While feminist legal theory has some methods of resistance, it isn’t able to fully actualize its goals because it isn’t able to reach true intersectional methods of thought – by observing the roles of minority, single mothers, we can begin to recognize the discourse in the legal system

Suppose you have to go up to the school. You've got to be a full-time mother, then you've got to be a breadwinner, then you've got to be a nursemaid and you've just got to always be there. It's like you're being stretched so many different ways. . . .

I know from my experience. I've had to deal with it. I would get depressed and I would withdraw. Somehow, you can even feel like you're not even a part of society because you're standing there looking at the American Dream and you feel like it's passing you over. Just the basics. To pay rent, to buy the food and to make sure your kids have decent clothing so they can go to school and look like they belong to somebody. You don't always have that when you're working. 1

I. Introduction

In August 1996, President Clinton enacted the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), 2 a reform that "end[ed] welfare as we know it." 3 A measure aimed at curing the "pathology" of dependence on government support, the act purported to "convert . . . welfare into a helping hand, rather than a handout." 4 While the Act's preamble and legislative history admirably celebrate self-sufficiency and a strong work ethic, its specific provisions communicate messages concerning morality, behavior and "deserving" and "undeserving" welfare recipients. PRWORA represents the tradition and commitment of welfare policy writers to the "preserv[ation] of the moral order- the work ethic and family, gender, race, and ethnic relations." 5  [*342]  Welfare policy historically has been deployed as a "set of symbols that convey what behaviors are virtuous and what are deviant." 6 In overtly condemnatory and punitive terms, PRWORA stigmatizes dependence and ascribes moral fault to one particular group: poor single mothers. 7 Ignoring the realities that poor single mothers face as they struggle with caretaking and employment responsibilities, PRWORA imposes strict time limits and stringent work requirements in the name of "family values" and "independence." 8

Feminist legal theory provides a useful means of examining the representation of single mothers in welfare discourse and suggests constructive ways to rethink common understandings of independence, employment and responsibility. This Article will explore the status of single motherhood in relationship to welfare policy through four models: liberal feminism, radical feminism, cultural feminism and intersectional feminism. As a starting point, it will trace the key elements of PRWORA that have an adverse impact on single mothers and briefly discuss the stigmatization of single mothers in welfare discourse. The argument will primarily employ the four theoretical models to assess the strengths and weaknesses of welfare policy writers in ameliorating the position of single mothers, and to consider practical and just alternatives to PRWORA's provisions.

Although emphasizing different concerns, each model examines the debilitating manner in which welfare policy constructs poor single motherhood and exposes the normative vision that underpins the valorization of marriage and "self-sufficiency." A liberal feminist reading challenges welfare policy's infringements on women's autonomy and exercise of choice, particularly in the context of reproductive decisions. From a radical feminist perspective, welfare policy reflects a systemic, gendered power imbalance and hierarchy in which women are relegated to subordinate economic and social positions. PRWORA obfuscates this imbalance and punishes poor women for their failure to function successfully and "independently" as economic actors. The cultural feminist approach  [*343]  acknowledges this power imbalance and presents an affirmative model for the valorization of women's dependency labor. It seeks to transform the contours of the welfare debate through a philosophical understanding of human relationships as fundamentally interconnected and interdependent. Finally, the intersectional feminist approach concentrates on minority women, the most critical group of single mothers. This approach also brings to the foreground the marginalization of race issues in the liberal, radical and cultural feminist models.

The unique needs of minority mothers and the pervasive realities of racism challenge the possibility of alliances among feminists of different perspectives to improve the condition of poor single mothers. In light of these feminist models, reform of the low-wage labor market and a revitalized characterization of the work ethic and the value of caretaking would provide a blueprint for a welfare policy that is sensitive to the concerns of poor single mothers.