Title: Behind the eight ball : sex for crack cocaine exchange and poor Black women /
Authors: Sharpe, Tanya Telfair.
Publisher: Haworth Press,
Year: 2005
Subjects: Women; Social Problems; Sexual Behavior ethnology; Poverty; African Americans; Crack Cocaine; Cocaine-Related Disorders ethnology; African American women Drug use.; Poor women Drug use United States.; Drug addicts United States Sexual behavior.; Drugs and sex United States.; Crack (Drug) United States.; Children of prenatal substance abuse United States.; Women drug addicts Sexual behavior United States.; Crack Cocaine United States.; African Americans United States.; Poverty United States.; Sexual Behavior ethnology United States.; Social Problems United States.; Women United States.; United States; United States
Abstract: "Behind the Eight Ball documents an American tragedy that highlights the widening gap between social and economic classes. In their own words, poor black women share the details of their lives before and after crack cocaine invaded their communities, each recalling the circumstances of her introduction to the drug and her first experience using sex to support her addiction. These candid interviews expose the changes in inner-city neighborhoods that created the perfect conditions for a crack stronghold. They also highlight the crack cocaine economy's impact on the lives of inner-city residents and the social consequences of crack addiction for women like "April," who suffered a series of family tragedies including deaths from AIDS, child abuse and neglect, and the state-ordered removal of all the minor children in her family."--Jacket.
Contents: The social and economic precursors of crack use in inner cities -- Bearing the legacy of social change : a theory of gender roles among the inner-city poor -- The crack culture and its roles : the complexities of crack prostitution -- A picture of the women -- Lives of women who exchange sex for crack -- Exchanging sex for crack and sexual risk taking -- Sex-for-crack pregnancies -- Sex-for-crack children -- Discussion, conclusions, and policy suggestions -- Method notes.