"Doing What I Do": African American Teenagers, Gender, and Sexuality In an Inner City
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Date
2004-08-13
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Abstract
This study is an ethnographic exploration of how African American teenagers at an inner city summer program called Emmaus deal with their poor living conditions. Building off of Connell's theory of multiple masculinities and femininities, this study explores how teens use their bodies as a social resource in lieu of class opportunities. Analysis is based on observations of 65 boys and girls and interviews with 20 boys and girls. It finds that African American teens have remarkably traditional notions and practices of gender, which in turn create animosity and volatile romantic relationships. The essentialized construction of gender along with the reliance on the body as a social resource also results in a complex system of heterosexism. This study also examines the teens' coping strategies and the changes needed to improve the lives of the teens.
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poverty, black, adolescents, Washington, D.C., heterosexism, masculinity, femininity
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Degree
MS
Discipline
Sociology
