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Social Class And Structures Of Feeling In Women’s Childhood Memories Of Clothing, Food, And Leisure

Indiana University

Sociological and autobiographical accounts of working-class life suggest that emotions are one important component of social class identification. In this article, the author invokes Raymond Williams’ concept, "structures of feeling," to explain how something as private and individual as emotions can be linked to one collective identity, social class. She examines the childhood memories of twenty-seven women from working-class and middle-class backgrounds for evidence of structures of feeling. Women’s childhood memories of clothing norm violations, encountering new food, and threatening situations revealed patterned emotional responses that varied by social class. The author argues that these patterns are evidence of class-based structures of feeling manifesting on an individual level.

Key Words: social class • structures of feeling • emotions • women • childhood memories

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 32, No. 2, 167-199 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0891241602250884


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