Bad girls/poor girls: A New York history of social control from the Alms House to family court.
Item
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Title
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Bad girls/poor girls: A New York history of social control from the Alms House to family court.
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Identifier
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AAI9009776
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identifier
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9009776
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Creator
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Rothman, Flora.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Eli Faber
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Date
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1989
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Criminology and Penology | Sociology, Public and Social Welfare | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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A commonly-noted phenomenon of the juvenile justice system has been its attempt to control girls' sexual activity while ignoring that of boys. This study traces the development of that gender distinction in public policy from colonial times to the present day, particularly as it evolved in New York City.;The roots of modern policies are discerned in early Alms House and charity practices and females' chronic economic dependence. Females' status encouraged a blurring of age distinctions between girlhood and womanhood in social attitudes, institutional arrangements, and legislation. Initially, young females' sexual activity was regarded as a source of pauperism and/or social disgrace. Mid-1800s' views included those which identified it as a threat to social order or evidence of family pathology. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries such activity became a symptom of mental illness, and, ultimately, behavior to be controlled by law.;Legislation was characterized by the broad powers granted to officials, quasi-officials, and parents. While initial efforts often focused on removing children from inadequate parents, poor parents became adept at utilizing the system for their own purposes. Its attractiveness to parents increased as immigrant parents experienced difficulties in retaining traditional authority over their daughters and as children's entry into the world of work was delayed. The survival of the system controlling girls' behavior was assured by the establishment of an array of institutions for the reform of wayward females.;Recent efforts to eradicate gender inequities have found that the attitudes and practices of the past are stubborn, and that public policies seeking control over female sexuality are often still tied to families' economic status.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
