On Being a Rad, Mad, Queer Mama, by Nina Packebush

< div class= " field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above " > < div class= " field-label " > Section: & nbsp; < /div > < div class= " field-items " > < div class= " field-item even " > < a href= " /articles " > Articles < /a > < /div > < /div > < /div > < div class= " field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden " > < div class= " field-items " > < div class= " field-item even " > < p >  I was eighteen years old when I gave birth to my son and discovered first-hand the very real dangers of being a marginalized mama. It was the mid 80’s and politicians on both sides of the political spectrum were bemoaning the high cost of < em > unwed < /em > teenagers having babies. Headlines like, “ < em > Children Having Children < /em > ” were splashed across every newsstand magazine. Sad faced teenage girls clutching babies, with falling down trailers or run-down apartments in the background, stared out from the covers. According to these articles the children of “children” faced a life of low education, poverty, prison, eve n rotting teeth, and of course it was society that bore the huge cost of these bastard children. < /p > < p >      I was assigned a social worker and was counseled about the wisdom of giving up my baby for adoption. When I shyly told them that wasn’t an option I was assigned a nurse to visit my home after the birth of my baby. I didn’t realize until after the fact that the p...

Source: The Icarus Project - Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness - December 20, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Icarus Project Source Type: blogs