Movilidad de vehículos

This section describes how certain participants in this study dis-identified from portrayals of lone mothers in terms of social class, in addition to the hierarchising criteria outlined in the previous section. Faced with symbolic domination which de-legitimates lone motherhood, these women used what cultural resources they possess to legitimate themselves by underlining their lack of resemblance to classed caricatures (Tyler, 2008; 2011). Contrasts in self-identity of class and

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levels of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1989) between women in Location A and Location B are outlined here. Drawing on case study examples, SSL is used to consider the relationship between participants' class identification and their deployment of cultural capital17._{. Analysis of case}

dynamics elucidates the role of 'judgement' as a pivotal mechanism in participants' negotiation of stigmatising discourses, which are both gendered and classed (Lawler, 2005).

Class identification, cultural capital and SSL

Although Goffman is critiqued for inattention to class position in his dissection of stigma (Bourdieu, 1989; Scambler, 2009), he briefly states that 'social valuations' are based upon 'a virtual middle class ideal' (Goffman, 1990: 173). Stigma is predicated upon 'tribal' affiliations, 'blemishes of character' or physical 'abominations', he writes (Goffman, 1990: 14). Participants' employment and housing situations and educational qualifications are summarised in Tables 3 and 4: Participant Information Location A and B, along with the social class with which they identified. Discussion here concentrates on women's comments on their education, clothes and other aspects of 'taste' (Bourdieu, 1984).18 _{When participants were asked what social class, if}

any, they would identify with, a striking contrast was that women in Location B generally appeared much more comfortable talking about the topic than those in A. Table 8: Participants' self-identification of social class by location summarises their responses. Nine out of 13 women in A did not identify with a social class, compared with two in B. This is consistent with Savage's (2015) point about people's willingness to engage in discussions about class being largely dictated by their position in their class position.

Table 8: Participants' self-identification of social class by location Location Working class Middle class Mixed None

A 2 0 2 9

B 1 3 7 2

Savage draws attention to, 'judgements of others based on values and morals associated with the dominant class' (2015: 367), while Sayer (2005) argues that culture is used to misrepresent class as morality. Moral judgement and misrepresentation can be witnessed clearly in the imbrication of class in derogatory media stereotypes of lone motherhood (Tyler, 2011: Skeggs and Wood, 2011) through emphasis on appearance, public comportment and 'taste' (Bourdieu, 1984) as well as reproductive behaviour. Analysis of data from the present study revealed that certain women drew upon their cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1989) in response to such stereotypes.

17 _{Whilst not always easy to separate out (Savage et al., 2013), 'cultural capital' (Bourdieu, 1989) is}

pertinent to the current discussion, while the 'economic capital' is used in the next chapter to consider the relationship between class and stigma in the material-structural context.

18 _{These aspects of cultural capital are focused on here as they are most relevant to negotiation of}

stereotypes. Cultural products were only referred to occasionally and leisure activities, where relevant, are discussed in Chapter Seven.

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Sayer believes that people have 'remarkably sensitive class antennae even if they cannot always articulate the distinctions they make' (2005: 15). References to class during interviews were not necessarily explicit and analysis of data uncovered numerous examples of mothers in B deploying their background, education, accent, home décor, appearance and 'values' as markers of middle class cultural capital. Examples of 'dis-identifiers' from associations of lone motherhood with 'underclass' culture (Tyler, 2008) were also revealed. Comments on how not to behave centered on; not smoking, not shouting or swearing, not drinking or going out partying. In addition to references to matters such as presenting themselves and their children in a clean and tidy way and household cleanliness, women cited indicators of appropriate 'feminine' behaviour, which Skeggs' (1997) encompasses under the umbrella of 'respectability'.

For women in Location A, displaying 'what they were not' (Skeggs, 1997), was largely inter- laced with previously discussed allusions to sexual morality, or 'good' motherhood, which is explored fully in Chapter Seven. Perceptions of class signifiers in stereotypes and deployment of cultural capital as a distancing device were much more prominent in the accounts of mothers in Location B. They often used words such as “rough”, “chavvy” or “uneducated” as a counterpoint to “a good upbringing”, “the right values”, “nice” and “proper”. Some participants appeared to be unconsciously reproducing class-ridden stereotypes to distance themselves from unfavourable representations, whilst others were aware that they were repeating sentiments associated with class prejudice. This is demonstrated for example, by Laura prefacing her remarks with “I'm embarrassed to say”, Mena with “I'm not being funny” and Mandy noticing that her comments sounded, “incredibly stuck up”. Sonia thought “single mother” sounded more “proper” and “less downtrodden than single mum”. Explaining that she made a subconscious association with the terms being used by working and middle classes respectively, she added with an embarrassed laugh, “but that sounds really judgemental”.

