Abstract
This article explores meanings of subjective gender and cultural place of a biracial, bicultural, unmarried 15-year-old mother with a substantial trauma history and court involvement. The treatment, which took place in a church-run maternity home, addressed oppositional behavior and anger and evoked profound questions of gender and culture. These clinical data are discussed from a multidimensional model of gender, race, and ethnicity; cultural meanings; psychological trauma; and power. Remarkable for examples of ego strength and insight, material in the case study provides some understanding of a profoundly traumatized yet resilient girl who has struggled through her experiences—and in her treatment—to keep making sense of her life.
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