Lives beyond suspicion: Gender and the Construction of Respectability in Mid Twentieth Century Rural North Wales
Date
2011-10-01
Authors
Brown, Brian J.
Baker, Sally
Day, Graham
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
1467-9523
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley Blackwell
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
This paper explores and extends the field of historical rural sociology using the idea of respectability via a biographical study of twenty older adults from north Wales (UK) for whom the performance of respectability represented a form of social, symbolic or cultural capital. It entailed the active negotiation and management of barriers between differing constituencies of opinion, generations and family members. Key to this situated respectability in practice was the notion that harsher systems of exclusion for transgressors were located elsewhere, rather than in the present or immediate community. The sense of the past evoked by participants highlights an historical, diachronic dimension to respectability. A particularised, carefully constructed image of the past was present in participants’ evocations of respectability, providing a way of talking about identity and historical progression, as well as a means of managing potentially contentious events to preserve the dignity of the people concerned.
Description
A contribution to the historical sociology of Wales
Keywords
Wales, historical sociology, Bourdieu, social capital, respectability
Citation
Brown, B., Baker, S. and Day, G.A.S. (2011) Lives beyond suspicion: Gender and the construction of respectability in mid 20th century rural North Wales. Sociologia Ruralis, 51 (4) pp. 370-386
Research Institute
Institute of Health, Health Policy and Social Care
Mary Seacole Research Centre
Mary Seacole Research Centre