While women in B were more likely to draw upon their cultural capital to dismiss or challenge stereotypes than those in A, differences in perspectives within as well as between locations were identified. It is therefore useful to look at participants' class identification in order to more systematically examine their use of class dis-identification to refute cultural misrepresentation and reinforce their SSL. Investigation of 'distribution of perspectives' (Flick, 2014) revealed that deployment of cultural capital was most pronounced among those participants whose self- identified class was ‘mixed’. Case examples show how these women also tended to indicate a strong sense of 'being judged' but were able to display certain attainments against this standard, resulting in 'performative' SSL.

Location A

In Location A, only two women identified themselves firmly as belonging to a particular social class. When asked about class affiliation, Carrie and Julie stated instantly and clearly that they were “working class”. Both of these women had lived in council owned properties on the estate

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for most of their lives. Both had a long history of employment, which they cited to reinforce their class identity. Carrie said she was “working class and proud of it”. Comments by Julie concurred with Skeggs' (1997) point that loyalty and not aspiring to be middle class are valued in some settings:

“I'm working class. I wouldn't ever pretend to be something I'm not. I just wouldn't do that. I do live on a council estate. If I got the opportunity for a job or something I might move, but not because I'm a snob or anything.” Julie (A)

Barring these two participants, there was little evidence of class attachment in Location A. Most participants in this location appeared to find class, to use Skeggs' terms, 'ambiguous, vague and embarrassing' (1997: 76). Savage argues that working class people do not wish to engage with discussions of class, with sensitivity to negative classification arising from experience of being, 'on the receiving end of its judgements' (2015). The women's reluctance to discuss class extended into reticence when asked about reasons for not identifying with a class. Conjectures that this might be because they were not working or because working class identity has been re-engineered as underclass discourse (Atkinson et al., 2012; Savage, 2015) were therefore difficult to explore. The majority of participants in A were strongly resistant to the idea of classification. Marta, for instance, expressed derision of those who, “try to make a class system”, whereby “some people try to be posh and some people try not to be posh.” Comments by Debbie and Sheila were also representative of a distain of classification witnessed among women in this location:

“I'm just me. Take me as I am.” Debbie (A)

“I don't take an interest. I am who I am and if they don't like it, well [trails off].” Sheila (A)

When participants in A staunchly declined to identify with a particular social class, attempts were made to tease out their views by asking whether they believed there was a “class system” most replied affirmatively. Katherine, for instance, did not think she belonged in any class and resisted pursuit of the matter on personal terms. But she also stated that she “definitely” thought a class system existed in the UK and equated this with negative media depictions. Her comments suggest being 'knowing' without being confident of possessing language through which to be 'telling' (Alvesson, 2011):

Nicola: “So, if you think there's a class system, how do you think that shows itself?” Kathryn: “I don't really know how to answer. I just think there's a certain class that gets picked on all the time and gets portrayed negatively.”

Writing of difficulties in denoting categories in her influential study of gender and class, which employed a Bourdieusian capitals approach, Skeggs found it 'easier to identify the young women

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by what they were not' (1997: 81). She concludes that they were 'not middle class as identified culturally and economically', nor were they, borrowing Bourdieu's words, 'in a position to construct distances from necessity' (1997: 81, Bourdieu, 1984: 6). This could also be said of most women in Location A, whose levels of economic or cultural capital were almost invariably low. From their scant comments on class, women in A generally regarded it in terms of the presence or absence of money and their perspectives on financial positions are discussed in the next chapter, which examines economic capital.

While women in A generally did not refer to cultural signifiers of class, Nadirah and Clare were the exceptions. Both of these women appeared conscious of class, though seeming ambiguous in understandings of it, and attempted dissociation. Both also displayed 'negative' SSL during their interviews. Nadirah was dressed very smartly when she came to the research interview with immaculate hair and make-up. When complimented on this, her reply indicated it was a means of 'impression management' (Goffman, 1990):

"I make an effort to look smart because I feel like if people see me in tracksuit bottoms and pushing a pushchair the first thing they'll think in their head is, 'she's a single mum and she's scrounging on benefits'.” Nadirah (A)

Equating being working class with having a job, she explained that she wanted to “look like a working class mum, like I've got a job”. She became upset however that she had, in reality, struggled on benefits since having a baby alone at 18, as she went on to explain. Her sense of 'negative' SSL was visible in her distress that she had not been able to fulfil her intention to, "have a career first”.

Clare spoke of having a “middle class upbringing with the best of everything and two holidays a year”. However she also spoke of not completing her education due to suffering from depression and conveyed signs of 'negative' SSL throughout the interview, predominantly through speaking about her 'low self-esteem' and admonishing herself for depending on benefits, as elaborated upon in the next chapter. Having lived in a council house on the estate but been conscious of “not fitting in” and being “judged as a snob”, she had moved to a privately rented property in what she called a “lower middle class area” on its outskirts. She conceded that she was “very judgemental” of those she referred to as “estate people”, whom she described as “scruffy looking”, “swearing a lot”, going out drinking and not keeping their homes clean. She offered insight into her attempts to establish distance and how this could backfire as she was unable to find work or fulfil the expectations her middle class childhood had engendered. At one point during the interview for example, whilst criticising the appearance of people on the estate, she gestured towards her own clothes sneeringly and said, “but then, who am I to talk”. Clare offered valuable insight into a process of turning judgement inwards:

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the flip the table. If you think that somebody else must as well.” Clare (A) Location B

Unlike the 'evasiveness and embarrassment' (Sayer, 2005) that tended to arise when the topic of class was broached in Location A, the majority of participants in Location B spoke at length about social class and how they would position themselves. The ease with which most women in B talked about class in this analytical way could be regarded as indicating a certain level of cultural capital in itself (Savage, 2015). Several participants pondered upon whether class is determined by “background, education, salary or postcode”, as one put it, and explained why they did not place themselves firmly in any particular class.

