Youth Homelessness in Late Modernity: Reflexive Identities and Moral Worth PDF
Preview Youth Homelessness in Late Modernity: Reflexive Identities and Moral Worth
Perspectives on Children and Young People David Farrugia Youth Homelessness in Late Modernity Reflexive Identities and Moral Worth Perspectives on Children and Young People Volume 1 Series editors Johanna Wyn, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia Helen Cahill, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13560 David Farrugia Youth Homelessness in Late Modernity fl Re exive Identities and Moral Worth 123 DavidFarrugia University of Newcastle Callaghan, NSW Australia ISSN 2365-2977 ISSN 2365-2985 (electronic) Perspectives onChildren andYoungPeople ISBN978-981-287-684-3 ISBN978-981-287-685-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-685-0 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015945596 SpringerSingaporeHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon ©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingapore2016 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor foranyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingaporePteLtd.ispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia (www.springer.com) Acknowledgments Thisbookwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthegenerosityoftheyoungpeople who shared their lives by participating in the research. I was humbled by this generosity and by their confidence that I would value their stories. Research does not take place in a vacuum, and a number of others provided intellectual and collegial support throughout the research and writing of this book. TheseincludeJohanna Wyn,AniWierenga, ShelleyMallett,DanWoodman,Julia Coffey, Jessica Crofts, Juliet Watson, Jessica Gerrard, and Steven Threadgold. Finally, I would like to thank my partner, Deidre Ryan, for everything. v Contents 1 Introduction: Understanding Youth Homelessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Youth Homelessness as an Object of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Public Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Situating the Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Dimensions of Subjectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Identity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Embodiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Intersubjectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The Research Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Overview of the Chapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2 Youth Homelessness, Reflexivity and Inequality in Late Modernity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Theorising Young People in Late Modernity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Individualisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Neoliberalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Reflexivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Reflexivity and Inequality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Youth Homelessness in Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Youth Inequalities and Family Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Youth Homelessness as a Structural Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 3 Young Homeless Subjectivities: A Symbolic Economy . . . . . . . . . . 39 Material Inequalities, Symbolic Power Relations and Abject Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 A Symbolic Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Youth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 vii viii Contents Home/Homeless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 The Symbolic Economy of Youth Homelessness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Lived Subjectivity and the Symbolic Economy of Youth Homelessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Assembling the Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Reflexivity and the Symbolic Economy of Youth Homelessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Agency?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Identity, Embodiment, Intersubjectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Identity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Embodiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Intersubjectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 4 Identity: Becoming a Homeless Youth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Homeless? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Homelessness as a Biographical Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Denigration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 5 Identity: Subverting Homelessness and Making a Home. . . . . . . . . 77 Pleasures and Subversions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Constructing Homed Identities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Discipline, Self-possession and Authenticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Making Home as Becoming Adult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 6 Bodies: Being and Feeling Homeless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Homeless Bodies: Unwelcome, Objectified and Displaced. . . . . . . . . . 94 The Feeling Body: Homelessness and Sensuous Embodiment . . . . . . . 97 Aesthetics, Cleanliness, and Sensuous Experience of Moral Worthlessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Reflexive Embodiment and Homelessness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Consumption, Reflexive Embodiment and Making Home . . . . . . . . . . 107 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 7 Relationships: Constructing the Other, Constructing the Self . . . . . 113 Couchsurfing: Responsibility Amidst Dependence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Belonging and Recognition: Making Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Reflexive Intersubjectivity and the Crafting of a Moral Self . . . . . . . . 120 Contents ix Becoming Homed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Creating a Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Homeless/Homed: Belonging, Self-governance and Moral Worth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 8 Conclusion: The Symbolic Economy of Youth Homelessness and the Purpose of Homelessness Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Social Change and the New Landscape of Youth Inequality . . . . . . . . 134 Tracing the Symbolic Economy of Youth Homelessness. . . . . . . . . . . 135 Re-writing Reflexivity—The Significance of Youth Homelessness. . . . 138 The Problem of Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 The Purpose of Youth Homelessness Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 9 Afterword: The Practice of Ethical Research Interviews with Homeless Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Interrogating Benefits and Harms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Interviews as Intersubjective Encounters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Implications: The Meaning of Ethical Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Chapter 1 Introduction: Understanding Youth Homelessness Youth homelessness is a unique position within the material inequalities and cul- tural divisions that shape the contemporary youth period. It is a form of structural disadvantage, a process of cultural marginalisation, and a manifestation of social changesthathavereshapedallyoungpeople’slivesinrecentdecades.Drawingon two research projects which explored homeless young people’s personal bio- graphical narratives, this book explores the kinds of subjectivities available to young people experiencing homelessness in order to show how structural inequalitiesandhierarchiesofmoralworthoperateintoproducethepossibilitiesfor who homeless young people can become. In creating new narratives about youth homelessness, the book also intervenes in the intellectual politics of contemporary poverty. Too often young people who experience disadvantage are represented as unruly subjects, problems to be managed in order to alleviate disturbances in the otherwiseharmoniousoperationofcontemporarycapitalistsocieties.Thistendency papers over ways in which the ‘normal’ operation of power and privilege in late modernity produces young homeless subjectivities as a part of wider youth inequalities. Toaddressthis,Iintroduceanddeveloptheconceptofa‘symboliceconomyof youth homelessness’. The symbolic economy of youth homelessness describes the intersecting structural and symbolic processes which contribute to the way that young people relate to themselves and others whilst experiencing homelessness. The symbolic economy of youth homelessness is part of social changes that have influenced all young people, albeit in different ways. Contemporary young people are under pressure to manage their own lives in a context of widespread and growing material insecurity. New forms of biographical work and ‘reflexivity’ are emerging across the youth period as young people respond to the challenges that late modern societies create for them. The symbolic economy of youth homeless- ness shows how their identities, embodied experiences and personal relationships are produced as part of these broader shifts in the structural and personal dimen- sions of late modernity. The concept shows how these dynamics of power and privilegeproducehomelessnessasapositionofmoralworthlessnesswithinawider terrain of youth inequalities. This structural violence resonates throughout all aspects of young people’s lives. ©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingapore2016 1 D.Farrugia,YouthHomelessnessinLateModernity,Perspectives onChildrenandYoungPeople1,DOI10.1007/978-981-287-685-0_1
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