Not Our Kind of Girl: Unravelling the Myths of Black Teenage MotherhoodOne of the most worrisome images in America today is that of the teenage mother. For the African-American community, that image is especially troubling: All the problems of the welfare system seem to spotlight the black teenage mom. Elaine Bell Kaplan's affecting and insightful book dispels common perceptions of these young women. Her interviews with the women themselves, and with their mothers and grandmothers, provide a vivid picture of lives caught in the intersection of race, class, and gender. Kaplan challenges the assumption conveyed in the popular media that the African-American community condones teen pregnancy, single parenting, and reliance on welfare. Especially telling are the feelings of frustration, anger, and disappointment expressed by the mothers and grandmothers Kaplan interviewed. And in listening to teenage mothers discuss their problems, Kaplan hears first-hand of their misunderstandings regarding sex, their fraught relationships with men, and their difficulties with the educational system—all factors that bear heavily on their status as young parents. Kaplan's own experience as an African-American teenage mother adds a personal dimension to this book, and she offers substantial proposals for rethinking and reassessing the class factors, gender relations, and racism that influence black teenagers to become mothers. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1997. One of the most worrisome images in America today is that of the teenage mother. For the African-American community, that image is especially troubling: All the problems of the welfare system seem to spotlight the black teenage mom. Elaine Bell Kaplan's a |
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Page xvi
... adolescent girls . Kristen Luker read an earlier draft , let me see her work , and encouraged me to push further . Frank Furstenberg Jr. shared with me research on Black teenage fa- thers . Thanks to Barry Glassner for his faith in my ...
... adolescent girls . Kristen Luker read an earlier draft , let me see her work , and encouraged me to push further . Frank Furstenberg Jr. shared with me research on Black teenage fa- thers . Thanks to Barry Glassner for his faith in my ...
Page xx
... adolescent girls fail to achieve , something in their nature pre- vents them from doing so . As president , Ronald Reagan often urged teenage mothers to " just say no " so that taxpayers would no longer be forced to pay for their sexual ...
... adolescent girls fail to achieve , something in their nature pre- vents them from doing so . As president , Ronald Reagan often urged teenage mothers to " just say no " so that taxpayers would no longer be forced to pay for their sexual ...
Page xxi
... adolescent in- terest in wearing makeup , dressing in the latest fashions , and reading teen magazines — are stigmatized . These teen mothers attempt to cope as best they can by redefining their situation in terms that in- volve the ...
... adolescent in- terest in wearing makeup , dressing in the latest fashions , and reading teen magazines — are stigmatized . These teen mothers attempt to cope as best they can by redefining their situation in terms that in- volve the ...
Page xxii
... adolescent girls . This book is organized in three parts , as follows . In Part I , Chapter 1 outlines some of the theoretical perspectives social scientists use to explain Black teenage motherhood . This chapter also discusses social ...
... adolescent girls . This book is organized in three parts , as follows . In Part I , Chapter 1 outlines some of the theoretical perspectives social scientists use to explain Black teenage motherhood . This chapter also discusses social ...
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Contents
| 3 | |
Tough Times Susan Carter | 27 |
Her Baby Days Are Over De Vonya Smalls Im just a regular old lady | 48 |
The Familys Response | 65 |
The Adult Mothers | 67 |
The Babies Fathers | 86 |
The Teens Fathers | 106 |
The Communitys Response | 127 |
They Are Saying Terrible Things about Us | 153 |
Creating the Potential for Growth | 170 |
Background of the Study | 195 |
Questionnaire | 199 |
Teen Mothers Demographic Characteristics | 207 |
Notes | 211 |
Bibliography | 239 |
Index | 251 |
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abortion adolescent adolescent girls adult mothers AFDC American Arlie Russell Hochschild asked baby baby's father became pregnant behavior birth control Black community Black families Black teenage girls Black teenage mothers Black women boys Brady Brady Bunch Carmilla Carol Gilligan child support church counselors cultural daugh daughter deviant Diane Harris Diane's drug East Oakland economic emotional Evie Jenkins Evie's experiences feelings feminist friends gender grandmother housing Illegitimacy interviews issues Jaynes and Williams Joney Joyce Ladner lives Lois Patterson male married Mary Smalls middle-class moral moth Moynihan neighborhood parents Perspectives poor poverty preg problems questions receive AFDC relationships role sex education sexual abuse Shana Leeds social status stigma strategies structure Susan Carter talk teachers teen moth teen mothers teenage motherhood Teenage Pregnancy tell Terry Parks Terry's told Vonya Smalls welfare mothers White Wilson York young