What the Good Girls Got: Social Class, Identity, and the Transition to Adulthood

• In Event: 082 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session I
  In Refereed Roundtable: A. Table 17. Identity

Abstract

A number of recent studies have examined the social and cultural forces that shape the likelihood of poor women having children prior to completing school, obtaining stable employment, or entering into marriage. However, most of this work focuses on those who do choose motherhood. This paper reports the results of a small exploratory study in which I conducted interviews with poor young women in a public housing project who delayed childbearing themselves, yet often ended up in motherhood roles. I find that their delay in childbearing is related to cultural messages they have encountered regarding the nature of childbearing among the poor and the relationship between childbearing and their odds for upward mobility. Yet, the uncertainty of upward mobility has made this a painful decision. I also report their understandings of what it means to be an adult.

Author

• Syndee G. Knight, Hanover College