During the 1980s and 1990s, the expression “Welfare Queen” gained popular in political discourse. The phrase was criticized for its alleged usage as a political tool as well as its negative implications. Individuals perpetrating welfare fraud made up a relatively small fraction of people getting legal benefits, according to critics. The term’s use was also interpreted as an attempt to caricature users in order to erode public support for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).
President Ronald Reagan used this phrase to express his dissatisfaction with social initiatives in the United States. He used the myth to mobilize public support for welfare reform. Reagan frequently mentioned the phrase at campaign rallies during his first run for the Republican nomination in 1976, and again in 1980. Some of these tales, as well as others that followed into the 1990s, focused on female welfare recipients engaging in conduct that was detrimental to their future financial independence, such as having children out of wedlock, using AFDC money to buy drugs, or exhibiting a lack of motivation to work.
Reagan’s portrayal of these ladies was used to justify real-world policy changes and contributed to the shrinkage of the social safety net. These women were viewed as social leeches who drained society of vital resources while participating in self-destructive conduct. They were also thought to be predominantly women of color in order to propagate racist notions. Despite the “Assistance Queen” icon’s early appearances, stories about able-bodied males receiving benefits continued to dominate conversation until the 1970s, when women became the primary focus of welfare fraud stories.
The “Welfare Queen” stereotype is supported by false and racist assumptions that attribute poverty to the personal failings of black single moms, reinforcing racial stereotypes like promiscuity. With primary narratives about poverty being driven by the myth of meritocracy, the trope exemplifies the result of adding racial and gender dimensions to these inaccurate claims. This became a public identity projected onto the bodies of black women, and the maintenance of this public identity has been utilized to shape welfare policy results.