ipl-logo

Stigmas When Women Receive Public Assistance

667 Words3 Pages

There are many stigmas attached to receiving public assistance. People who depend on welfare to survive are often seen to use welfare because of “their laziness, drug use, lack of human capital, personal choice, or other personal shortcomings or irresponsible behavior.” The mothers in the study conducted by Seccombe, James, and Walters found that women receiving public assistance were all too aware of these stigma. These women understood that other people looked at them differently when they found out that they were on welfare. The surprising finding in this study, however, is that while individual women saw themselves as victims of a system, they stigmatized other women on public assistance under the same stereotypes that they were subjected to by others. These women saw “clear distinctions were drawn between ‘me’ and them’.” The disconnect between how a person sees themselves in the system in comparison to others may be a defense mechanism that is used in order to cope with being on welfare. People use distancing language in order to …show more content…

It is very difficult to think that the parents I work with do not see how others are also victims of the system. In one account, a woman “did not socialize with neighbors, usually kept her curtains closed, and generally did not allow her young daughter to play outside.” This ideology, which has been inherited from the days of Raeganomics, creates distance within the communities we work with and further isolates our clients. However I think that this propaganda worked to discourage the creation of communities and further isolate welfare recipients. When we contract with our clients, we talk a lot about their support system and community supports are really lacking in their lives. I feel that this disempowers our clients and they cannot work together towards a common goal when there are issues within the

Show More
Related

  • Respondent Three Argumentative Essay

    993 Words  | 4 Pages

    Respondent three is 24 years old and identify himself as Caucasian. He is unemployed and has only completed his sophomore year in high school. He is single but has a three years old daughter named Ada. He was in a relationship with his daughter’s mom when he was 19 or 20 years old. He grew up in New Port Richey, Florida.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Ending Welfare

    277 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to New York Times (1992), reported specifically on the statement given by the then president, William Clinton’s decision to end TANF, SNAP, and SSI as a result it encourages dependency. Beyond that, Clinton and additional people which are in favor of striking amendment on ending welfare advocates for reform because dependency on welfares causes social ills, enhancing teenage pregnancy, crime, low labor-market attendance between racial and ethnic minorities (O’Connor, 2000). Other than that, the reconciliation Act (1996), (PRWORA, 110 stat.2015), codified on the ills of welfare dependency of the needy parents on the government benefits. The potential perception of dependency contributed to the stigmatization surrounding welfare

    Read More

  • Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel And Dimed

    865 Words  | 4 Pages

    Such as, Caroline who “was both black and Indian, a migrant farmworker, and had been raped by someone and also abused by her boyfriend” (133). By introducing an extensive array of real low-wage workers, like Caroline, the audience makes note to the multiplicity of the workers personalities and background. Ehrenreich discredits those who claim low-wage workers are all lazy, unambitious and “homogenous in personality or ability” by clearly identifying many people who do not fit that mold (8). Ehrenreich wants to stress that “the only thing holding back welfare recipients was” was not “their reluctance” to get a job” (196); but the entire system for low-wage workers. It can be nearly impossible to escape poverty for even the most tenacious person depending on the

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Submerged Social Welfare Programs

    738 Words  | 3 Pages

    For example, 53.3% of people with student loans were not aware that they were benefiting from a government social program (Mettler, 809). This leaves Americans in an unfavorable predicament. If people are unaware that submerged social welfare programs exist, they can not take advantage of them and are much more likely not to support them. The problems with submerged social welfare programs extend even further, as there are many cases of policies that are ineffective in aiding people who need them the most.

    Read More

  • Welfare In Colonial America

    656 Words  | 3 Pages

    Davidson states that women on welfare do not sit around or are not of specific ethnicity, but rather they find themselves penniless in certain life circumstances. They usually stay in system for couple of years and often attend schools. Some of them may return to the system, simply because the jobs pay less than welfare and have no health benefits. The second argument that Davidson presents is that “welfare encourages teen pregnancy and large dependent families” (1997). Her findings show that it is impossible to live off the welfare and the monthly allowances would not even cover the diapers’ expenses.

