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CHAPTER 10 Conclusions This book has examined the ways in which thirty young working-class women of African American, Dominican, South American, U.S. Puerto Rican, and white European backgrounds, enrolled in an alternative high school for "at-risk" students, anticipate their future lives as adult women and the role of the school's gender code in shaping those expectations . The gender code of the school, through various processes, promoted at times a contradicwcy version of femininity that on the one hand, emphasized academic mastery and economic self-sufficiency and on the other, condoned "traditional" patterns of gendered cuhuraJ and social interaction. The chapters on girls' visions for their futures illustrate the differ~ ences in expectations for variously constituted groups of girls (the variables including race, ethnicity, immigration experience, family form, etc.). While some girls held more progressive conceptions of their future lives, embracing a version of femininity that emphasized the importance of educational and career success, and challenging the sexual division of domestic labor, others displayed more conservative and "traditional" notions of femininity. An examination of the processes of identity formation among diverse young women alerts us to significant differences within the category of young women, suggesting the possibility of the emergence of muhiple femininities. Recall how the young white women articulated a future identity that, for the most part, revolved around marriage and family with little orientation toward paid employment. Although they perceived that they would most certainly have to enter the labor market at some point in their adult lives, their identification with domestic concerns was still primary. For all these young white women, romance played a central role in their lives. Many were involved in long-standing, monogamous relationships, and spent a great deal of leisure time with boyfriends. They also provided much of the household labor for their families. Their probable adult lives will mirror their present and preparatory circumstances, lives constructed around domestic responsibilities and relationships with men. On the other hand, the young women of African American and U.S. 197 198 CODES AND CONTRADICTIONS Puerto Rican descent, given the long histories of female participation in the labor market and the reality of economic discrimination against men, expressed a primary identification with obtaining jobs or "careers," desiring a family life after establishing themselves economically . While most envisioned the domestic sphere as their future responsibility , they also clearly wished to negotiate more equitable terms in the division of labor with their mates. With regard to romance, it appeared much less a concern than it did for the white girls. While many in this group expressed interest in boys and in dating, they did not enter into the type of intense involvements typical of the white girls. The group of immigrant Latina girls, whose family experiences of immigration have created ruptures in traditional gender consciousness, reflected a range of future expectations that are both consonant with the new possibilities presented by the school, and at the same time, reflect some of the cultural prescriptions of gender within their families or communities . Most of these young women intended to pursue jobs or careers in the hope of lllaimaining some economic independence and control over their domestic lives. Education is recognized as valuable by these girls; this sense of value is greatly reinforced by their families, who view education as a primary vehicle for social mobility. Yet for some, their academic performance was barely passable and higher education not a realistic goal. While all the immigrant girls envisioned getting "good" jobs, marrying, and having children, the girls most engaged in school amicipated getting settled first economically before marriage, and those less engaged in school planned on entering into emotional attachments with men or early childbearing before a period of independence. Many of these girls found themselves struggling to redefine gender boundaries, just as their mothers had to adapt to new gender codes after settling in the United States. Several aspects of this alternative school emerged as significant in shaping various aspects of the young women's identities. These included a school ethos that embodied the belief on the part of the staff and Students that -graduating from high school was a realistic goal, a disciplinary structure that served as a corrective for the girls' previously negative attitudes toward school, a pedagogic relationship in which teachers view students optimistically and students feel teachers care, and a curriculum that emphasized career preparation and helped students develop skills necessary to examine critically aspects of the unequal social structure in which...

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