The Inherent Feminism of Restorative Justice
In law school, my professors constantly told me I needed to speak louder and with more authority, more certainty. (“Inappropriately casual” was my most frequently received critique.) As a woman, I had been heavily conditioned to be agreeable and to avoid expressing absolutes. Anyone who has seen Legally Blonde is likely familiar with the Socratic method, a learning technique in which the professor fires a series of questions made to highlight the flaws in the student’s argument and thereby arrive at some kind of greater truth. I will never forget the first time this method was used on me, as it was during my first law school class ever. I was late because I had been stung by a bee on the walk to class. As I was rushing to my seat in the lecture hall, my criminal law professor called on me.
“Ms. Dorn,” she said while I was still walking. I thought it was funny to be addressed so formally when I was wearing leggings. “What is ‘reasonable doubt’?” I desperately wanted to answer, “Jay-Z’s best album,” but I bit my tongue and regurgitated the definition from the reading. I pretty much blacked out I was so nervous, but she left me alone after I was done speaking, so I figured I’d answered adequately. This time, I’d gotten off easy.
