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Related Experiment Videos

The enemy within: a commentary on the demonization of difference

R Sidel1

  • 1Department of Sociology, Hunter College, New York, USA.

The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
|October 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Rhetoric targeting poor women, especially single mothers, has been used to dismantle the federal welfare system. The study argues poverty

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Area of Science:

  • Social Sciences
  • Sociology
  • Public Policy

Background:

  • The federal welfare system has faced significant political challenges and rhetoric aimed at its reduction or elimination.
  • Poor and marginalized populations, particularly women, have been central to public discourse surrounding welfare reform.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze how rhetoric has targeted the poor and powerless, specifically women, in efforts to dismantle the federal welfare system.
  • To examine the stigmatization of poor, single mothers as a diversionary tactic from broader economic shifts.

Main Methods:

  • Qualitative analysis of rhetoric surrounding welfare policy.
  • Examination of socio-economic data and policy discourse.

Main Results:

  • The study identifies specific rhetorical strategies that focus on the perceived failings of poor women to justify welfare system changes.
  • Evidence suggests this stigmatization serves to distract from significant wealth redistribution and economic inequality in the U.S.

Conclusions:

  • The core issue is not the behavior of poor women but the systemic persistence of poverty.
  • Policy and public discourse should address structural poverty rather than stigmatizing vulnerable populations.

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