In their article, Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas focus on the concept of childbearing in poor women and report the results they find from their 2 and a half year study of unmarried women. One of the most interesting concepts they noticed was that these women not only were conscious about their decisions, such as becoming pregnant at a young age or having children out of wedlock, but saw these decisions as being responsible. They explain this as follows: “The growing rarity of marriage among the poor, particularly prior to childbirth, has led some observers to claim that marriage has lost its meaning in low-income communities.” (Promises I Can Keep 11.2). Ultimately, it seems that individuals of the lower class have a very different perception …show more content…
Perhaps the first thing one must consider is why there are increasing numbers of poor women having children out of wedlock. One explanation of this concept that Edin and Kefalas use is that the poor women view raising their own child as a sense of accomplishment. For instance, they explain “in the social world inhabited by poor women, a baby born into such conditions represents an opportunity to prove one 's worth.” (11.3). Essentially, the women of a low social class view their children as an opportunity for success. It represents a sense of hope and fulfillment that the mother feels when she has a child. Also, interestingly enough, women of a poor class viewed “marriage as a luxury” (11.2). There are also reasons that involve a sense of fear in control. For instance, Edin and Kefalas explain that “poor women do not want to marry until they are set… a young mother often fears marriage will mean a loss of control” (13.3). Essentially, a poor women who has a child …show more content…
I believe it is very difficult to raise a child alone as well as pay for a home. Also, like Edin and Kefalas explained, children raised by 2 parents have a much greater chance of entering college and not going to jail. However, I do agree with some perspectives of the poor women. The idea of having autonomy over one 's life, or working very hard to raise a child as a source of fulfillment can both inspire the mother and even inspire others to do so. Ultimately, I believe that this decision would make sense for me. I think it is possible to raise a child successfully out of wedlock despite it being difficult. It also very interesting, these experiences gave the mother 's important life lessons. As Edin and Kefalas describe: “Women openly, and often eagerly, shared life lessons they had learned about relationships, marriage, and children.” (16.3) What is most interesting to me is the life lessons they learned through raising a child out of wedlock. I think that this is one of the most important parts of the experience because these life lessons can be shared with other individuals. In essence, when a poor women raises a child out of wedlock, it is not only for the success of herself, but it can be for the success of society as the life lessons the mother learns can be
Economic inequality and injustice come in the same hand. Poor people are more likely to experience inequality and injustice. The negative assumptions of poor people are created by the media and politicians. Promoting economic justice by offering people living in poverty some form of social support. Barbara Ehrenreich found in her experiment the workforce for low-wage was difficult. Conley talks about the different types of social inequalities and how they have been unsuccessful.
The first article is by Hadi Danawi, Zenobia Bryant and Tala Hasbini and is entitled Targeting Unintended Teen Pregnancy in the U.S.. This article is all about the numbers and statistics. The authors state that we should take the statistics that we know and use those as a jumping off point on where to direct resources. If we know of a community where there is a higher rate of teen pregnancies, then we can go into those communities and inform the teens of the resources available in the area and offer the teens sexual education classes. The authors also suggested that the best way to end teen pregnancy is not to necessarily target the issue directly but we should target differences within our own communities first. The article also examines which individuals may be more apt to have a teen pregnancy verses others.
Reading over this week forum nothing surprises me these days. I am in disbelief that society would think a 12 year old would have the mind set to even know what love really means especially loving an adult in a compassionate way. I’m just sitting here wondering if Mr. Matthew Koso had a few screws loose to think that this was the right thing to do with a child. Crystal was twelve years old when he met her.[1] She got pregnant at 13 years old.[1] She married him at 14 years old.[1] Where were her parents when all of this was going on? I think this stage in her life she should have been reading books and playing with her best friends instead trying to figure out motherhood. This case clearly shows that the parenting piece of their parents
While strangers judged this behavior as being “irresponsible and self-destructive” (47), young mothers associate abortion to an “easy way out” (45); the pressure of society and their community push young couples to keep the child. Their
explains that the cost of having a child is much more of a burden for the women of the
When Dyk is explaining poverty of the poor rural Southern Black Women, she also says that, “You will be encouraged by their strength and resiliency.” (Dyk178). This means that even though some women have to prostitute themselves and face domestic as well as community violence, they keep on trying to find different ways to earn, so that they can feed their children and give them a better life. Similarly, Coontz presents it in a different way and call it economic independence. One of the reasons why divorce rates are high now, is because women are economically independent because they are educated. They did used to earn in the past, but now they have control over their income and they don’t put up with things like men abusing them or domestic violence; this shows that women have become stronger economically and emotionally as compared to how they were in the past. Those who criticize women for working and not spending time with their children, Coontz states that, “Kids do better when their mothers are happy with their lives.” (Coontze98).
When it comes to the controversial issue of parenting, I believe that a single parent has the ability to raise a child just as effectively as two parents can. The reasons why are because the minor can learn life lessons that can only be acquired with a single parent, the single guardian can be the best choice for the young one, and a single parent has the ability to put all their attention and care to the son or daughter. Although some readers may object that it is impossible for a single parent to take care of a child than two parents, I would answer that it is not impossible. In The Scarlet Letter, a woman named Hester and her baby daughter Pearl were ostracized from society; and the young mother was left alone to take care of her daughter. Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate that a child with a single parent can be raised properly by using the example of Hester and Pearl.
