The Other “Care Deficit”: The Paradox of Receiving Care in a Culture of Self-Reliance

• In Event: Sociology of Culture Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 17. Trauma, Grief, & Caregiving

Abstract

This article draws on interview and ethnographic fieldwork to examine how cultural ideals of self-reliance shape caregiving arrangements for aging and disabled adults. I show how ideals of independence erode caregiving arrangements in two contradictory ways. First, by resisting and rejecting offers of assistance and co-residence, care recipients prioritize their self-reliance over dependence. Second, when care recipients remain in caregiving relations, caregivers and recipients maintain performances that promote a myth of independence, minimizing the assistance that caregivers provide. Across both processes, a similar underlying logic highlights how care receipt is conflated with perverse consequences such as laziness, complacency, and depression. As the population ages, scholars and media continue drawing attention to a “care deficit” due to demographic and labor market trends shrinking the pool of available caregivers. This article highlights an interpersonal and cultural source of the “care deficit,” by demonstrating how ideals of independence erode care from within.

Author

• Erin Ice, The University of Texas at Austin