This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Law, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

SURFING THE SAFETY NET

`Dole Bludging', `Surfies' and Governmentality in Australia

Trent University, Canada

This article traces some administrative and media constructions of Australian surfing subculture in the early 1970s. Foucault's concept of `governmentality', which is concerned with techniques and technologies of discipline, is deployed to interpret the administrative categorization process that was used to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate unemployment benefit claims. Particular attention is paid to how some of the discourses surrounding unemployment benefit compared the unemployed surfing subject unfavorably with the idealized working citizen. Not only was `the surfie element' an object of discipline but, more importantly, `youths' as a social category were made to know themselves as potentially irresponsible at a time of growing unemployment.

Key Words: Australia • governmentality • liberalism • subculture • surfing

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?