The Politics of Disgust

The Public Identity of the Welfare Queen

Author: Ange-Marie Hancock
ISBN: 9780814736708

Winner of the 2006 Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Organized Section Best First Book Award from the American Political Science Association Winner of the 2006 W.E.B. DuBois Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists Ange-Marie Hancock argues that longstanding beliefs about poor African American mothers were the foundation for the contentious 1996 welfare reform debate that effectively "ended welfare as we know it." By examining the public identity of the so-called welfare queen and its role in hindering democratic deliberation, The Politics of Disgust shows how stereotypes and politically motivated misperceptions about race, class and gender were effectively used to instigate a politics of disgust. The ongoing role of the politics of disgust in welfare policy is revealed here by using content analyses of the news media, the 1996 congressional floor debates, historical evidence and interviews with welfare recipients themselves. Hancock's incisive analysis is both

Publisher: NYU Press
Publish Date: 2004-12-01

Subjects: Political Science / Public Affairs & Administration, Political Science / Public Policy / Social Services & Welfare, Social Science / Poverty & Homelessness

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Women's Center (Location: Class/Economics)