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Managing Difference: White Parenting Practices in Socioeconomically Diverse Neighborhoods

Managing Difference: White Parenting Practices in Socioeconomically Diverse Neighborhoods Abstract Drawing on 40 interviews with white parents in two mixed-income neighborhoods—one that is majority-white and the other that is multiracial—this article examines how residence in socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods conditions the parenting practices of middle-class whites, specifically concerning parents’ management of their children’s contact with the poor. The data reveal that white parents in both neighborhoods work to ensure symbolic and spatial distance between their children and their poor neighbors resulting in distinctive patterns of micro-segregation in each neighborhood. However, how parents engage in this work depends on the race of their neighbors and the block-level geography of their community. I find that parents deploy more contact-avoidant practices toward their poor white rather than their poor black neighbors. Among participants, poor whites conjure feelings of disgust and are actively avoided, whereas poor black residents provoke feelings of ambivalence, as contact with them is judged to be both valuable and threatening. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png City & Community (Fixed 2) SAGE

Managing Difference: White Parenting Practices in Socioeconomically Diverse Neighborhoods

City & Community (Fixed 2) , Volume 20 (2): 1 – Jan 18, 2021

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References (59)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© American Sociological Association 2021
ISSN
1535-6841
eISSN
1540-6040
DOI
10.1177/1535684120981011
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract Drawing on 40 interviews with white parents in two mixed-income neighborhoods—one that is majority-white and the other that is multiracial—this article examines how residence in socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods conditions the parenting practices of middle-class whites, specifically concerning parents’ management of their children’s contact with the poor. The data reveal that white parents in both neighborhoods work to ensure symbolic and spatial distance between their children and their poor neighbors resulting in distinctive patterns of micro-segregation in each neighborhood. However, how parents engage in this work depends on the race of their neighbors and the block-level geography of their community. I find that parents deploy more contact-avoidant practices toward their poor white rather than their poor black neighbors. Among participants, poor whites conjure feelings of disgust and are actively avoided, whereas poor black residents provoke feelings of ambivalence, as contact with them is judged to be both valuable and threatening.

Journal

City & Community (Fixed 2)SAGE

Published: Jan 18, 2021

Keywords: white parents; mixed-income neighborhoods; micro-segregation

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