The Trauma of Poverty as Social Identity

ABSTRACT

Poverty is more than an income level; it is a socially constructed identity that leaves scars of psychological impoverishment. Using autoethnography, I tell my story about growing up poor, climbing out of poverty as an adult, and falling back into poverty during marriage. I explore the unforgettable traumas of poverty, including empty cupboards, social rejection, humiliation, homelessness, and loneliness. Through the lens of Goffman’s frame analysis theory, I cope with my memories of hardship and stigmatized identity.

KEYWORDS:

• Identity
• poverty
• stigmatization
• trauma
• autoethnography

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nancie Hudson

Nancie Hudson is a former freelance writer who previously taught writing classes at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is currently earning a doctorate in the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Her research interests are language and social interaction, ethnography, and identity.