Welfare Queen

A "welfare queen" is a derogatory term used in the United States to refer to women who allegedly misuse or collect excessive welfare payments through fraud, child endangerment, or manipulation. Reporting on welfare fraud began during the early 1960s, appearing in general-interest magazines such as ''Reader's Digest''. The term originates from media reporting in 1974, and was popularized by Ronald Reagan, beginning with his 1976 presidential campaign.

Since then, the phrase "welfare queen" has remained a stigmatizing label and is sometimes directed toward black, single mothers. Hence, it is considered racist by many.
Although women in the U.S. could no longer stay on welfare indefinitely after the federal government launched the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in 1996, the term remains a trope in the American dialogue on poverty and negatively shapes welfare policies and outcomes for these families.

Origin

The idea of welfare fraud goes back to the early-1960s, when the majority of known offenders were male. Despite this, many journalistic exposés were published at the time on those who would come to be known as welfare queens. ''Reader's Digest'' and '' Look'' magazine published sensational stories about mothers gaming the system.

The term was coined in 1974, either by George Bliss of the ''Chicago Tribune'' in his articles about Linda Taylor, or by '' Jet'' magazine. Neither publication credits the other in their "Welfare Queen" stories of that year. Taylor was ultimately charged with committing $8,000 in fraud and having four aliases. She was convicted in 1977 of illegally obtaining 23 welfare checks using two aliases and was sentenced to two to six years in prison. During the same decade, Taylor was investigated for alleged kidnapping and baby trafficking, and is suspected of multiple murders, but was never charged.

Accounts of her activities were used by Ronald Reagan, beginning with his 1976 presidential campaign, although he never identified her by name or race.

Used to illustrate his criticisms of social programs in the United States, Reprinted from ''The Washington Star''. Reagan employed the trope of the "Welfare Queen" in order to rally support for reform of the welfare system. During his initial bid for the Republican nomination in 1976, and again in 1980, Reagan constantly made reference to the "Welfare Queen" at his campaign rallies. Some of these stories, and some that followed into the 1990s, focused on female welfare recipients engaged in behavior counter-productive to eventual financial independence such as having children out of wedlock, using AFDC money to buy drugs, or showing little desire to work. Reagan's characterization of these women were used to justify real-life changes to policies and play a role in the shrinking of the social safety net. These women were understood to be social parasites, draining society of valuable resources while engaging in self damaging behavior. They were also understood to be overwhelmingly women of color in an effort to push racialized narratives. Despite these early appearances of the "Welfare Queen" icon, stories about able-bodied