Abstract
Popular conceptions of welfare recipients are congruous with policy constructions that attribute responsibility for poverty to personal decisions and choices. This research investigates the ways welfare mothers resist these negative constructions. Resistance strategies are methods that the participants in this study used to minimize the pejorative constructions associated with a welfare identity. Focus groups with 64 single welfare mothers and personal interviews with eight of those women reveal two categories of resistance strategies-overt and covert. The less common type of resistance practiced by the women participants, perhaps because of risk of punishment, is overt resistance. This includes oppositional culture, fighting the system, and maintaining control in a McDonaldized welfare culture. Covert resistance strategies are avoidance, withdrawal, and dissociation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 441-461 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Journal of Poverty |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2009 |
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Keywords
- Avoidance
- Dissociation
- McDonaldization
- Oppositional culture
- Public assistance
- Resistance
- Single welfare mothers
- Welfare
- Withdrawal
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Demography
- Sociology and Political Science
Cite this
Single welfare mothers' resistance. / Luna, Yvonne M.
In: Journal of Poverty, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2009, p. 441-461.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Single welfare mothers' resistance
AU - Luna, Yvonne M
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Popular conceptions of welfare recipients are congruous with policy constructions that attribute responsibility for poverty to personal decisions and choices. This research investigates the ways welfare mothers resist these negative constructions. Resistance strategies are methods that the participants in this study used to minimize the pejorative constructions associated with a welfare identity. Focus groups with 64 single welfare mothers and personal interviews with eight of those women reveal two categories of resistance strategies-overt and covert. The less common type of resistance practiced by the women participants, perhaps because of risk of punishment, is overt resistance. This includes oppositional culture, fighting the system, and maintaining control in a McDonaldized welfare culture. Covert resistance strategies are avoidance, withdrawal, and dissociation.
AB - Popular conceptions of welfare recipients are congruous with policy constructions that attribute responsibility for poverty to personal decisions and choices. This research investigates the ways welfare mothers resist these negative constructions. Resistance strategies are methods that the participants in this study used to minimize the pejorative constructions associated with a welfare identity. Focus groups with 64 single welfare mothers and personal interviews with eight of those women reveal two categories of resistance strategies-overt and covert. The less common type of resistance practiced by the women participants, perhaps because of risk of punishment, is overt resistance. This includes oppositional culture, fighting the system, and maintaining control in a McDonaldized welfare culture. Covert resistance strategies are avoidance, withdrawal, and dissociation.
KW - Avoidance
KW - Dissociation
KW - McDonaldization
KW - Oppositional culture
KW - Public assistance
KW - Resistance
KW - Single welfare mothers
KW - Welfare
KW - Withdrawal
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70749128820&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=70749128820&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10875540903272769
DO - 10.1080/10875540903272769
M3 - Article
VL - 13
SP - 441
EP - 461
JO - Journal of Poverty
JF - Journal of Poverty
SN - 1087-5549
IS - 4
ER -