Definition: A "welfare queen" is a low-income woman, usually of African-American ancestry, who is accused of having children as a way of increasing her welfare payments.
The term originated among movement conservatives during the 1970s following several highly-publicized cases of welfare fraud perpetrated by women. The stereotypical welfare queen was described by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1976, during his first presidential campaign, as a woman from Chicago's South Side (i.e., a black woman) driving a Cadillac:
During the 1980s and 1990s, the term shifted from describing women who committed illegal welfare fraud to describing women who, legally, had children in order to collect social services benefits.
The term is similar in function to the term "anchor babies," which describes undocumented Latino women having children in order to avoid deportation. In both cases, low-income women of color are accused of becoming mothers under dishonest circumstances in order to exploit the U.S. government.
The term originated among movement conservatives during the 1970s following several highly-publicized cases of welfare fraud perpetrated by women. The stereotypical welfare queen was described by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1976, during his first presidential campaign, as a woman from Chicago's South Side (i.e., a black woman) driving a Cadillac:
She has eighty names, thirty addresses, twelve Social Security cards and is collecting veteran's benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands. And she is collecting Social Security on her cards. She's got Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names. Her tax-free cash income is over $150,000.No woman meeting this description has ever been found, and the story is generally regarded as fictional.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the term shifted from describing women who committed illegal welfare fraud to describing women who, legally, had children in order to collect social services benefits.
The term is similar in function to the term "anchor babies," which describes undocumented Latino women having children in order to avoid deportation. In both cases, low-income women of color are accused of becoming mothers under dishonest circumstances in order to exploit the U.S. government.
