Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With measures to tackle the social issues caused by teen pregnancy being bantered about the halls of Congress like a beach volleyball, it's refreshing to receive some serious, measured thinking on the context and causes of teenage pregnancy. Kristin Luker, a professor of sociology and law at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood, presents a book that tracks the history of our near-obsession with the subject. Her central point is that pregnancy is a measuring stick of poverty, not a cause. While there's statistical analysis aplenty, the work comes to life through the words of the young mothers she interviewed. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

A fresh perspective but a patchy read, Luker's latest charts the history of society's obsession with pregnant teens and the social ills they have come to represent. The author of Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood, Luker is a professor of sociology and law at UC-Berkeley. Her central theme?teenage motherhood should be considered "a measure, not a cause of poverty and social ills"?will be embraced by liberals, but both sides of the debate over teen pregnancy will benefit from the author's analysis of society's prejudice. Luker points out that although older women and white women became the largest group of unwed mothers in the 1970s and '80s, it is "the teenage mother?in particular the black teenage mother?[who] came to personify the social, economic, and sexual trends that... affected almost everyone in America." Although full of dismantled misconceptions and startling statistics, Dubious Conceptions is marred by such unilluminating observations as, "A marriage license is no guarantee that...a father will continue to support his children financially or even come to visit them." Later in the work, Luker interjects the voices of young mothers. Their naivete is heartbreaking?"It's even harder than they say it is. I knew it would be hard, but not this hard," says one?and they are the ones who best underscore the importance of Luker's work. Teenage mothers are not a disease but young people whose problems, along with society's, require a real understanding of the issues.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674217039
• ISBN-13: 978-0674217034
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #217,414 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Start understanding what's really going on.., February 4, 2002

By	Edward Cichowicz MD (San Juan, PR USA) - See all my reviews

If you're public health professional, a teacher, a social worker, or even a politician, dealing with teen pregnancy at any level, you don't really understand what's going on, unless you've walked the walk, or read Kristin Luker's Dubious Conceptions, Judith Musick's Young, Poor and Pregnant, or Norine Johnson et al's (Eds.) Beyond Appearance: A New Look at Adolescent Girls. If you haven't been in their (adolescent mothers') shoes, but you have the social conscience and sense of social justice to want to help these kids, these three works are, in my view, indispensible reading. If you depend on organizations like The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy for your good ideas, you have really been missing the boat. Come down to earth and discover their real world.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book about what we call "teen pregnancy", October 12, 1998

By	Michael A. Males (Oklahoma City, OK United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Along with Judith Musick's "Young, Poor, and Pregnant," Luker's book is a masterpiece shattering beloved myths on all sides of the utterly phony "teen pregnancy" squabble.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, August 11, 2003

By	Brendan Perez (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a very insightful look at "teen" pregnancies and may help destroy many ideas that people have of the "fast" "immature" teen girl pregnant because of her hormonal drive and rebelliousness.