For as much as has been written about the crime of abortion and infanticide, equally much as been said against forced maternity, marital rape, and woman’s lack of control over her own body, all circumstances resulting in unwanted pregnancy and unwanted children. Such circumstances all stemmed from unique family, social, or health issues, with no one cause resulting in the abandonment of a child. A lack of knowledge about both sanitation and about women’s health resulted in the deaths of mothers during birth. General poverty and migration from farms to city centers made large families more difficult to support financially. Giving up a child because it could not be economically supported by its family was a common occurrence. As abortion became more stigmatized and criminalized, children who were the product of rape or wedlock were also abandoned. Deaths related to the Civil War also dramatically increased the numbers of orphaned children. Within the pages of The Revolution, it is asked: “Women who are in the last stages of consumption, who know that their offspring must be puny, suffering, neglected orphans, are still compelled to submit to maternity, and dying in childbirth, are their husbands ever condemned? Oh, no!” (2)
Fathers every year in Washington go to jail for nothing more than being broke (Deadbeat). They are called “dead beat dads” by their peers, scorned by society, and treated as subclass citizens (THE, ASSOCIATED). This is a very grim reality that men of every age range face daily. Both men and women make the choices that result in babies. However, women are given a choice at every stage of the child’s development to adopt out, abort, or even use contraception (Why).
During the early twentieth century, the rate of unwanted childbirth was very high. Women in poor neighborhoods lived their lives in an almost constant state of pregnancy. Margaret Sanger recognized the need for women to be able to control their childbearing. She believed that unintentional childbearing caused many problems. She felt it led to poverty, abuse, crime, alcoholism, and joblessness. She saw the effect it had on the women’s emotional states and decided to make a difference. She provided women with the means and the knowledge to control their offspring. She gave them hope.
The saying “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,” is a common one here in the United States. There is a stigma here that if one works hard enough, they can be anyone they want to be. A lot of people who believe that stigma, did not actually have to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. They were born on third base and think they hit a triple. According to an article in the Huffington Post, the richest one percent holds 46 percent of the world’s wealth. This one percent includes people such as the Walton children, the inheritors of the money made from Wal-Mart, which was created by their father (“Richest 1 Percent Hold”). It is pretty obvious that they did not have to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, that these people barely had to work at all to receive a huge sum of money. But, then there is the opposite side of the spectrum. There are people who work incredibly hard every single day of their lives, but will forever be stuck in a life of poverty. Some may look at this huge problem and think of an easy solution. Just have rich people give their money to poor people. A common idea, also known as charity. Though, when given a deeper look, charity can sometimes be the same concept as putting a bandage on a bullet wound.
In Of Woman Born, Adrienne Rich effectively weaves her own story into a convincing account of what it means to become a mother within the bonds of patriarchal culture. Her conclusion that the institution of motherhood, which she distinguishes from motherhood, must be destroyed in order to release the creation and sustenance of life into the same realm of decision, struggle, surprise, imagination, and conscious intelligence, as any other difficult, but freely chosen work is substantiated by her courageous confession that contradicts culturally normative notions of motherhood.
According to the Children Defense Fund 1 in 13 children will live in extreme poverty in the United States and a family of four is extremely poor if their income is below 10,000 or half of the official poverty line. (http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/state-data-repository/census/census-2007-child-poverty-data.pdf,). Despite being wealthy the U.S. . has the highest rate of child poverty among all the other countries. Poor children are more likely to go hungry and are less likely to be read to during their early years. They are less likely to have health insurance and needed care. Poor children are more likely to start school behind their affluent peers and are less likely to graduate high school. They are more likely to grow up as poor adults and become involved in the criminal justice system. A family of four's annual income must be lower than 23,000 to reach child poverty. (http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/state-of-americas-children/documents/2014-SOAC_child-poverty.pdf(). Children in single parent homes were four times more likely to be poor than children in two adult families. Almost 70 percent of all children live with two parents.(http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/state-data.) The south has the highest child poverty rate with 1 in 4 children compared to 1 in 5 children in the rest of the country. Growing up in child poverty can be a major effect on a healthy development for a child. Poverty and stress about finances can have an effect on children's cognitive development and their ability to learn. It can contribute to behavioral problems, social and emotional problems, and poor health. Living in poverty affects how a chil...
...s strongest anti-poverty weapon. Gender and race play huge roles in influencing poverty. The feminization of poverty will continue increasing if single women do not get married. But that is not to say that there is not an exception to this problem, there are some single women that do not carry this stigma. Was it extremely challenging for my mother? Yes it sure was, but at the end of it all, my mother survived and is doing well for herself without the help from no one. My mother said, “ It felt so good knowing she was able to do what the society said she could not do”. My mother does not encourage going through life as a single mother, it is much harder than it looks. My mother is an example to women that you can succeed, she is a motivation for other women out there that there is a chance of making it and succeeding without ending up in the ongoing poverty cycle.
Furthermore, women are still expected to give up their job pursuits for children. Men, when they get married tent to earn more power. However, women lose their power or even have to give up everything that they had been working toward their whole life to bear the child who will keep the lineage for her husband’s family. “It is not false that today, almost half of infants’ mothers are employed” and the percentage of working moms has risen much over recent years. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that it is unfair for women to have to be pressured by both work and children.