Gillies believes that possessing middle class cultural capital enables people to 'attach value to themselves' through 'particular identifications and dis-identifications' (2007: 35). Tellingly, acceptance of middle class taste as the legitimate and aspirational standard (Atkinson et al., 2012) could be found in the accounts of those participants in Location B who appeared most eager to distance themselves from classed assumptions surrounding lone motherhood. While some could be seen to deploy cultural capital in the form of education and knowledge as a resource in resisting or challenging stereotypes, a tension was evident, particularly in the cases of Laura and Jasmine for instance, who simultaneously dis-identified from classed elements of stereotyping whilst also critiquing stereotypes.

Only three participants in this study identified themselves unambiguously as “middle class”; Joanne, Moira and Sonia, all of whom lived in Location B. Their comments indicate that their sense of being middle class was based on their family background, university education and what they termed “values”, as well as being “comfortable” or “privileged” materially. They also indicated that they saw their middle-class identity as attributable largely to cultural rather than economic factors. Moira's class attachment was evident when she explained that she had continued to regard herself as middle class during the period when she was living on benefits because her parents were “terminally middle class” and this was “deeply ingrained”:

“I think my class is obvious from I don't know, I've got [pause] I think it's cultural things and values'. Moira (A)

Having deliberated upon whether class is determined by income, education or “mentality”, Sonia concluded:

“I was brought up middle class so I suppose that's what I would identify with really. I certainly don't think that life's a struggle and I'm educated to a certain level. I guess it's to do with my aspirations and things like that.” Sonia (B)

Significantly, Moira and Sonia were untypical in that they barely referred to negative stereotyping and did not voice feelings of being affected by it or appear to have internalised

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negative discourse. They appeared indifferent to media portrayals and did not exhibit a need to distance themselves personally from them. Moira said she used the term "single mum" to describe herself and, unusually in the sample, was "happy with it as an identity". Moira dismissed reality television as “exploitative” and Sonia said she avoided “the gutter press”. Both women had considerably higher levels of cultural, economic and social capital than most mothers in this study, including having post-graduate qualifications, being in employment and being members of organised single parents' groups. They both consistently expressed indicators of 'positive' SSL throughout their interviews and factors which appeared to influence this, such as pride in career achievements, are referred to as appropriate in the chapters that follow.

Moira and Sonia's disinterest in stereotypes suggests their formal cultural capital in the shape of educational qualifications, along with embodied dispositions of accent and appearance led them to deem themselves far enough from stereotypes as to render such depictions irrelevant. While most participants reproduced stigmatising discourse, Sonia and Moira both drew upon wider cultural resources. Sonia set out political arguments to challenge the “demonisation of single parent families”. Moira, who described herself as “quite a big feminist”, was proactive in setting up a local single parents' group, has a doctorate and was a member of a choir. She said she described herself as a “single mum” when she met people and on social media, “even though that's probably the most stigmatising term”. She was the only woman in the sample who fixed upon a positive single mother figure from the media, author J.K.Rowling, rather than concentrating on negative stereotyping:

“J.K. Rowling is a sort of single parent hero because she pulled off an amazing success from being a really poor single mother and it's nice to see role models, both for us and for our children, to see women being strong and doing stuff. I can say [to the children] 'the lady who wrote Harry Potter19_{, she's a single mum' and I like to be able to say that.”} Moira (B)

Joanne (B) was the third mother in the study who identified herself unequivocally as “middle class”. She spelled out factors to which she attributed this identity as: her father being a senior civil servant; her “privileged” upbringing; her educational attainment; and her managerial career. Referring to her African-Caribbean background, Joanne also described what she sees as dual “single mother ethnic minority pressure” however. She was highly conscious of not wanting to conform to that stereotype. Joanne articulated a process of internalisation of adverse social judgement in explaining that she believed media representations prejudiced people's opinions, even though has never personally experienced any negative incidents:

“Perhaps that's not what they're thinking at all, but you think 'that's what they're

19 _{J.K.Rowling, author of the series of books featuring fictional character Harry Potter has told of her life as}

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thinking about me'... in my head I think, 'I don't want them to look at me like that'.” Joanne (B)

Joanne said that she had sought out novels and films about lone mothers rebuilding their lives after relationship break-ups when she was going through her divorce, which had provided comforting perspectives. Where Moira and Sonia, the other two women identifying clearly as middle class, appeared to consider the stereotype so far removed from themselves as to be