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Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy
As her little boy plays at a day care center across the street, Michelle, an unmarried teenager, is in algebra class, hoping to be the first member of her family to graduate from high school. Will motherhood make this young woman poorer? Will it make the United States poorer as a nation? That's what the voices raised against "babies having babies" would have us think, and what many Americans seem inclined to believe. This powerful book takes us behind the stereotypes, the inflamed rhetoric, and the flip media sound bites to show us the complex reality and troubling truths of teenage mothers in America today.
Would it surprise you to learn that Michelle is more likely to be white than African American? That she is most likely eighteen or nineteen--a legal adult? That teenage mothers are no more common today than in 1900? That two-thirds of them have been impregnated by men older than twenty? Kristin Luker, author of the acclaimed Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood , puts to rest once and for all some very popular misconceptions about unwed mothers from colonial times to the present. She traces the way popular attitudes came to demonize young mothers and examines the profound social and economic changes that have influenced debate on the issue, especially since the 1970s. In the early twentieth century, reformers focused people's attention on the social ills that led unmarried teenagers to become pregnant; today, society has come almost full circle, pinning social ills on sexually irresponsible teens.
Dubious Conceptions introduces us to the young women who are the object of so much opprobrium. In these pages we hear teenage mothers from across the country talk about their lives, their trials, and their attempts to find meaning in motherhood. The book also gives a human face to those who criticize them, and shows us why public anger has settled on one of society's most vulnerable groups. Sensitive to the fears and confusion that fuel this anger, and to the troubled future that teenage mothers and their children face, Luker makes very clear what we as a nation risk by not recognizing teenage pregnancy for what it a symptom, not a cause, of poverty.
Would it surprise you to learn that Michelle is more likely to be white than African American? That she is most likely eighteen or nineteen--a legal adult? That teenage mothers are no more common today than in 1900? That two-thirds of them have been impregnated by men older than twenty? Kristin Luker, author of the acclaimed Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood , puts to rest once and for all some very popular misconceptions about unwed mothers from colonial times to the present. She traces the way popular attitudes came to demonize young mothers and examines the profound social and economic changes that have influenced debate on the issue, especially since the 1970s. In the early twentieth century, reformers focused people's attention on the social ills that led unmarried teenagers to become pregnant; today, society has come almost full circle, pinning social ills on sexually irresponsible teens.
Dubious Conceptions introduces us to the young women who are the object of so much opprobrium. In these pages we hear teenage mothers from across the country talk about their lives, their trials, and their attempts to find meaning in motherhood. The book also gives a human face to those who criticize them, and shows us why public anger has settled on one of society's most vulnerable groups. Sensitive to the fears and confusion that fuel this anger, and to the troubled future that teenage mothers and their children face, Luker makes very clear what we as a nation risk by not recognizing teenage pregnancy for what it a symptom, not a cause, of poverty.
- GenresNonfictionAcademic
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2012
I picked up this book because I enjoyed reading Luker's Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. I was hoping that this book would be equally well-written, and the author did not disappoint. Her arguments were well-measured, and her evidence was abundantly compelling. The focus of Dubious Conceptions lies in how American society has used teenage pregnancy as a scapegoat for societal ills, particularly in the late twentieth century. She examines the cultural stereotype of the pregnant teenager as well as the social and political responses to this image.
Luker's argument is really flushed out in chapter 4 "Construction of an Epidemic," but the highlight of the book is chapter 6 "Why do they do it?" This is where the author's style shines and the reader gets an up-close look at the perspectives of teen mothers. Luker uses a collection of interviews to show how these young women view topics such as birth control, marriage, their parents, and the day-to-day realities of raising a child. It is important to note that these interviews were accumulated from a variety of sources and not conducted by Luker herself.
My only complaint is that I wish this oral history methodology had been utilized throughout all of the text (rather than just relegating it to one chapter). It would have been interesting to see the opinions and understanding of adults who deal with teenage pregnancy. For example, Luker could have sought out the parents of teen mothers, school nurses, social workers, policy makers, and sex educators (both comprehensive and abstinence-only). This kind of outsider perspective might have offered an interesting juxtaposition next to the words of the teen mothers themselves.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of motherhood, adolescence, or welfare/poverty. Luker includes analysis of race and class throughout the text. While she does provide context all the way back to colonial history, this would be a particularly noteworthy book for anyone interested in the autonomy of young women during the late twentieth century.
Luker's argument is really flushed out in chapter 4 "Construction of an Epidemic," but the highlight of the book is chapter 6 "Why do they do it?" This is where the author's style shines and the reader gets an up-close look at the perspectives of teen mothers. Luker uses a collection of interviews to show how these young women view topics such as birth control, marriage, their parents, and the day-to-day realities of raising a child. It is important to note that these interviews were accumulated from a variety of sources and not conducted by Luker herself.
My only complaint is that I wish this oral history methodology had been utilized throughout all of the text (rather than just relegating it to one chapter). It would have been interesting to see the opinions and understanding of adults who deal with teenage pregnancy. For example, Luker could have sought out the parents of teen mothers, school nurses, social workers, policy makers, and sex educators (both comprehensive and abstinence-only). This kind of outsider perspective might have offered an interesting juxtaposition next to the words of the teen mothers themselves.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of motherhood, adolescence, or welfare/poverty. Luker includes analysis of race and class throughout the text. While she does provide context all the way back to colonial history, this would be a particularly noteworthy book for anyone interested in the autonomy of young women during the late twentieth century.
January 4, 2013
This book was very good and informative, but very academic. It got to the point where I felt like it kept on saying the same thing over and over again. I stopped reading it during the last chapter because I wanted to move on to something more fun.
The book was very in line with my views and opinions about teenage pregnancy.
The book was very in line with my views and opinions about teenage pregnancy.
February 10, 2009
This book is fascinating so far. Makes a lot of interesting points about the usefulness of 'teen pregnancy' as a shorthand for society's ills, and the seductiveness of viewing it as a cause of poverty rather than a result of it. Also illuminated a lot of things I didn't know about the history of reproductive rights in the this country. Very much worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews