Dubious Conceptions: The Politics Of Teenage Pregnancy

After reading the excerpt from “Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of the Teenage Pregnancy Crisis” by Kristin Luker, I found myself agreeing with multiple topics she discussed. The first point of agreement is how our society has been using scapegoats for social issues, especially teenage pregnancy, and blaming that social issue and others for creating poverty rather than viewing it as a result of poverty. This social issue started a stereotype or perceived image of a teen mother. Teen goes to college, grows up and gets married, and obtains financial stability before bearing children is the basic American image. Being a teen mom would disrupt, the woman who financially stable and have a steady career should only bear children narrative. The perceived stereotype of a pregnant teenager, specifically a …show more content…
I agree with many of her points on this specific topic. Poverty does contribute to the stigma of teenage pregnancy among minorities. Individuals living in low-income neighborhoods have less access to a lot of the components that would help prevent teenage pregnancy. Lack of healthcare and sexual education in low-income neighborhoods are a big factor. Contraception and abortions are not affordable for teen girls living in those neighborhoods. Also, in those the parents are usually working long hours and/or multiple jobs to pay their bills, so sexual education is not coming from the parents and schools in those neighborhoods don’t have the funding for sexual education classes. Most of the girls in low-income neighborhoods learn from their peers, either learning about sex from friends or witnessing the struggles of a pregnant student/peer. In contrast, a middle-class teen mom has the resources available to her based on income status, and won’t use up the state resources and money, will not be criticized and judged, unlike her poorer