    Read More

  • Stigma Of Homelessness

    237 Words  | 1 Pages

    People who are homeless encounter much ridicule in our society’s. The stigma homelessness carries have in some ways devastated the dignity of so many of whom have fallen victim. One might think that the homeless had been involved in some misdeeds that ended them up on the streets or assumed that laziness is the culprit and have resolved to panhandling. We attempt to justify our responses by rehearsing why our need is greater or suppose that whatever means given would not be used for purposes intended and so we talk ourselves into or out of meeting the needs of others.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes About Homeless People

    1708 Words  | 7 Pages

    Know Thyself, an article by John D. Mayer, features the thoughts of Shelley Taylor and Susan Fiske. Fiske and Taylor explain that it is often challenging to understand others when we have preconceived notions and stereotypes about people before we get to know them (77). Homeless people are often considered social outcasts. And because they are outcasts, do we not understand them very well?

    Read More

  • The Culture Of Homelessness

    214 Words  | 1 Pages

    When people think of others who are poor and less fortunate, they assume that it is people who are living on the street, don’t have a family, and are classified within the homeless population. What they don’t recognize is that is not completely wrong or correct because it is known that not all homeless people live on the streets or don’t have family to support them financially and more. The first time I recognized this was when I volunteered at the Our Daily Bread Employment Center in Baltimore. After observing and interacting with some of the families and individuals who attend the hot meal program year round, I not only recognized that most of the people came from stable homes and have jobs but also that 1 out of 10 people were homeless by

    Read More

  • Bell Hooks Seeing And Making Culture Representing The Poor Summary

    1171 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Bell Hooks’ essay, “Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor”, Hooks addresses and clarifies the misinterpretations that people have of the assumptions made of the poor, how poor individuals are viewed in human culture and how the poor are represented on television. She helps the audience understand how these assumptions are wrong. Hooks begins her first point by addressing the false assumptions that are made every day about poor people through expressing her own experiences.

    Read More

  • Homeless Vulnerability

    1111 Words  | 5 Pages

    Homeless in the United States (U.S) as a Vulnerable Group Vulnerability, the propensity to harm, is caused by an interaction flanked by the obtainable resources to persons and communities as well as the life problems they encounter. However, vulnerability develops from developmental challenges, individual incapacities, underprivileged social status, insufficiency of interpersonal systems and supports, tainted neighborhoods and settings, and the multifaceted contacts of these aspects over the life course. However, the priority given to unreliable vulnerabilities/their neglect reflects social values. Vulnerable group include racial and ethnic minority, uninsured, underinsured, low-income children, frail older adults, mentally disabled, and homeless among others (Clapham & Clapham, David, 2015).

    Read More

  • The American Way Of Poverty Abramsky Summary

    647 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel, The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives by Sasha Abramsky is about how he traveled the United States meeting the poor. The stories he introduces in novel are articles among data-driven studies and critical investigations of government programs. Abramsky has composed an impressive book that both defines and advocates. He reaches across a varied range of concerns, involving education, housing and criminal justice, in a wide-ranging view of poverty 's sections. In considering results, it 's essential to understand how the different problems of poor families intermingle in mutual reinforcement.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Shame Of The Nation By Jonathan Kozol

    1203 Words  | 5 Pages

    The upper classes can rest (fairly) assured that most desperately poor mothers won’t come knocking on their doors, asking for cash, a meal, a place to stay, or the loan of a car. But many poor mothers will (reluctantly) knock on the doors of the working-poor and working-class people who are their friends and relatives. It is there people who will share their homes, their food, and their incomes and provide practical help with childcare and transportation. There good deeds won’t appear on any income tax forms, welfare case reports, or analyses of charitable spending. But this burden on low-income working people will be one of the very real, and largely invisible, costs of welfare reform.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Serving In Florida By Gregory Mantsios

    1318 Words  | 6 Pages

    Furthermore, she addresses a common misconception among Americans, that those living in poverty are not hard working people,

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Welfare Reform

    1041 Words  | 5 Pages

    While some insist the Welfare programs help families in need. They imply without such programs a person would not be able to support themselves nor their children. Both sides have a valid argument and both sides

    Read More

  • Homeless And Dehumanization

    1544 Words  | 7 Pages

    A social issue is a form of conflict that influences members of a society and often extends into debates about what should be considered morally justifiable. Social issues such as: illicit drugs, gender inequality, age discrimination, education, and recidivism are all heavily discussed topics of debate. However, one social issue that affects several people on a day to day basis is homelessness. Homelessness is the condition of having no permanent dwelling such as a house or apartment. Homeless is a prevalent problem on a global scale that can be viewed and interpreted many ways.

    Read More

More about Stigmas When Women Receive Public Assistance

Open Document