Devon Davenport got pregnant at 15, and when it was time to deliver the baby,
she gave birth in her apartment bathroom, wrapped IT up in a towel, put it inside a trash bag,
and then threw it away. As horrific as that sounds, it is not uncommon for women to do that.
There have been plenty of cases where a woman was unready for a baby and thought that
throwing it away was the only solution. Briana Holland is a one of many examples. She gave
birth to her child in the factory bathroom where she worked. Devon was convicted of the same
crime but was tried as juvenile instead of adult. Devon and Brianna were both scared, young
and didnt know how she was going to support the child (Mack 1). There is a law put into
action in 2000 that says any responsible adult may give custody of a baby less than 30 days old
to any hospital emergency room, as long as there is no intentional abuse of the child. officials
will not require additional information of the person leaving the baby (Mack 1). This is a law
used for the sake of the mothers. Women can get pregnant unintentionally, raped, and not all the
time is it their fault. This law which may sound cruel to some, but it is effective for a mother to
have relief to not have to care for a baby that they may not have been ready for.
Studies have been shown by Sonja Starr, that men get sentenced longer than women for
the same crime. They get 63 percent higher, on average than a female. My argument is that in
the book sexism is shown towards women, but in the real world, it happens towards men and
women. In court judges treat women more leniently for practical reasons such as their great
caretaking responsibility (Simon 1). The negative stereotype is that women cant handle a harsh
punishment and that they are fragile. A woman reading this may feel relief knowing that they
would get a lesser punishment than a man for the same crime, that is not fair to men however.
Sexism is displayed all over the real word today, people may not even know or realize it.

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Call to Action: Part 3
A Solution to the Problem of Sexism
There is no real solution to sexism, or any social inequality for that matter. You can tell a
person or two, stop be sexist, but will it really make a difference? The correct answer is no,
otherwise it wouldnt be a problem anymore. I have created a small but tangible call to action
that could possibly help try to eliminate some of the sexism used, especially in court. The judges
should have a rule or order (if they dont already have one) to not look at the gender of someone
while deciding the punishment or the turnout of a case. If judges are more lenient towards
women in cases, that is not fair to men nor equal. Part of it is because of the stereotype of women
being perceived as weak or fragile. As I said, it is not going to totally eliminate all of the sexism
in the world because Im pretty sure that is impossible, but it can definitely make a slight
difference.

Works Cited

Efaw, Amy. After. New York: Viking, 2009. Print.

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McCormack, Simon. "Men Sentenced To Longer Prison Terms Than Women For Same
Crimes, Study Says." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Sept. 2012. Web.
10 Jan. 2016.
"Mother Who Threw Newborn in Trash Sentenced to 30 Years." Indianapolis Star. N.p.,
13 May 2015. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.