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Childhood
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Baby Pictures

Family, Consumerism and Exchange among Teen Mothers in the USA

Deborah Freedman Lustig

Deborah Freedman Lustig Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USA. dlustig{at}scu.edu

Like many parents in the US, teen mothers regularly have professional portraits taken of their children. This article, based on an ethnographic study of a diverse group of teen mothers in urban California, analyzes these baby pictures as representations of childhood, motherhood and family, and as material objects used in the construction of kin networks. Through these portraits teen mothers construct themselves as good mothers, resisting public denunciations of their childbearing at the same time that they embrace consumer culture. Small photos are exchanged with their friends and family members, contributing to a culture of care, albeit one based on market principles.

Key Words: consumerism • family photographs • networks • teenage mothers

Childhood, Vol. 11, No. 2, 175-193 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0907568204043055
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