Navigating the stigmatised identities of poverty in austere times: Resisting and responding to narratives of personal failure

Pemberton, Simon; Sutton, Eileen; Fahmy, Eldin; Bell, Karen

Abstract

© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015. Behavioural explanations of poverty and disadvantage have figured heavily in political rhetoric in the era of austerity, as a means to understand trajectories into poverty and subsequent relationships between benefit claimants and the state. These discourses are not restricted to political debate, as previous studies demonstrate they impact upon public consciousness and structure the ways that the general public think about poverty, as well as shaping the ways in which people living on low incomes are treated. Drawing upon the testimonies of 62 people in England and Scotland experiencing poverty, this article seeks to understand our participants’ responses to these discourses, in particular: how these behavioural explanations impact upon their understanding of their own situations, as well as their self perceptions; how these discourses shape their relationships with others, in terms of their experience of disrespect; and how participants seek to dissociate themselves from their stigmatising implications.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 15, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Sep 15, 2015
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 18, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 18, 2019
• Journal: Critical Social Policy
• Print ISSN: 0261-0183
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-703X
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 21-37
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018315601799
• Keywords: poverty, class, austerity, recession
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/914494
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0261018315601799
• Additional Information: Additional Information : © 2016. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications
• Contract Date: Mar 18, 2019