She/Her
Geography and Environmental Systems (GES)
In accordance with a push for increased intersectional approaches in critical environmental justice scholarship, gender is gaining acknowledgment as a social identity of examination. This master’s thesis project contributes to the continuously budding subfield by taking a gendered lens in the exploration of who has been historically framed as responsible for the childhood lead poisoning epidemic in Baltimore, Maryland. Using mixed qualitative methods, I investigate how the framing of lead poisoning as a “slum” and “minority problem” contributed to harmful class-based and racialized narratives of maternal responsibility that painted the mothers of lead-poisoned children as “careless,” “ignorant,” and “neglectful.” Such a form of scapegoating places the burden of preventing lead exposure on mothers, increasing their household labor, and overlooks broader contributors, such as lead companies, and the inaction of state entities. This analysis highlights the need to challenge these narratives and reframe Baltimore’s lead poisoning epidemic to shift away from the individualization of responsibility, contributing to more equitable environmental health discourse.
UMBC Mentor: Dr. Dena Aufseeser
Partner Mentor: G. Wesley Stewart (Green and Healthy Homes Initiative)