Read more
“Poor mothers distrust men, employers, and welfare caseworkers—and almost everyone else except a few family and friends. Finally we have a book that puts this palpable distrust at the center of analysis. Levine offers rich description of how distrust permeates the lives of the women she interviewed both before and after welfare reform, and insightful theorizing about the causes and consequences of this distrust."—Paula England, New York University
“Policy makers have many goals for women who are poor: get jobs, put their children in daycare, and rely on family members for assistance rather than the government. As policy makers have sought to understand why these policies have floundered, many critics have focused on the failings of the women. In this engaging book, Judith A. Levine shifts the conversation in a fresh and original fashion. In rich, in-depth interviews, Levine presents women’s accounts of how employers harass them, caseworkers lie, and even family members often remain untrustworthy. Levine shows us that feelings of trust are a crucial social lubricant, but this lubricant is in short supply in the lives of single low-income mothers. Without trust, it is hard to get ahead. Highly recommended!”—Annette Lareau, Stanley I. Sheerr Professor, University of Pennsylvania
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Welfare Reform and the Enduring Structural Roots of Distrust
2. “The Way They Treat You Is Inhumane”: Caseworkers and the Welfare Office
3. “I Couldn’t Put Up with It No More”: Perceived Mistreatment and Distrust at Work
4. “I Don’t Trust People to Watch My Kids”: Mothers’ Distrust in Child Care Providers
5. “You Can’t Put Your Trust in Men”: Gender Distrust and Marriage
6. “I Trust My Mother and No One Else”: Trust and Distrust in Social Networks
Conclusion
Appendix: Research Methods
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Judith Levine is Associate Professor of Sociology at Temple University.
Summary
Explores issues of trust and distrust among low-income women in the US - at work, around childcare, in their relationships, and with caseworkers - and presents richly detailed evidence from interviews about our welfare system and why it's failing the very people it is designed to help.
Additional text
"Levine uses the concept of trust and the associated literature as her analytical tool."
