Joyce A. Ladner

Groundbreaking at its time, Ladner's sociological study of black girls growing up in the American innercity in the 1960s revalorized the worth and culture of poor girls of color.

The second half delivered excellent reflections on how womanhood is constructed and interwoven with sexuality and motherhood and independence, though I didn't get much out of the few few chapters of the book. I was also uncomfortable with many of the contextualizations (primarily on two fronts: the just-so story of "black culture is like <x> because of its African roots" premise, and Ladner's conclusion section that recasts black poor cultural practices as "what white women of the 1960s keep hoping for for themselves"). That said, I quite liked the book as a historical narrative that bottles the era, and as a snapshot in time for cultural expectations and practices.

Even so, the key ideas have been picked up and worked over and integrated into more modern thinking. I'm not convinced this is a book worth revisiting for the general public. It feels mostly suited to academics tracing the lineage of black studies or race in America.… (más)