The biggest myth about welfare is who is on welfare. The picture painted in most of our minds is that people on welfare are single mothers; most likely an ethnic minority, has a lot of children, is lazy, doesn’t work, and abuses the government’s services to get by. Along with that image implanted in our minds, most people express anger towards believing that their tax dollars are being used to help “lazy” people on welfare, which is not the case. The authors of this week’s readings challenge our stereotypes beyond what we probably thought they could.
Dorothy Allison’s article “A Question of Class” gave us a different visual of someone on welfare when she described her family as white and desperately poor. The way she grew up not understanding how she could be so extremely poor when her mother and stepfather worked such long hours. Allison’s story goes beyond welfare, and being poor. She lived a life of poverty on many different levels because of the horrible conditions she lived in and unfortunate things she had to go through.
Allison’s article as well as Bravo’s “What This Nation Really Thinks of Motherhood: Welfare Reform” challenge our views with the myths and realities they present us with. Bravo’s article also pointed out the myth that people on welfare are mothers who do not want to work, and depend on handouts. In reality there were no dependable jobs for people on welfare, or the system to help them find one was flawed. Programs that don’t provide child care will not be successful for women who need that in order to go to work.
I agree on many of the “feminist’s solutions” that Bravo’s article addresses. Improved transportation is necessary, or jobs near where people live. Other important issues in ending poverty are creating family-supporting jobs, like valuing the work of caring for family members. The training people receive is also important to help them be successful at obtaining a job or at the current job they are at.
