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Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders: Homeless in San Francisco
Winner of the 2011 Robert Park Award for the Best Book in Community and Urban Sociology, American Sociological Association, 2011
Co-winner of the 2011 Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book in the Sociology of Culture, American Sociological Association, 2011
When homelessness reemerged in American cities during the 1980s at levels not seen since the Great Depression, it initially provoked shock and outrage. Within a few years, however, what had been perceived as a national crisis came to be seen as a nuisance, with early sympathies for the plight of the homeless giving way to compassion fatigue and then condemnation. Debates around the problem of homelessness—often set in terms of sin, sickness, and the failure of the social system—have come to profoundly shape how homeless people survive and make sense of their plights. In Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders, Teresa Gowan vividly depicts the lives of homeless men in San Francisco and analyzes the influence of the homelessness industry on the streets, in the shelters, and on public policy. Gowan shows some of the diverse ways that men on the street in San Francisco struggle for survival, autonomy, and self-respect. Living for weeks at a time among homeless men—working side-by-side with them as they collected cans, bottles, and scrap metal; helping them set up camp; watching and listening as they panhandled and hawked newspapers; and accompanying them into soup kitchens, jails, welfare offices, and shelters—Gowan immersed herself in their routines, their personal stories, and their perspectives on life on the streets. She observes a wide range of survival techniques, from the illicit to the industrious, from drug dealing to dumpster diving. She also discovered that prevailing discussions about homelessness and its causes—homelessness as pathology, homelessness as moral failure, and homelessness as systemic failure—powerfully affect how homeless people see themselves and their ability to change their situation. Drawing on five years of fieldwork, this powerful ethnography of men living on the streets of the most liberal city in America, Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders, makes clear that the way we talk about issues of extreme poverty has real consequences for how we address this problem—and for the homeless themselves.
Co-winner of the 2011 Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book in the Sociology of Culture, American Sociological Association, 2011
When homelessness reemerged in American cities during the 1980s at levels not seen since the Great Depression, it initially provoked shock and outrage. Within a few years, however, what had been perceived as a national crisis came to be seen as a nuisance, with early sympathies for the plight of the homeless giving way to compassion fatigue and then condemnation. Debates around the problem of homelessness—often set in terms of sin, sickness, and the failure of the social system—have come to profoundly shape how homeless people survive and make sense of their plights. In Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders, Teresa Gowan vividly depicts the lives of homeless men in San Francisco and analyzes the influence of the homelessness industry on the streets, in the shelters, and on public policy. Gowan shows some of the diverse ways that men on the street in San Francisco struggle for survival, autonomy, and self-respect. Living for weeks at a time among homeless men—working side-by-side with them as they collected cans, bottles, and scrap metal; helping them set up camp; watching and listening as they panhandled and hawked newspapers; and accompanying them into soup kitchens, jails, welfare offices, and shelters—Gowan immersed herself in their routines, their personal stories, and their perspectives on life on the streets. She observes a wide range of survival techniques, from the illicit to the industrious, from drug dealing to dumpster diving. She also discovered that prevailing discussions about homelessness and its causes—homelessness as pathology, homelessness as moral failure, and homelessness as systemic failure—powerfully affect how homeless people see themselves and their ability to change their situation. Drawing on five years of fieldwork, this powerful ethnography of men living on the streets of the most liberal city in America, Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders, makes clear that the way we talk about issues of extreme poverty has real consequences for how we address this problem—and for the homeless themselves.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 15, 2011
Excellent book on the sociology of homelessness in San Francisco. The second chapter is an overview of societal methods of dealing with poverty and homelessness from the time of Martin Luther onward (I did not know about Martin Luther's book "Liber Vagatorum" or book of vagabonds in which he says that beggars are in league with corrupt priests.) In addition to world history, there is also specific history about San Francisco, including the Matrix program of the Frank Jordan era through Care Not Cash.
Gowan discusses the dialog around constructions of poverty - a moral viewpoint where sin is the cause, a disease viewpoint, and a systemic viewpoint. She points out that these discourses are taken up not only by authorities but also by homeless people themselves. A self-described "bad boy" is buying into the sin-talk viewpoint; the sick-talk viewpoint is common among people who have left the street through 12-step recovery; system talk is formulated in various ways, including identification with veterans who have been abandoned by the system.
The author started out her research with homeless recyclers, and informants (though she purposely doesn't use that word, with its connotations of snitching) from that group are the most clearly focused. Through doing the work of recycling, homeless recyclers are able to reinforce a working-class identity.
I'm surprised that this book apparently hasn't been reviewed in the local press (did Street Sheet even write anything about it?)
Gowan discusses the dialog around constructions of poverty - a moral viewpoint where sin is the cause, a disease viewpoint, and a systemic viewpoint. She points out that these discourses are taken up not only by authorities but also by homeless people themselves. A self-described "bad boy" is buying into the sin-talk viewpoint; the sick-talk viewpoint is common among people who have left the street through 12-step recovery; system talk is formulated in various ways, including identification with veterans who have been abandoned by the system.
The author started out her research with homeless recyclers, and informants (though she purposely doesn't use that word, with its connotations of snitching) from that group are the most clearly focused. Through doing the work of recycling, homeless recyclers are able to reinforce a working-class identity.
