FUR COAT: NO KNICKERS - Brunel University Research Archive

325 Pages·2012·27.28 MB·English

FUR COAT:
NO KNICKERS
A STUDY OF MONEY AND MANNERS IN A MODERNMANOR7
A thesis for the degree Doctor Philosophy
submitted
of of
By
-Gillian Evans
lA manor is a working class term for the local territory a person belongs to in London; it is a
borrowing from the ar-istocratic.. equivatent. The manor in question here is. Bermondsey in south-east
.
London. (The official title of Lord of the Manor of Bermondsey is (at time of writing) being
bids placed at £50, The- title of the- thesis pur No Knickers is an
auctioned with -starting -000) -Coat:
is
expression that used to refer to a person more concerned with style than substance,
ethnographic
The being
looking good rather than making_good expression refers to the problem of modern
with
is
instead bf being for
that a successful consumer conspicuous what s/he consumes a person
which-is
desire for being The title
consumed with things s/he cannot afford and risks exposed and shamed.
alludes also to the theoretical preoccupation of the thesis, which is to make explicit what ideologies of
`the real, ' `the natural' or `the objective' conceal, which is the process of their constitution (Strathern
t9S. t, t9. j.
.
Abstract
Following Bourdieu (1977) to the Toren (1990,1993a, 1999)
and alluding work of
Lave (1991) learning,
this thesis the that
and supports argument understood as a
historical is intrinsic
to
participative, and generative process, all social practice and
furthermore that human It follows therefore
all social practice substantiates mind.
is learning it for to
that that
mind a phenomenon and makes no sense, example,
isolate didactic from in learn.
the
practice wider social situations which children
The thesis argues that the form participative learning takes is that of an increasingly
differentiated in
competence with respect to complex relations of exchange objects,
bodily language. It is how,
actions and shown through particular exchange relations,
the is
value of persons, practices and things created and transformed as an ongoing
and mutually specifying material process. Taking both childhood and the practice of
legitimate (Lave 1991) the
ethnography as examples of
peripheral participation
thesis towards description it to become
aims a phenomenological
of what means
in Bermondsey,
South East London.
working class
Responding to
a multicultural political climate in which claims are made that the
longer
in
working class no exists, the thesis addresses the popular backlash which
demand
white working class people that their and
social values are recognised
protected. What matters in Bermondsey, for example, is that class relations are to be
the difference between
understood ethnographically as common and posh people and
distinction is bred in
that this articulated with whether or not a person was born and
Bermondsey. This that ideas kinship
means specific about relations and place,
forms in
development
understood as particular of materiality, mediate the
Bermondsey the kind become. The follow
of of persons people can chapters that will
describe the through Bermondsey
social processes which people reproduce
(Narotzky 1997) the idea themselves distinctive
of as a community.
2
Contents
Page
Acknowledgements
5
Chapter One
7
Common Knowledge
Chapter Two
Tom Tenter Ground School
at
Part I
47
Part II
72
Part III
91
Chapter Three
Pokemon, Peers, Place
Prestige
and
Part I
108
Part 11
148
Chapter Four
Dirt, Disgust Desire: The Death
and Community?
of a
Part I
Puff, Pubs Patriots: Music
and Racial Politics in Bermondsey
and
181
Part I Race
185
a)
Part I b) Community
201
Part I Racism?
