What Being a Junior Police Officer Taught Me About Feminism

Start Young Because Smashing Barriers Takes Practice

I was a Junior Police Officer in elementary school.

Not what you’d think about a non-conformist like me, but people, let me tell you, being a JPO meant having power. A lot of power. By flashing your sign at the school crossing, you could stop a moving car faster than Superman, and the grown-ups had to OBEY you.

There was no better power trip for an 11-year old.

As I recall, we kids were on our own, too. This was the early ’70s when attitudes toward child labor and risk management were lax. The police ran the program, training us in traffic safety and indoctrinating us into military culture. We were an army of mini-me GI Joe wannabes, ranks emblazoned on our yellow safety helmets, marching to and from the crosswalks in lockstep. And when we weren’t thrusting stop signs into the road like bayonets, we stood at ease like good soldiers.

In hindsight, pretty creepy.

I may have been a damn fine JPO but I became an even better activist. When I was told being elected captain was off-limits to girls (or so I remember) I questioned authority. I don’t give up very easily.

The authorities caved and let me run for the captaincy.

I agonized over whether I should vote for myself or for Jason Fujimoto to be polite.🙄 Patriarchal conditioning runs deep, people! We were declared co-captains, and I paved the way for other power-mad girls. But I’m pretty sure I was robbed, because I peeked and counted hands as the vote was being taken.

Photo credit: Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons