DESARROLLO

Participantswereaskedaboutarangeofissuesrelevanttowellbeinginthebroadest sense.Topicsrangedfromchildhood,familyandworkexperiences,valuesandgroup belonging,ideasaboutwhomightbedescribedas‘mainstream’andhowarethey distinguished,andtheexplanationsparticipantsdrewontoexplainhealthandsocial disparitiesamongstNewZealanders.Ofparticularinteresttothispaperaretheideas andimportantdiscursivemechanismsemployedtoarticulate“mainstream”New Zealand.

Joe: Ithink(.)gosh(.)wouldsayit’sprobablylikehusbandandwifeand2.5

kidsorsomethingofmiddleclass.Youknow,notonthebreadlineorin

povertybutnotflashyorgotalotspareyouknow,theyjustgoabout

theirthingandjustgotwhattheyneedtosurviveandalittlebitmore

maybe.That’swhatI’dcallmiddleclassNewZealand.

Joebeginsquitehesitantlywhichimmediatelypointstohisuncertaintyaboutwhat heisoffering,andhethenworkstoconstructamorecoherentresponse. This uncertaintyisevidentinthewording“Ithink”,followedbyapauseandthen“gosh”, andtermssuchas“probablylike”,“orsomething”.Theiterationsof“youknow”are alsodiscursivelyusefulinthattheirbasicmeaningiscentredontheinteraction betweenthespeakerandtheaddresseeand“signalsthespeaker’sestimationofhow herinformationmayrelatetotheaddressee'scognitiveenvironment”(Jucker& Smith,1998,p172). Yet“youknow”hasarangeofotherpossiblemeaningsthat don’tnecessarilyimplyuncertainty,fromaidinginlanguagecomprehensionandin turnmanagement,encouraginginterpersonalrapportorimplyinginformality,and evenmonitoringor‘repairing’talk(FoxTree&Schrock,2002). Here,Joeseems satisfiedwithhisaccounting,providingafinalsentencethatishisonlydirect statement“That’swhatI’dcall…”.

Thematically, as the speaker grapples with his response, his focus is on a characterisationofthemiddleclassfamilyunitascommonlyunderstoodinmost Westerndemocracies–married,heterosexualcoupleswithanaveragenumberof children.Joethendescribeswhatisexcludedfrom‘mainstream’.Thephrases“not onthebreadlineorinpoverty”and“notflashyorhavingalottospare”areusedto markmarginalpositionsthatsitoutsidethemiddle/mainstream.Thespeaker’suse of“just”naturalisesthisasthenormalstateandmainstreamasthey“justgoabout theirthing”.

Joe: Ican’treallyspeakforotherpeoplebutIwouldthinkallanyonewants

isaroofovertheirheadandamealandafewlittlecreaturecomforts

thatwe’veallgrowntolike,youknowjustafewlittlefunvouchersto

makelifealittlemoreenjoyable.Youknow,it’snotastruggleeveryday

whichmostpeople(.)itisastrugglebutyouknowyoudefineastruggle.

justyouknowaslongaspeoplearerelativelycomfortableandtheycan

affordtodo,theirkidscandotheirschooleducationprogrammesand

notbeleftoutyouknowbecausetheycan’tafforditandstufflikethat.

Thisexcerpt,whichcloselyfollowedthefirstexcerptfromJoe’stranscriptexplored above,alsobeginswithahedgingcomment.AgainJoeequivocates(“Ican’tspeak for other people…”), highlighting his subjectivity about what constitutes ‘mainstream’,beforegoingontooutlineexplicitmarkersofsocialinclusion. Of particularinterestinthisregardaretheinclusioncuesillustratedthroughtheuseof personalpronouns. Thephrase“allanyonewants”universalisesnotonlythe importanceofbasicnecessities,butalsononͲessentialluxuryitemsthat“we’veall growntolike”.Theuseofpronounsinthiswayservestonaturalisethespeaker’s constructionoffood,shelterandcreaturecomfortsasuniversalaspirationswhile working,somewhatparadoxically,tonaturaliseelementsofsomethinghehad previouslyimpliedwassubjective. Thepassageislitteredwith“youknow”. For instanceinline3,“youknow”isusedtosuggestaninformaltoneandkeepaquick pace.Theninline4“youknow”isusedtostallfortimeasJoeworksthroughwhat hewantstosayandselectstherelevantwordstocharacterisehardshipand universalise“struggle”.Hisuseofthephrase“Westillsaywestruggle”reinforces theideologicalattractivenessofstruggleastheantithesisofprivilege,evenwhen changesinmaterialcircumstancesovertimeappeartochallengethesenotions.His statement “youdefine a struggle” prepares the addressee for thisapparent contradictionbyimplyingthatstruggleisrelative,andagain“youknow”isusedto forewarnofthisadjustment.Theentwinednarrativeofhavingenoughtosurvive anda“littlemore”,toenablesocialinclusion,wasanunexpectedlycommon thematicfeatureintheinterviewdata. Thisappearstoacknowledgethatsome formsofsocialinclusion–herebeingabletoparticipateinschoolactivities–arenot availabletoallandrequireresourcesinexcessofthoseneededforpuresurvival.