210
c)
Part I d) UK Garage People's Music? 216
-Black
Part I Culture Man's Ways 225
e)
-A
Part I f) Politics 239
Part I Desire 249
g)
Part II 269
Effect
The Equilibrium
Five
Chapter
Ways to Get Money: How to Buy Prestige 301
Conclusion 324
325
References
329
Appendix
3
List Maps Page
of
1. A London Bermondsey 8
map of showing
2. A Bermondsey Anita Jean's 9
map of showing and
boundaries
perception of
3. A Bermondsey Nicole's 254
map of showing perception of
boundaries
List Figures Page
of
1. The Flag St George 6
of
2. Pikachu 111
3. Pikachu Trainer Ash 112
with
4. Nintendo Game Boy 131
5. Pokemon Stickers 145
6. Snorlax
156
7. Venusaur Vileplume 158
and
8. Victreebell evolves into Weepinbell into Bellsprout 159
evolves
9. Rarity Symbols
161
1O. Charmander into Charmander
evolves into Charizard 161
evolves
11. Psychic hit 162
energy symbol showing
points
12. Grass forty hit
162
energy symbol showing
points
Charizard's
13. Description of moves and damage 162
potential
is
14. Hypno the the basic Pokemon Drowzee 163
stage one evolution of
15. Recycle the trainer 163
card and electric energy card
-
16. Dark Raichu, Fossil Raichu Raichu 168
and
17. Crime 178
prevention poster
between difference
18. Balance
ratios of sameness and
Girl (8 2 287
years months)
difference
between
19. Balance ratios of sameness and
Girl (10 9 288
years months)
balance between
20. Chart to show categories of sameness and
289
difference
difference (skin 290
21. Chart to show patterns of responses colour etc)
difference (gender 292
22. Chart to show patterns of categories etc)
4
Acknowledgements
This is dedicated
thesis to
my mother, whose courage
inspires Bermondsey,
to the
me, and people of whose
I
pride admire.
I indebted to Michael Holland, for his for his
am
patience as a proof reader and
friendship, to Tracey O'Connor for `showing ' There
and me a way. are numerous
to I but for
other people whom am especially grateful who cannot, reasons of
be in
I in Bermondsey
confidentiality, named person. am thankful to all those people
took the time to talk to into homes.
who me or welcome me their
For to Tenter Ground School I
access am grateful to all the staff, parents and
children who tolerated my presence between September 1999 December 2000.
and
For access to the youth club, and for their in difficult I
guidance circumstances,
would like to thank all the youth workers who gave of their time between February
April 2000.
and
for
The research this study was made possible by the generosity of the Laura Ashley
Charitable Foundation. I have benefited from
the teaching
and support of staff and
fellow PhD students, and especially so in the Centre For Child Focussed
Anthropological Research, at Brunel University. In particular I am grateful to my
Christina Toren for taking the intellectual journey I have been
me on that
supervisor
for last
the
with six years.
preoccupied
Last, but not least, heartfelt thanks are due to my family and friends whose strength I
have
relied on.
5
Figure 1. The St George's Cross.
Chapter
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Common Knowledge
"Ask them I I'm I brought I
what amt. common as shit. wasn't up
dragged the Old Kent Road. I taught to
was up on wasn't mind my
Ps Qs favourite is "3
n' and my word cunt.
Sharon, 31 Bermondsey, 2001.
years,
Sharon
Sharon's born bred in Bermondsey. She her five daughters
mother4 was and raised
on the Cooper's Road Estate adjacent to the Old Kent Road and Sharon, youngest
them, lives is bringing her daughters
among now and up own on the periphery of
Bermondsey far from the Tabard Estate I have lived for
not twelve
where years.
Cooper's Road is
on the wrong side of Bermondsey, too close to the Old Kent Road.
Too for
the Old Kent Road forms boundary
close some anyway since the southern of
Bermondsey beyond that lies Peckham. People from Peckham the
and
road and
Walworth Road in West known
the Roaders,
are as traditionally the arch-enemies of
Bermondsey Speaking being dragged Old Kent
people. proudly about up on the
Road is
Bermondsey do. Real Bermondsey
not something a real
person would
keenly
people are aware of the clearly defined boundaries the territory their
of
-
and they are able to the distinctions the kind
manor make of
necessary about
-
live inside
boundaries. The Old Kent
people who and outside of those and
Walworth Road for is
stand everything that they are not. What they are
Bermondsey: born and bred and proud of it as were their mothers and fathers too,
their
preferably, and sometimes grand and great-grand parents as well.
2
Sharon motions to her teenage daughters who are sitting on the sofa opposite her in the living room
flat drinking
of her small three-bedroom council where we are tea and talking.
