Suchergebnisse

This paper is inspired by recent trends in narrative research that orient to the meaning-making actions of those involved in describing the life course. Applying concepts of narrative, discourse, and contrast, the complex meaning of growing up is presented by way of Lakeesha's story, one of the 20 women interviewed for a project on African American gender socialization. Rather than viewing the participant in question as having been subject to the ostensible forces and parameters of socialization, she was offered the opportunity to represent her growing-up experiences in her own terms. She talked herself into being, situating herself as a particular type of women throughout her growing-up story — strategically employing and manipulating particular cultural discourses to do so. Lakeesha's story is presented in this paper to illustrate a strategic model of narrative activity. In particular, I trace her use of the American Dream to analyze the ways that she situates herself with particular identities linked to local conceptions of successful womanhood. Methodological implications of this approach are considered in the conclusion.

To better understand how young Alaska Native (Inupiaq) people are creatively responding to the tensions of growing up in a world markedly different from that of their parents and grandparents, the pilot study examined youth-produced digital stories as representations of their everyday lives, values, and identities. Two hundred and seventy-one youth–produced digital stories were examined and assigned descriptive attributes; of these, 31 stories were selected and subjected to a more rigorous coding and a thematic analysis. Findings fall into three main categories: self-representation, sites of achievement, and relationships. Participants' digital stories overwhelmingly depicted positive self-images that included both codified cultural values and pop cultural images to construct novel forms of cultural identity. The gendered depictions of achievement signal a need for more varied, valued, and accessible avenues for success for boys. Lastly, relationships were prominent in the stories, but there was an absence of young adult role models, particularly men, in the stories.

Precarious work has steadily grown in the United States since the rise of neoliberal policies. The continued expansion of this type of work has led to precarious employment as a recognized category within social determinants of health work and to a growing literature within public health research. African-American men are disproportionately vulnerable to precarious work, which in turn contributes to adverse health effects. Nevertheless, African-American men's experiences of employment and the perceived impact on their well-being remain underexplored. This study was part of the formative exploratory phase of a 5-year community-based participatory research project to examine the biopsychosocial determinants of stress among low/no-income, African-American men. Through thematic analysis of 42 semi-structured interviews, 3 themes emerged: (a) occupational hazards and health, (b) internalization of neoliberal ideology, and (c) constraints of structural factors. Neoliberal economic policies cause material deprivation and exacerbate systemic injustices that disproportionately affect communities of color. The accompanying neoliberal ideology of personal responsibility shapes men's perceptions of success and failure. Public health research must continue to push against health promotion practices that predominantly focus on individual behavior. Rather than exploring only the granularities of individual behaviors, health problems must be examined through prolonged historical, political, economic, and social disenfranchisement.