Int: …Oraverage,averageNewZealanderoristhatexactlythesame?

Sally: Yeahthat’sthesameforme(.)average(.)ThenIwouldhavetolookat

theextremesIcan’teven(voicebecomesinaudible)(.)Iwouldreally

backtohouse,family,car,holidays,working(.)youknowaregularjobI

guesstomeaverageishavinga9to5job,5daysaweek,weekendsoff.

AfterSallyhadaskedforclarificationonwhat‘average’meantinreferencetoNew Zealanders,shedescribesan‘average’NewZealander.Shestumblingassheworks throughtheinteractionaldifficultlyissignalledbyher‘thinkingoutloud’ashervoice trailsoffandherclaimingofspaceinwhichto“thinkaboutthatoneforalongtime”. Shethentakessomesecondstoconstructaresponse.Thewords“Iguess”markthis uncertaintyandhere“youknow”isusedtostallfortimeasshesearchesforwords toclarifywhat“working”means.Shethendrawsonsimilarmarkersofsociallifethat speakofordinarinessandregularityinquitespecificterms;materialitems,family, employment,andleisure.

When asked directly about what characterised good health and wellbeing participantsspokeoftheimportanceofabalancebetweenworkandfamilylifeand describedthefollowingasprimarydeterminantsofwellbeing:absenceofstress, personalcharacteristics,supportnetworks,agencyandchoice,selfͲesteem,selfͲ determination,independence,socialdesirabilityandbeingwellͲresourced.

Jasmine: Wellbeingis(.)um(.)goshIguessalotofthingsgointothat(.)having

wellIdon’tknowIguessthefirstthingthatIthinkofisbeingabletobe

selfͲsupporting,um(.)beingabletotakecareofmyselfandmychildin

awaythatmeansthatwehavegoodhealth,thatwehaveenoughtoeat,

wearewarmwhentheweatheriscoldandumcanlivesortofIguess

anonymouslyandseamlesslyandgothroughlifewithoutbeingtoo

conspicuousfornothavinggoodcopingifyouknowwhatImean?Yeah

Iguess,beingwellresourcedemotionallyandfinanciallyandspiritually,

likebeingenough,havingenough,enough,notyeahIwouldsaythat

wouldbemydefinitionofityeah.

Althoughparticipantshadmuchlesstroubleansweringquestionsabouthealthand wellbeingthanquestionsaboutdescriptorsofmainstreamNewZealand,therewas stillverbalfumblinganduncertaintyintheirtalk. Thepassageisleavenedwith pausesmarkedby“um”,supplementedwithtimefillerslike“gosh”andmarkersof discursiveuncertaintysuchas“Iguess”and“Idon’tknow”.Thistaskisapproached

asaninteractionalchallenge.Jasmineexplainstotheinterviewerthattheissueis complex,saying“…alotofthingsgointothat”,butalsoseemstobespeakingto herselfinanefforttointerpretwhatresourcesmightbenecessarytobuildan answer. Thefillersbuytimeandthespeakerisgraduallyabletomartialthe unfamiliarideasintoacoherentaccountthatisneverthelessroundedoffwiththe interactive‘ifyouknowwhatImean?’inanattempttobothclarifyherclaims,and tocheckwhetherherviewisunderstoodandsharedbytheinterviewer.

Thevalueofindependence,ofbeing“selfͲsupporting”offamily/childrenwasseen byJasmineasprimarytowellbeing,andthisincludedbutwasnotlimitedto immediatephysicalnecessitiessuchasfoodandwarmth.Jasmine’sdescriptionof living“anonymouslyandseamlessly”isparticularlyinterestingasitwasheardnot onlyasanodtowhitenessbut,coupledwithheremphasisonavoidingscrutinyfor “notcoping”,alludestomanagementofstressorsarisingfromsocietaljudgements aboutpoorparentingwhichshe,asasoloparent,maybeparticularlyattunedto.