3 Throughout this thesis wherever I quote people's speech I do not attempt to make a systematic
for in
linguistic record showing, example, all cases where consonants are dropped and syllables
merged. I would like at some point to make an investigation into the linguistic particularities of the
Bermondsey dialect but did not have the means to do so during this period of fieldwork. Words that
is
in italic are ethnographic terms whose meaning the subject of this research.
appear
° Bonamy Estate, is
Sharon's mother grew up on the which close to the periphery of Bermondsey on
in is
the Old Kent Road side. My concern this thesis not to try and determine which people actually
Bermondsey but investigate
belong to the category of real people rather to people's perceptions of the
belonging in Bermondsey. For
changing and often contested criteria of comparison with other similar
formation in England Strathem (1981) Edwards (2000).
see
studies of community and
10
A is designated Bermondsey
kinship
person real out of a combination of and
but it is
Bermondsey for
residence criteria pride about what stands that counts and
this from in the kinds in it
comes participation
of social relations which what means
5
belong Bermondsey is
to to It is for
constituted. therefore
possible people of
to degree because
marginal status gain a of acceptance of the possibilities that
interest
showing an and taking pride in Bermondsey present for a person's
incorporation. Pride like kin. Sharon, in
makes people more contrast, meets the
formal belonging
criteria of and could assume the status of being real Bermondsey
but instead
she shuns the pretension that she presumes pride to be and makes herself
different
simply a resident albeit a one to me6. Compared to Sharon I am a
in Bermondsey. Having lived boundary for just
newcomer to the
close northern
twelve barely
years, my residence approaches a respectable presence. My next door
has lived the for forty how long
neighbour who on estate years periodically asks me
I've been living here
I her
and when tell she teases me saying, "Oh Gillian, you're
nearly an old timer now. " Even though it isn't long to the fact
enough really count,
the for difference
of my residency, albeit at periphery, stands something and made a
I began fieldwork
legitimacy interest in
when my and needed to establish the of my
Bermondsey. Although I
I
am a relative newcomer am not a complete outsider and
s
This describes the here I description
study phenomenon of working class pride and use the term self
because I towards, but do have
consciously aim not presume to achieved, a phenomenological
I take issue the increasing fashion for discourses
perspective. with of embodiment and
in
demonstrate
phenomenology anthropology and other social sciences, which quite often a poor
the I for Charlesworth SJ
understanding of phenomenological project. am reminded example of
be because it investigates
(2000) which presumes to a phenomenology simply people's experiences,
but I is for To I define
this, would argue, not an adequate stance phenomenology. clarify my purpose
phenomenology here as the study of the way that the human subject comes to have the idea of itself,
others and the objective world, i. e. as existing independently of the consciousness that constitutes it.
depressing life that Charlesworth is
The grim and picture of working class portrays arguably a
function of the methods he undertakes rather than a true picture of people's lived experience. I& for
interviews
I had conducted ethnographic with school children or with the youths described
example,
like kind data
in four I have got nothing the of that I was able to obtain through
would
chapter
imagine I have depressing
observation. It is easy to that would come away with a picture
participant
In the analysis of working class life that I describe here bears
any case
class masculinity.
of working
by Charlesworth I happy be
little to the desperate characterisation given and am to able
resemblance
the he depicts. At the same time I recognise that my study pertains to
to contradict scenario
in
Bermondsey and not to working class people general.
Centre for Child Focussed Anthropological Research
I indebted to Christina Toren, who, at the at
am
University has developed a broadly phenomenological model (responding to the work of
Brunel
Merleau-Ponty) of ethnographic analysis that relies on an understanding of child
Bourdieu and
it is lived by
The is describe the world as people and at the same time to give a
development. aim to
for knowledge is historically
in taken granted constituted as a
which
analysis of the way
systematic
process-
specific
6 Real Bermondsey people are just one kind of resident in Bermondsey and it is in relation to this
into kinds insiders kinds is
of and of outsiders
hierarchical of residents
ideal that the organisation
for defining personhood.
formed as a classificatory scheme
11