Allen, K (2016) Top girls navigating austere times: interrogating youth transitions since the ‘crisis’. Journal of Youth Studies, 19 (6). pp. 805-820. ISSN 1367-6261
Abstract
Since the 1990s, young women in the West have been addressed as ‘Top Girls’, symbols of social progress and emblems of a new meritocracy. The 2008 financial crash and subsequent implementation of austerity measures have further called into question the realisation of such promise and potential as evidence suggests that the young and women have suffered disproportionately within the post-crash landscape in the UK and beyond. This paper draws on longitudinal data to interrogate the promises and failures of neoliberal and post-feminist articulations of aspiration and meritocracy as these are lived and negotiated by young women making transitions in the midst of the ‘crisis’. Attending to the biographical accounts of two participants occupying different class locations, I explore their transitions and perceptions of the uncertainties and risks characterising ‘austere times’. I demonstrate how, despite similarities in their experiences of a stunted graduate labour market, social class shaped how they responded to and made sense of the pressures and predicaments they encountered.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Taylor & Francis. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Youth Studies on November 2015, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2015.1112885. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Austerity; crisis; gender; generation; social class; transitions |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Sociology and Social Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Mar 2016 11:32 |
Last Modified: | 01 Jul 2017 17:03 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2015.1112885 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/13676261.2015.1112885 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:95783 |