Economist Says American Latinas Frequently Buy Birth Control At Flea Markets
20 March 2008, 9:00 AM. By Guanabee Staff
Hey Latinas, are you an unwed mother? Did you get that way by buying shoddy birth control at the flea market? According to this morning’s Economist, you are not alone. “The vaunted Latino family,” it says, “is coming to resemble the Black family.” Burn!
The Latino family is not in such a dire state as the black family, where 71% of children are born to single mothers. Yet the gap appears to be closing. In 1995 the unmarried teenage birth rate for Latinas was 20% lower than the rate for blacks. It is now 12% higher. This is not just a worry for socially-conservative preachers. More than half of all young Hispanic children in families headed by a single mother are living below the federal poverty line, compared with 21% being raised by a married couple.
While these statistics may or may not be true, there is a tone in the article that leaves us feeling a little like a zoological specimen.
“Among the poor,” continues the uncredited reporter, “cohabitation is seen as normal and single parenthood merely regrettable.” As opposed to among the rich where this is not the case? In fact, the article goes on to blame American mores or lack of them, as the case seems to be. But then there’s all that dashed poverty and ignorance we Latinos embody that creates such a sinister mix:
Pedro Elías of Planned Parenthood says machismo persists among young Latinos in Fresno, making them less inclined to use condoms. Latinas frequently obtain imported birth-control pills from flea markets, together with dodgy advice about how to use them.
Really? Is this happening? We must hear from you on this one. We’re just going to step out for a minute to pick up our new diaphragm from the hot dog vendor, but please carry on in the comments section.
Hispanic families: Bad news from California [Economist]
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The are cheaper in the swapmeet… do you know how much they are if you want to buy them at a drugstore?
Jesus Christ, the US Latino population is far larger than the African American population (even if you don’t count illegals!!!), and they still treat us like some weird unknown foreign specimen. And remind me to stop by the Ortho Tri Cyclen booth when I’m out at the free market next time…better get there early.
And what’s up with that headline “Hispanic Families: Bad News”? I know it’s the Economist, and they’re not based in the US, but still, come on…
omg i had no idea peeps buy pills from flea markets!
i think what’s creepy here is the blanket term, “Latinos.” Like, “those Latinos…” As if everyone who is Latino is a poor, uneducated illegal who has no healthcare coverage and is forced to buy their birth control from the back of a truck. I wonder how the Economist would feel if we judged all journalists by Perez Hilton.
That is crazy!
it’s probs the same shit you’d get in TJ
@ La Virgen. Shouldn’t you be appearing in a tortilla somewhere right about now?
I keed! I keed!
I totes agree with you on this. I think that you will find that people will go to great lengths to overcome the lack of affordable healthcare like purchasing drugs in the Mexican border areas or feigning to be Canadian (see Michael Moore). Its symptomatic of American social failure across the board.
Its like that article about women are more likely getting killed by terrorists than to get married if they are past the age of 30, this Economist article reeks of yellow journalism.
I resent that assumption. I do not buy my pills in the flea market, I do so at the Dollar Tree. Que Pendejos
OK I want to know where the stand at La Pulga is that is selling my Depo shot. Seriously? birth control is FREE in california or on sliding scale.