Fleshing Out the Racial Undertones of Poverty for Canadian Women and their Families: Re-envisioning a Critical Integrative Approach

Authors

  • Amber Gazso Amber Gazso, York University, has research interests including citizenship, gender and families, the feminization and racialization of poverty, and social policy and the welfare state. Her current research explores how diverse families manage poverty intergenerationally.
  • Ingrid Waldron Ingrid Waldron, Dalhousie University, focuses research on the impact of discrimination on the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health of racialized groups in Canada, with a particular focus on race, gender and poverty.

Abstract

This paper argues for re-envisioning a critical integrative approach to poverty in lone mother families. In order to substantiate our argument, we unpack the concept feminization of poverty by fleshing out its racial undertones. We also show how a gendered and racialized understanding of poverty in lone mother families is neutralized and/or erased in political and policy discourses and media. Résumé Cet article discute la revisualisation d’une approche critique intégrative envers la pauvreté chez les familles de mères seules. Afin de prouver le bien-fondé notre point, nous développons le concept de féminisation de la pauvreté en soulevant ses nuances tons raciaux. Nous montrons aussi comment une compréhension de la pauvreté des familles de mères seules racialisée et basée sur la différences entre les sexes est neutralisée ou effacée dans les discours de politiques et de lois et dans les médias.

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Volcanic Sand. June 13, 2006. Photographer: Angela Reid.

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Published

2009-06-01

Issue

Vol. 34 No. 1 (2009): Open Topic Issue

Section

Original Research

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