Jasmine: Ihavegotasisterwhosedaughterbecamediabeticattheageofsevenand

asonwho’sADHDandtheyarehighusersofhealthservicesbecauseof

thoseimpactsintheirlifeandyeahIimaginethatthestressesandthe

burdensthathavebeenplacedonmysisterandherhusbandthroughtheir

twochildrenaremuchgreaterthanIhaveexperiencedinmylifeorany,yet

theylooklikeordinaryaverageNewZealandersbuttohavetolivewithtwo

highneedschildrenisn’tparticularlynormalaverage,buttheylooknormal

andaveragesoIguess…it’sanadvantageforthemthattheydolooknormal

andaveragebecauseiftheydidn’tandtheyhadhighneedschildrenumI

thinkitwouldbeaverydifficultjourneyforthem.Forboththechildrenand

theparents.

Int: Because?

Jasmine: Becausewhenyouaremainstreamornormaloraverageorordinaryorany

ofthosetermsyoucanbeinvisibleyouknow?Youdon’tstandout,tostand

outyouhavetohavelotsofdifferences…butifyouarenotnormal,

ordinary,averageyoustandoutanywayandthenyouonlyhavetohaveone

thingthat’sslightlydifferentandit’sexaggerated…Ihavegotafriend…

fromAfrica…shelookslikeme,so,shedoesn’tsoundlikemeshehasan

AfrikaansaccentbutIhadforgottenthatshedidn’tgrowuphere,…because

ZealandandsheisnotanordinaryaverageNewZealanderbutfortherest

ofthetimeaslongasshedoesn’topenhermouthshecanmovethrough

thestreetsandanywhereshelikesyeahlookinglikesheis,so

Int: Sothat’saboutskincolour?

Jasmine: Yeah

Havingpreviouslybeenaskedaboutwhatmightconstitute‘mainstream’New Zealand,whenaskedtoexplainimpactsone’sethnicgroupmembershipandculture mayhaveonwellbeing,Jasmine,uniqueamongtheseparticipants,characterises mainstreamasanormalisedandseamlessstatethatrendersone“invisible”and“not standingout”largelyonthebasisofracemarkedbyskincolour.Hertalksuggests thatsomebutnotallsectorsoftheNewZealandpopulaceareawardedtheprivilege ofbeing‘mainstream’andthatshebelongstothepopulationgroupbestservedby thisarrangement;implyingthatdifferencemeansnotfittingin.Ofparticularinterest arehercommentsabouttheracialnatureofbeingmainstreaminNewZealand.We seethisfirstinreferencetohersibling’sfamilywhostandoutashighhealthservice consumersalthoughthey“looknormal”,andagaininreferencetoherSouthAfrican friendwho“lookslikeme”andsoisableto“fitin”inaracialsense;however,when shespeaksherAfrikaansaccentmarksherethnicandnationalheritageasoriginating outsideofNewZealand.Shepresentsascenariobywhich,aslongasherfriendstays silent,sheisabletomoveanywhereshelikesasanunmarkedaverageNew Zealander,withtheassociatedprivilegesthatmayaccrue.

Manyparticipantsheldcontradictorypositionsonthehealthsystem–seeingitina predominantlypositivelightasaccessibleandthemselvesasluckytoliveinacountry withagoodhealthsystem,whilesimultaneouslyacknowledginglimitationsinaccess andequitabletreatmentforallNewZealandcitizens.

Int: IntermsofdifferencesinhealthindifferentgroupsinNewZealandand

stuffhowdoyouexplainthat? LikedifferencesbetweenMĈoriand

PĈkehĈandPacificIslandandMĈoriorͲ?

Leeann: WellsmokingisaprettybigfactorIthink

Mark: FizzydrinksandbadfoodandͲ

Mark: HowdoIexplainit?Ithinkit’summwellyouhavegotdifferentproblems

indifferentareassoitͲ

Leeann: WherethereislessmoneythereismorejunkfoodIthinkandlessquality

foodparentsbothworkingsotheyaremorelikelytohavetakeaways

ratherthangotmumathomecookingalldaykindofthing

Mark: Imainlyblamethesocialstructuresandfamilyhabits

Leeann: EducationIthink

Mark: Ofummpartsofsocietythathavehabituallypoorhealthyouknowlike

ifyourfamilyismoreinclinedtospendmoneyoniftheparentsaremore

inclinedtospendthemoneyoncigarettesanddrinkingtoomuchthan

spendmoneyongoodqualityfoodthenummthekidsgetintothehabit

ofonlyhavingbadqualityfoodsotheycanneverchangethatandthen

theyemulatetheirparentslateronsohowaretheyevergoingtoget

healthyImeantalkingaboutgeneralhealthissues,likediabetesand ummobesityandthatkindofthing(.)it’shardtosayit’salsoan

