Seccombe Ch.2- One of Her Contentions

Seccombe's section on 'Explanations of Poverty and Welfare Use" as it relates to the notion of Individualism, is what this post is going to focus on. Four explanations were discussed in this section: Individualism, Social Structuralism, Culture of Poverty and Fatalism. Seccombe's contention in this section is to provide a "fresh perspective by acknowledging the ways in which gender interacts with our explanations of social inequality, poverty, and welfare use" (pg.44). Although gender plays a role in each of the four explanations, I am going to thoroughly discuss the explanation of Individualism. Seccombe explains that Individualism suggests that individuals are responsible for their economic position in society and that opportunities are available to all of us who are willing to work hard and are motivated (pg. 45). It is thought from this perspective that all individuals have an equal opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and traits to move up the economic ladder, and that for the people who are in poverty or on welfare, it is their fault because they are too lazy and unmotivated. As Seccombe states, this perspective is reflected in our country's response to the poor. It's their scapegoat and their excuse as to why the poor stay poor. At the end of this section Seccombe explains how Individualism and gender are inter-related. She says that we are ignoring the critical social fact that the vast majority of welfare recipients are unmarried women with dependent children. "Given their daily parental responsibilities, tasks, and time constraints, they do not have the same opportunities to pull themselves up by their bootstraps as do other adults who are without children" (pg. 46). Seccombe says that to ignore the emotional and time commitment involved in taking care of dependent children, and to fail to recognize the ways in which caretaking can inhibit women's ability for social mobility, is to ignore the reality of many women's existence (pg. 46). In short, gender interacts with the idea of Individualism because many people fail to recognize that many people who are on welfare are women with children who need to be taken care of.