I Stay to Myself: Avoidance of Social Ties among the Poor

• In Event: 093 - Regular Session. Poverty

Abstract

Research demonstrates both the importance of social ties for the poor and their frequent social isolation. This paper uses ethnographic observations and interviews with 25 poor and homeless members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as 25 interviews with non-members. People come to KWRU when their situations are dire. Homeless or at risk of losing welfare benefits, food stamps, or other crucial forms of support, they seek support from an organization that may assist them to secure benefits or temporary housing, and in doing so often build social ties with one another. However, this paper focuses on the other side of that coin: many of my respondents’ avoidance of social ties. Building relationships implies a need for those ties; this challenges the common self-concept of believing individuals can and should succeed independently. The myth of individualistic success is one of the strongest barriers to the formation of social ties among the poor. Other reasons I found include a pervasive fear that neighbors will gossip about one’s problems; in the context of individualistic ideology, such exposure is unthinkable. Individualistic ideology also supports pervasive stigma about poverty, which causes respondents to avoid associating with others who are in many ways like them. In general my respondents avoid contact with neighbors, considering their neighborhoods places of fear, stress, crime, and violence. Respondents also recognized that ties require a mutuality that can be daunting; they shrank from social ties that could drain precious resources.

Author

• Joan Maya Mazelis, State University of New Jersey at Rutgers-Camden