educationthingandattitudes

WhenLeannandMarkareaskedtocommentonexplanationsforhealthdisparities betweenethnicgroups,theirexchangehighlightsakindofdiscursivevacuumof resourceswherethey,despitetheirintentandobviousdiscomfit,struggletoproduce anexplanationthatdoesn’tdrawonvictimͲblamingconstructions.Thecouplebegin byarticulatingparticularindividualbehavioursaroundsmokinganddietarychoices thatarecommontropesinpopulardiscourseandmediaportrayalsofethnic differencesacrossawiderangeofhealthindicators.Thesepersistevenwhenmore structuralanalysesareoffered(Hodgetts,Bolam,&Stephens,2005;Hodgetts, Masters,&Robertson,2004;Nairnetal.,2011),andwhenthemediaproducers themselvesappeardeeplydisͲsatisfiedwiththeprevailingjournalisticconstructions ofracerelations(Matheson,2007).Asubtleformofrhetoricalincoherenceemerges, perhapsarisingfromconcernsaboutsoundingracist,astheyseekamorenuanced explanationthatavoidslanguagethatisovertlyvictimͲblaming. Aftertheinitial exchangesaroundsmoking,fizzydrinkandbadfood,Marksignalsthetroubleheis havingbyasking,“HowdoIexplainit?”,followedimmediatelybyfurtherverbal fumbling andan appeal to complexity.He thengoes onto coͲconstructan explanationwithLeeann,astheyseektoelaborateandclarifytheirearliercomments

aboutdietarychoices,withLeeannprovidingaformofstructuralanalysis(gendered divisionoflabour)byrelating thesechoicestopovertyandthenecessityof employment.Intheirunderstanding,differencesinhealthoutcomesareprimarily aboutpersonaldecisions,whichiswhytheyseeeducation(i.e.,personalchange)as thekeystrategyforredressandchange.AlthoughMarkstatesthat“socialstructures andfamilyhabits”areresponsibleandelaboratesonthis,theuseofwordssuchas “habit”and“attitudes”seemstopointmoretowardsindividualandfamilypractices, ratherthanconstraintscreatedbyorinherentinsocialstructures.

Discussion

Alackofinterpretiverepertoiresavailabletoconstructseamlessandsatisfying explanationsoftheirownculturalspecificity,andofethnicinequalityingeneral, seemstoaffectthesedominantgroupmembers.Thisstructuredabsenceofreadily accessibleexplanationsdisturbsthecoherenceofparticipants’talk,oftenresulting inlengthypauses,uncertainty,repetition,andverbalfumblingintheiraccounts.We alsofoundthataccountsfrequentlyrevealedunfamiliaritywithbeingaskedto describe‘mainstream’ordominantculturalidentityandexperience. Therewere clearlinguisticmarkers,withspeakersusingseveralmeanstogivethemselvestime tothinkofwhattosayandhowtosayit.Somestatedthatitwasareally‘hard’ questionthattheyhadneverthoughtaboutit,andothersbeganbysayingthatthey didnotknow. Itwasclearthatmanyhadnotencounteredorexpectedsuch questions,andhadnotpreviouslyconsideredtheseissuesexplicitly.

Participantsofferedclearerdescriptionsandrepresentationsofmarginalgroupsand nonͲdominantidentitiesinspecifyingwhat‘mainstream’wasnot.Thisdifficultyin describing the centre is entirely consistent with its naturalised ordinariness. Participants’useofthe‘differences’theysawasmarkingthosegroups’lackof ordinariness,ledtothemdescribingthe‘centre’intermsofitsjuxtapositiontothose groupswhoseexclusionwasbeingsignalled. Weinterpretthisresorttosuch roundaboutaccountsastheparticipantsstrugglingwiththeunconsideredprivilege ofnothavinghadtothinkaboutthenatureanddistinguishingfeaturesofthecentre

wheretheyarecomfortablyathome:whatHage(1998)referredtoas“homely belonging”.ItreinforcestheobservationthatpowerfulgroupsareillͲequippedto, orlackpracticeat,thinkingaboutandarticulatingtheirowncentralitywhileclearly understandingthepositionanddifferenceof‘others’.

Participantsinterviewedintheprivilegeprojectdemonstratedanengagingand sincereinterplaybetweentheirsocialinclusionandmarkersofculturalcapitalthat they,byandlarge,takeforgrantedandregardasgenerallyapplicabletoallNew Zealanders. Their conceptualisations of wellbeing encompassed a range of determinants,someofwhichwerelinkedtotheprivilegednormalisedstatusofbeing abletoglideseamlesslythroughlife,obtainserviceswithouthassles,andnotbe outsidethenorm.Participantsingeneraldidnotexplicitlyusethetermprivilegein relationtotheirinvisibilisedandnormalisedstatus,butdidsometimesalludetothe assistancegrantedbybeingpositionedas‘normal’or‘ordinary’.Somewereaware