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17 and (Not really) Pregnant: Stereotypes, Rumors and Statistics

05/07/2011
Latino, National, Teen Pregnancy
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In the first issue of Homegirl NYC, Khalya Hopkins shares her story of being 15 and pregnant. She was dealing with a lot at the time—a boyfriend in jail for committing a gang-related crime, threats against her safety, finding out she had chlamydia, and dealing with neighborhood gossip. She says, “that summer was rough. I was the talk of the neighborhood, called every negative thing you can think of. My friends’ parents did want them to hang out with me because they thought I was a bad influence. It hurt.” But she made it through the hard times and now, at 24, she’s a successful teacher. What happened to her happened ten years ago, but have things changed all that much?

Question. How do pregnant girls get treated at your school? What do people say about them behind their backs? That they’re fast? Irresponsible? Statistics? Ruining their lives? What do you say? Or, what have you had said about you?

Gabby Rodriguez talks Stereotypes, Rumors and Statistics. Photo courtesy of Seattle Weekly.

Well, one teen wanted to find out for herself, so she posed as a pregnant teen. Gaby Rodriguez, 17, walked around with a fake belly for six months for her senior project “Stereotypes, Rumors and Statistics.” A straight-A student, Gaby wasn’t spared any of the usual gossip so she wrote down what people said about her and talked about how it made her feel during an assembly where she revealed her ruse. Gaby hoped that what she learned would help other girls (especially other Latinas who statistically have a high rate of teen pregnancy) fight stereotypes. Seems extreme, but do you think she made her point?

Bronx Homegirl Sonia Sotomayor

10/05/2009
Culture, Latino, News, the Bronx
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It’s Hispanic Heritage Week, y’all!!! (I thought it was a month-long celebration from Sept. 15-Oct. 15?) I have been slacking, I know, but I’m ready to catch up.

So, what better place to start than a story (and video) from NY1 on our newest United States Supreme Court Justice (and Bronx Homegirl) Sonia Sotomayor?  Today, the first Monday in October, is her first day on the Supreme Court, as the court begins its new term.

sotomayorQuick facts, just in case you haven’t been paying attention. Sonia Sotomayor was born in the Bronx in 1954 to two Puerto Rican immigrants. Her father, who did not speak English or have much formal, worked in a factory and her mother was a telephone operator and later a nurse. Sotomayor was diagnosed with diabetes at age 8 and her father died when she was 9.  She was raised in the Bronxdale Housing Projects where her family lived.

Sonia Sotomayor went to Princeton for college and graduated with the highest honors. She then went to Yale Law School. She married her high school sweetheart right before going to law school, but the marriage didn’t last. In law school, like in high school, she was an excellent student.

After law school, she worked as an assistant district attorney in NYC for five years, which began her distinguished legal career as both a prosecutor and a judge. In May of this year, President Obama nominated Sotomayor to the highest court in the country. She was confirmed, making her the first Hispanic judge on the Supreme Court, and the third woman, ever. Yes, you can. Or I should say, Si, se puede.

Read more about her, her experience, and views on controversial issues here.  And about her “wise Latina woman” statement (and effect on the culture) here.