In a letter to the editor, 12-year-old girl calls out sexism at town parade


Julianne Speyer is hoping that through the letter she wrote to the editor of the Geauga County Maple Leaf, people will think twice before making sexist comments.
Speyer, 12, was marching with her Girl Scout troop during a Fourth of July parade in Chesterland, Ohio, earlier this month. They were behind a Boy Scout troop, and Speyer said the parade announcer called the boys "future leaders" while saying the girls were "just having fun." Speyer found the commentary "very sexist and patronizing," she wrote, and a friend suggested she share her thoughts in a letter to the editor.
Speyer said the comment was "an insult to both girls and women of all ages. This kind of thing happens way too much and it is not okay at all. I have always been taught that if you think something is unjust, change it. So, this is how I am making a change." Parade organizers said in a statement this was an "unfortunate misunderstanding of two unrelated comments," and "no disrespect [was] intended." Speyer said she's glad she was able to bring attention to the matter, and it's "not wrong to stand up for what you believe in."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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