Resisting the Neo-liberal Poverty Discourse: On Constructing Deadbeat Dads and Welfare Queens

This article describes the impact of both neo-liberal and conservative discourse upon poverty policy and welfare reform. In it, I summarize the discursive construction of welfare queens and deadbeat dads and the influence upon welfare reform while incorporating globalization in the discursive critique. This paper also describes the resistance to the discourse evidenced by those most affected by the poverty or welfare reform discourse. I suggest ways of critically examining our own discourse as well as the welfare reform discourse and our participation in it or resistance to it. The conclusion questions assumptions about dependency, welfare receipt and justice.