Not Our Kind of Girl

Not Our Kind of Girl PDF Author: Elaine Bell Kaplan
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520918983
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
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 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.

Not Our Kind of Girl

Not Our Kind of Girl PDF Author: Elaine Bell Kaplan
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520918983
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Get Book

Book Description
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 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.

Black Teenage Mothers

Black Teenage Mothers PDF Author: Constance Willard Williams
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 9780669243130
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
In this ground-breaking book, Constance Williams reveals why, contrary to the adverse outcomes previously attributed to their lot, many black teenage mothers consider their lives enriched by childbearing. Here is a poignant exploration of themeaning of pregnancy and motherhood to young women who, although impoverished, express hope as freely tell their stories and reveal new truths about their attitudes. Williams discoverss that it is more often socialization -- not ignorance -- that leads black teens into motherhood at such a young age. She also reveals why early childbearing for these teens may well be an adaptive and even reasonable response to their social and cultural realities.

Reconceiving Black Adolescent Pregnancy

Reconceiving Black Adolescent Pregnancy PDF Author: Elizabeth Merrick
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429977425
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
Images of pregnant Black teenagers and single Black mothers are plentiful in the media and popular culture. These representations have fueled debates on the need for welfare reform and have focused public attention on adolescent pregnancy among Black Americans. In Reconceiving Black Adolescent Pregnancy, Elizabeth Merrick presents a new understanding of childbearing and adolescent development among lower income Black American teenage girls. The author focuses primarily on the individual stories and themes of the six participants in the study. The first section provides the context, and the second section provides the major thematic findings. The final sections focus on agency and identity in this population. The findings that emerged from Merrick's study yield a provocative view that stands in marked contrast to assessments of pregnant Black adolescents as being deviant or greedy for welfare. There is a need for developmental models that start from, or at least incorporate, non-majority experiences. In particular, ethnographic accounts can provide key insights into different developmental pathways. Out of such accounts, new paradigms may also emerge to guide developmental research. Reconceiving Black Adolescent Pregnancy fills this void.

Pregnant Girl

Pregnant Girl PDF Author: Nicole Lynn Lewis
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807056030
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
A NPR BOOKS WE LOVE 2021 Selection “[T]his book is so much more than a memoir . . . . Her prose has the power to undo deep-set cultural biases about poverty and parenthood.”—New York Times Book Review An activist calls for better support of young families so they can thrive and reflects on her experiences as a Black mother and college student fighting for opportunities for herself and her child. Pregnant Girl presents the possibility of a different future for young mothers—one of success and stability—in the midst of the dismal statistics that dominate the national conversation. Along with her own story as a young Black mother, Nicole Lynn Lewis weaves in those of the men and women she’s worked with to share a new perspective on how poverty, classism, and systemic racism impact teen pregnancy and on how effective programs and equitable policies can help teen parents earn college degrees, have increased opportunity, and create a legacy of educational and career achievements in their families. After Nicole became pregnant during her senior year in high school, she was told that college was no longer a reality—a negative outlook often unfairly presented to teen mothers. Nicole left home and experienced periods of homelessness, hunger, and poverty. Despite these obstacles, she enrolled at the College of William & Mary and brought her 3-month-old daughter along. Through her experiences fighting for resources to put herself through college, she discovered her true calling and founded her organization, Generation Hope, to provide support for teen parents and their children so they can thrive in college and kindergarten—driving a 2-generation solution to poverty. Pregnant Girl will inspire young parents faced with similar choices and obstacles that they too can pursue their goals with the right support.

Pregnancy Among Black Teenagers

Pregnancy Among Black Teenagers PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means. Subcommittee on Public Assistance and Unemployment Compensation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American youth
Languages : en
Pages : 126

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Book Description


Risking the Future

Risking the Future PDF Author: Panel on Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing,National Research Council
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Abstract: This book presents the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy within the National Research Council. The panel examined research and existing programs which address the areas of adolescent sexuality, pregnancy, and childbearing with the intent of making recommendations for policy making, program design, program evaluation, and research. The panel's report is presented in chapters addressing the following topics: trends in adolescent sexuality and fertility, society and changing roles of adolescents, determinants of sexual behavior, effects of adolescent childbearing, interventions, and priorities for data collection, research, policies, and programs. An accompanying volume contains the working papers on which the report was based. The working papers address three broad areas, which are: 1) influences on early sexual and fertility behavior, 2) consequences of early sexual and fertility behavior, and 3) programs and policies related to teen pregnancy and sexuality.

On Becoming a Teen Mom

On Becoming a Teen Mom PDF Author: Mary Patrice Erdmans
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520959280
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
In 2013, New York City launched a public education campaign with posters of frowning or crying children saying such things as "I’m twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen" and "Honestly, Mom, chances are he won’t stay with you." Campaigns like this support a public narrative that portrays teen mothers as threatening the moral order, bankrupting state coffers, and causing high rates of poverty, incarceration, and school dropout. These efforts demonize teen mothers but tell us nothing about their lives before they became pregnant. In this myth-shattering book, the authors tell the life stories of 108 brown, white, and black teen mothers, exposing the problems in their lives often overlooked in pregnancy prevention campaigns. Some stories are tragic and painful, marked by sexual abuse, partner violence, and school failure. Others depict "girl next door" characters whose unintended pregnancies lay bare insidious gender disparities. Offering a fresh perspective on the links between teen births and social inequalities, this book demonstrates how the intersecting hierarchies of gender, race, and class shape the biographies of young mothers.

Early Childbearing

Early Childbearing PDF Author: Ellen Wood Freeman
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Incorporated
ISBN:
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The challenge of reaching teenagers before an unintended pregnancy occurs is particularly pertinent when considering unmarried teenagers from disadvantaged circumstances: while the incidence of teenage pregnancy increases, resources to assist adolescents in both child care and employment are lacking. This volume presents a thorough and sensitive exploration of the topic of sexually active teenagers and the factors involved in their decisions about contraception, abortion and childbearing. The authors conducted their research among African Americans, aged from 13 to 17, living in deprived, urban areas. They describe the teenagers' attitudes about childbearing relative to other goals and perceived attitudes of family a

Kids Having Kids

Kids Having Kids PDF Author: Rebecca A. Maynard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429840292
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
Published in 1997. Adolescent mothers are more likely to encounter a variety of economic and social ills than women who delay childbearing until they are adults. This work is a comprehensive examination of the extent to which these undesirable outcomes are attributable to teen pregnancy itself rather than to the wider environment in which most of the pregnancies and the subsequent child-rearing take place. It also examines the consequences of adolescent pregnancy for the fathers of children, and even more importantly, for the children themselves.

Pregnancy Among Black Teenagers

Pregnancy Among Black Teenagers PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means. Subcommittee on Public Assistance and Unemployment Compensation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American youth
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description