Living with and responding to the 'scrounger' narrative in the UK: Exploring everyday strategies of acceptance, resistance and deflection

Patrick, R (2016) Living with and responding to the 'scrounger' narrative in the UK: Exploring everyday strategies of acceptance, resistance and deflection Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 24 (3). pp. 245-259. ISSN 1759-8273, 1759-8281

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Abstract

In the UK, a dominant narrative operates to stereotype and stigmatise out-of-work benefit claimants as inactive welfare dependents who require activation if they are to enter paid employment and behave responsibly. Drawing upon a small-scale qualitative longitudinal study into lived experiences of welfare reform, this paper explores how out-of-work claimants respond to this dominant narrative. The paper illustrates the reach of benefits stigma, and the strategies adopted by claimants to manage such stigma: most notably via an 'othering' of those deemed less deserving. It is argued that this 'othering' is best understood as an admittedly defensive form of citizenship engagement.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	4410 Sociology, 44 Human Society
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	02 Sep 2016 14:07
Last Modified:	24 Jan 2026 00:52
DOI:	10.1332/175982716X14721954314887
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3003154
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