Double Jeopardy

Image of a woman in an upside-down glass.

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WotD: Double Jeopardy

To explain double jeopardy, we’ll first have to step into the law courts and then into the life of a middle-aged woman.

I know it sounds complicated, but bear with me here.

Under North American laws, a person cannot be tried for the same criminal offence twice.

What that means is if you kill someone but are acquitted – found not guilty – then later evidence comes to light that proves your guilt, you cannot be charged again.

Charging you again for murder would be double jeopardy, which is illegal in Canada and the United States.

Maybe they can charge you with something else, such as lying in court, but double jeopardy means you cannot be charged in criminal court for the same crime twice.

Now we move on to the ladies.

As disgusting and unnecessary as it is, discrimination of many kinds exists in society.

The so-called glass ceiling often discriminates against women.

Everyone will eventually face ageism.

Once I turned 40, I realized that I was ‘too old’ to teach English.

One manager was even disappointed I was married because a married teacher who talks about their wife or husband cannot be a sexual attraction to students.

I’m afraid I have to disagree.

I’m sexy, and I know it!

We should get back to our topic because my sexiness is neither here nor there.

Middle-aged women are in danger of facing the double jeopardy of sexism and ageism, otherwise known as gendered ageism.


They have to face disadvantages from two directions simultaneously.


That’s another meaning of double jeopardy.


Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 66.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.