Work

Depletion through Social Reproduction and Contingent Coping in the Lived Experience of Parents on Universal Credit in England

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: We report data from longitudinal qualitative interviews with thirteen people claiming Universal Credit (UC) immediately before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. The article utilizes concepts from feminist theory: “Social Reproduction” and “Depletion.” We make several novel contributions, including bringing depletion into conversation with the related concept of “contingent coping.” We argue that the lived experience of UC involves material and emotional depletion, but that UC also helps recipients to “cope” contingently with this depletion. In this sense, depletion through social reproduction is an ongoing and harmful state of being. We show how highly conditional and disciplinary welfare policies both partially mitigate but also accentuate structural pressures associated with an unequal, insecure, and competitive labor market.

Source: Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society

DOI: 10.1093/sp/jxad018

Authors: Robyn Fawcett, Emily Gray, Alexander Nunn

Institutions: University of Derby, University of Warwick, University of Johannesburg, Leeds Trinity University

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,261