The Sociospatial Stigmatization of Homeless Women with Children1

Abstract Homelessness remains highly stigmatized in U.S. society, with homeless persons seen by the public as mentally disabled, criminal, and socially deviant. This paper focuses on homeless women with children and argues that, in addition to the material deprivation of poverty, the sociospatial stigmatization of homeless women constitutes a primary obstacle to their reentry into mainstream, domiciled society. How does sociospatial stigma constrain homeless women with children as they navigate the transition between homeless and homed? How do these women deflect and circumvent the social and spatial boundaries defined by stigmatization? An analysis of semistructured interviews with eight women with children in Orange County, California, highlights the ways that the social identity of women as homeless is reinforced by social service agencies, potential employers, family, and friends, and illustrates how homeless women attempt to circumvent the negative attributes associated with homelessness. Keywords: homeless womenstigmaSouthern California