Brothermothering: Gender, Power, and the Parenting Strategies of Low-Income Black Single Mothers of Teenagers

Elliott, Sinikka; Brenton, Joslyn; Powell, Rachel

doi:10.1093/socpro/spx021

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…These images bolster and reproduce the widespread notion that Black mothers' individual decisions and behaviors are solely responsible for their children's outcomes (Dow 2015;Elliott and Reid 2016;Gurusami 2019;Soss et al 2011;Windsor, Dunlap, and Golub 2011). In political and popular discourse, Black mothers have been blamed for transferring deviant attitudes to their children, resulting in successive generations of poverty and delinquency (Collins 2000;Elliott, Brenton, and Powell 2018;Hancock 2004;Roberts 2002).…”

Section: Marginalized Parents and Social Controlmentioning

confidence: 91%

Low-Income Black Mothers Parenting Adolescents in the Mass Incarceration Era: The Long Reach of Criminalization

Elliott

Reid

2019

Am Sociol Rev

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Punitive and disciplinary forms of governance disproportionately target low-income Black Americans for surveillance and punishment, and research finds far-reaching consequences of such criminalization. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 46 low-income Black mothers of adolescents in urban neighborhoods, this article advances understanding of the long reach of criminalization by examining the intersection of two related areas of inquiry: the criminalization of Black youth and the institutional scrutiny and punitive treatment of Black mothers. Findings demonstrate that poor Black mothers calibrate their parenting strategies not only to fears that their children will be criminalized by mainstream institutions and the police, but also to concerns that they themselves will be criminalized as bad mothers who could lose their parenting rights. We develop the concept of “family criminalization” to explain the intertwining of Black mothers’ and children’s vulnerability to institutional surveillance and punishment. We argue that to fully grasp the causes and consequences of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on Black youth and adults, sociologists must be attuned to family dynamics and linkages as important to how criminalization unfolds in the lives of Black Americans.

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Section: Marginalized Parents and Social Controlmentioning

confidence: 91%

Low-Income Black Mothers Parenting Adolescents in the Mass Incarceration Era: The Long Reach of Criminalization

Elliott

Reid

2019

Am Sociol Rev

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“…Albeit, these same mothers also faced judgement from others regarding what they were doing wrong as parents (see Elliott and Reid 2016). Further accounts specifically among single parent mothers have sought to address how various protectionist parenting practices can be orchestrated in response to risks to the safety and welfare of their young Black adolescent children (see Elliott, Brenton, and Powell 2017). Strict disciplinary practices can also be exhibited by mothers in reaction to the pressures of exerting control over their children in challenging community conditions marked by crime and related social problems (see Deater-Deckard et al 1996;Arditti, Burton, and Neeves-Botelho 2010).…”

Section: The Politics Of Race and Parentingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race and parenting in the context of youth incarceration

Adams

McCarthy

2019

Ethnic and Racial Studies

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This article examines the experiences of ethnic minority caregivers related to young men in prison. Focussing on how parenting was shaped through ethnic identity, we show that caregivers (especially mothers) developed a strong protectionist stance towards their childrena response partly conditioned by the pressures of crime and policing in their neighbourhoods. Reflections on parenting also encompassed specific forms of cultural shame, which were interpreted as responses to actual and perceived judgements about parenting competence. The role of faith as a means of coping with the ordeals of criminal justice contact was also identified. These findings are examined through the literature on race and parenting in explaining the consequences of crime and imprisonment in shaping family lives.

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“…Black mothers also experience extensive stigma when their children are involved in crime, especially among single mothers who are commonly criticized for failing to offer an adequate male role model for their male children (e.g. Elliot et al, 2017;Patillo, 1998).…”

Section: Parenting Young Male Offenders: Reexamining Collateral Consementioning

confidence: 99%

“Yes, I can still parent. Until I die, he will always be my son”: Parental responsibility in the wake of child incarceration

McCarthy

Adams

2017

Punishment & Society

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This paper examines what parental responsibility means when an adolescent child is sent to prison, where the traditional parenting relationship seemingly ends and parens patriae or penal control comes into full force. Paradoxically, we argue that even in these restricted spaces of contact, parenting continues, albeit in a form which runs into frequent tension with the care/control modalities of the prison itself. Our data further demonstrate the importance of addressing a constellation of social adversities experienced by caregivers, in conjunction with the collateral consequences of offending and incarceration. Data are drawn from interviews with primary caregivers with young men in prison (n ¼ 61).Research into the experience of primary caregivers who maintain relations with incarcerated children is incredibly sparse. This contrasts with a related (and now vast) body of research which has documented the effects of incarceration on families, typically through the perspective of intimate partners or children whose parents are in prison (e.

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Brothermothering: Gender, Power, and the Parenting Strategies of Low-Income Black Single Mothers of Teenagers

Cited by 9 publications

References 30 publications

Low-Income Black Mothers Parenting Adolescents in the Mass Incarceration Era: The Long Reach of Criminalization

Low-Income Black Mothers Parenting Adolescents in the Mass Incarceration Era: The Long Reach of Criminalization

Race and parenting in the context of youth incarceration

“Yes, I can still parent. Until I die, he will always be my son”: Parental responsibility in the wake of child incarceration

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