Familism as Linking Possibility in the Subjectivation of Youngsters in Poverty Condition in Cordoba (Argentina)

Abstract

The article considers the processes of subjectivation of youngsters in poverty condition of a neighborhood of Cordoba (Argentina). From a Foucauldian analytic standpoint, it analyzes the ways in which subjects constitute themselves through a historical development and within a framework of practices of government and resistance. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to understand how the youngsters of the neighborhood built their subjectivities within a context of social exclusion. Particularly, it analyzes the relevance of kinship and the consequences for women. The fieldwork was undertaken between 2013 and 2017 by means of observation record and analysis of newspapers and government communications. The way of subjectivation that was observed in the youngsters reinforces kinship as a possible way to maintain social bonds despite the social fragmentation and stigmatization that they experience throughout their lives. In turn, this familist retreat fosters a space in which women are reduced to the role of mothers or caretakers, and because of that, are overwhelmed by everyday demands. These features occurred within a context of State policies that made nuclear family their aim of intervention and, also because of neoliberalism, the only providers of care. It concludes with some questions regarding the possibilities of such familism to become the foundation for broader community processes.