Globalization and Gendered Social Transformation: Young People's Lives in an Urban Artisan Community in India

Abstract:Scholarly accounts of children of the urban poor in South Asia often decry the exploitative conditions of child labor—the harsh and debilitating environmental conditions. At the same time, these accounts treat children merely as victims and consequently leave out the felt experiences of working class children and youth. Poverty and inequality entrenched at the spatial level in developing countries is a familiar sight. Yet, little is known about the ways in which young people in these environments perceive their dispossession and whom they hold accountable for their marginalization. Based on fieldwork among a marginalized leather worker community in an urban neighborhood in India, this paper aims to go beyond countering homogenizing perspectives and challenging the exploitation narratives. I examine the specific responses of young people through ethnographic accounts of the ways in which they actively construct their own identities, and reinterpret and negotiate adult notions of labor, caste, and community solidarity. To gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the lifeworlds of young people I draw attention to the mutually reinforcing nature of the hierarchical social and spatial relations found in the neighborhood. In addition, I analyze the nature of youth discontent towards their traditional occupation and also with the general decline in employment prospects in a globalizing Indian economy. By exploring the conflicts within and between genders and generations emanating from changing economic conditions, I consider the future opportunities for young people in marginalized communities in the South.