‘Happy Families?’: Single Mothers, the Press and the Politicians

Abstract

FOR THOSE OF US who have been following how lone parents are represented in media and political debates over the last few years, the shift was all too apparent. By Spring 1997, the political scapegoating of single mothers as being responsible for tearing apart the moral fabric of society had become less frequent; tabloid headlines which screamed ‘family breakdown’, ‘scroungers' and ‘welfare benefit crisis' appeared less often; and many politicians had started to project themselves as, at the least, concerned about the welfare of lone parents and their children. Surprising really, that is, until we remember the backdrop—the UK General Election and 1.3 million UK lone parent voters. By April 1997, a growing backlash against the more extreme and pathologising accusations against single mothers had rendered explicit vilification unacceptable. To pull votes a different sort of language had to come into play—one which didn't risk turning off the electorate but would still allow a freezing or cutting of welfare spending on lone parent families. Since it was now politically inexpedient to engage in vitriolic attack, there emerged a new discourse—one which reappropriated and redefined lone parents as chief targets of government aid. Close scrutiny of the texts circulating from 1992 to the time of the General Election offers insights of how policy agendas, political rhetoric and news interweave to construct a definition of lone parents which bears little resemblance to how they may see themselves.

(De)legitimization of single mothers’ welfare rights: United States, Britain and Israel

“…In the early 1990s, single mothers were perceived as undermining family life and a burden on the welfare system. Thus, when the political system sought to pave the way for dramatic cuts in their benefits, the media narrative emphasized the ideal of the traditional family (Atkinson and Oerton, 1998). Media and government discourse referred to single mothers as a threat and a social problem that cast a shadow on society and the conventional family (Kiernan et al, 1998).…”

Practical, everyday feminism: mothers, politicians, and Mumsnet

“…Similarly, in the UK in the early 1990s, a moral panic over single mothers was fanned by tabloid reporting and the statements of Conservative politicians such as John Redwood and Peter Lilley, who condemned single mothers as 'benefit driven' and 'undeserving'. 20 By the late 1990s, however, David Cameron's leadership of the Conservative party had led to a modernisation of its message and a new discourse, which redefined lone parents as the chief targets of government aid. At the same time, a key to Labour success in the 1990s was described as 'Worcester Woman'a young, professional woman from middle England who was attracted to the party by its leader, Tony Blair.…”

The Forms and Functions of Child Support Stigma

“…With a similar focus on welfare benefit contexts, research has also identified the strategic use of stigma in Australia and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, studies have examined how stigmatizing media coverage of single mothers (Atkinson, Oerton, and Burns 1998) and welfare recipients (Reeves and Vries 2016) reflected and influenced conservative political interests. In Australia, similar prejudice against single mothers on welfare has been described (Manne 2018; Wolfinger 2014).…”