Not Our Kind of Girl

Unravelling the Myths of Black Teenage Motherhood

Author: Elaine Bell Kaplan
ISBN: 9780520208582

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 wit

Publisher: University of California Press
Publish Date: 1997-08-26

Subjects: Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations, Social Science / Gender Studies

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Cross-Cultural Center (Location: Black/African American (BLCK))