This article examines the rites of passage for poor girls of Haitian descent living in the Dominican Republic. In the Dominican context, preparation for and the transition to wife and mother historically served as an important rite of passage to an adult identity. Industrialization and the global discourse surrounding young motherhood increasingly challenges this culturally sanctioned practice. No research has examined how perceptions around rites of passage to an adult female identity are evolving across generations within the Spanish Caribbean. The author conducted an ethnographic project that included the use of in-depth life history interviews with 42 participants. She interrogates the narratives of three generations of adolescent girls and women of Haitian descent using modified grounded theory to (a) describe current culturally acceptable pathways to becoming an adult woman and (b) examine shifts taking place across time regarding acceptable pathways to womanhood. Findings suggest that, increasingly, younger generations no longer perceive marriage and motherhood as the singular rite of passage to adulthood. Yet, additional skills and characteristics that the participants identified as important to effectively transition to an adult role are either very difficult for the poor to attain, or are acquired through the experience of marriage and motherhood.

本文探讨了生活在多米尼加共和国的贫困海地女童的成年礼。在多米尼加语境中，为妻子和母亲做准备和过渡在历史上是成年身份的重要过渡仪式。工业化和围绕年轻母亲的全球话语越来越多地挑战这种文化认可的做法。没有研究调查过对成年女性身份的成年仪式的看法是如何在西班牙加勒比地区的几代人之间演变的。作者进行了一个民族志项目，其中包括对 42 名参与者进行深入的生活史访谈。她使用修正的扎根理论询问了海地后裔的三代少女和妇女的叙述，以 (a) 描述成为成年女性的当前文化上可接受的途径，以及 (b) 研究随着时间的推移发生的关于成为女性的可接受途径的变化。研究结果表明，越来越多的年轻一代不再将婚姻和母性视为成年的唯一仪式。然而，参与者认为对于有效过渡到成人角色很重要的额外技能和特征对于穷人来说要么很难获得，要么通过婚姻和母亲的经历获得。越来越多的年轻一代不再将婚姻和母性视为成年的唯一仪式。然而，参与者认为对于有效过渡到成人角色很重要的额外技能和特征对于穷人来说要么很难获得，要么通过婚姻和母亲的经历获得。越来越多的年轻一代不再将婚姻和母性视为成年的唯一仪式。然而，参与者认为对于有效过渡到成人角色很重要的额外技能和特征对于穷人来说要么很难获得，要么通过婚姻和母亲的经历获得。