I'm surprised that this book apparently hasn't been reviewed in the local press (did Street Sheet even write anything about it?)
July 10, 2011
Go read this book right now!
Teresa Gowan examines homelessness in San Francisco by actually meeting and spending time with people who are living outside. She brings to the book countless hours of conversation with people, and also an analytical framework through which to view these experiences. The stories she tells are fascinating, of tent cities in the Dogpatch and everyday life in the hotels of the Tenderloin. But I especially enjoyed her critiques of both "sick-talk" (categorizing all homelessness as addiction, as many outreach centers have come to do) and "sin-talk" (categorizing all homelessness as individual frailty). I am partial to the system-talk myself, and Ms. Gowan gave me more words to express that feeling.
Also, get involved--we're fighting a Sit/Lie law proposal right now in Berkeley!
Teresa Gowan examines homelessness in San Francisco by actually meeting and spending time with people who are living outside. She brings to the book countless hours of conversation with people, and also an analytical framework through which to view these experiences. The stories she tells are fascinating, of tent cities in the Dogpatch and everyday life in the hotels of the Tenderloin. But I especially enjoyed her critiques of both "sick-talk" (categorizing all homelessness as addiction, as many outreach centers have come to do) and "sin-talk" (categorizing all homelessness as individual frailty). I am partial to the system-talk myself, and Ms. Gowan gave me more words to express that feeling.
Also, get involved--we're fighting a Sit/Lie law proposal right now in Berkeley!
August 10, 2010
Really cool book. Moving, hard-hitting, well-written and all-over fascinating. It sounds like a kind of case study of San Francisco - but this book is so much more. Gowan takes you right up close with a bunch of men living on the street, and without making them too squeaky clean, makes you challenge so much of the sympathetic but deeply patronizing way even progressives tend to think about homelessness, not just in SF but all over the US. Even the historical narrative really grabbed me. I don't have time for a long review yet, but will write more on the weekend.
May 24, 2015
Interesting topic, but dry in the execution.
October 1, 2013
Had to read this book for my sociology class. It was pretty interesting but was difficult to read at times.
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March 31, 2016LOVED THIS BOOK. Do yourself a favor and check it out if the subject matter interests you.
May 20, 2022
It breaks my heart to know so many people are suffering from extreme poverty, not just in San Francisco, but throughout the world, but San Francisco has a special place in my heart and life as I lived there as a young adult. The city has changed radically since then as I moved on to other sectors of the state, and I could not help but wonder at all the terrible news stories during the past few years about homelessness there.
What was going on with this city I once lived in and loved? This book by Teresa Gowan does shed light on the situation, although as a scholarly ethnography, it was a difficult book to read. I don't have her academic training and really wished the book had been written in a more accessible way so many would read it rather than just the few who are willing to suffer through the scholarly writing style.
After reading all that she wrote I cannot help but wonder why the city's homeless people are so committed to staying in that city. There are many other more rural places where poor people can live comfortably and happily and even respectably. San Francisco is a cool city with some lovely sights and magical locations, but it isn't the be all end all you know. Given the choice between a SF vermin-ridden single occupancy room or a decent subsidized one bedroom apartment in a less populated community, well, you know where I'd go.
I guess I made my decision long ago. I moved away from San Francisco around 1975, as I recall. I will always love the city, but I'm so happy to live in a rural area now. San Francisco lawmakers are apparently doing all they can to make life hard and even unbearable for homeless people, encouraging relocation outside the city, but it doesn't seem to be working when there are still tent cities full of people in crisis situations, on the sidewalks of the city.
Of all the basic human needs, food and shelter are at the top of the list. Our country has done a good thing in providing food to all who need it. The next step in humanitarian relief is to make basic decent housing available to all who need it.
I am grateful for the research work and documentation by the author, Teresa Gowan.
What was going on with this city I once lived in and loved? This book by Teresa Gowan does shed light on the situation, although as a scholarly ethnography, it was a difficult book to read. I don't have her academic training and really wished the book had been written in a more accessible way so many would read it rather than just the few who are willing to suffer through the scholarly writing style.
After reading all that she wrote I cannot help but wonder why the city's homeless people are so committed to staying in that city. There are many other more rural places where poor people can live comfortably and happily and even respectably. San Francisco is a cool city with some lovely sights and magical locations, but it isn't the be all end all you know. Given the choice between a SF vermin-ridden single occupancy room or a decent subsidized one bedroom apartment in a less populated community, well, you know where I'd go.
I guess I made my decision long ago. I moved away from San Francisco around 1975, as I recall. I will always love the city, but I'm so happy to live in a rural area now. San Francisco lawmakers are apparently doing all they can to make life hard and even unbearable for homeless people, encouraging relocation outside the city, but it doesn't seem to be working when there are still tent cities full of people in crisis situations, on the sidewalks of the city.
Of all the basic human needs, food and shelter are at the top of the list. Our country has done a good thing in providing food to all who need it. The next step in humanitarian relief is to make basic decent housing available to all who need it.
I am grateful for the research work and documentation by the author, Teresa Gowan.
July 22, 2023
Gowan is a skilled writer and ethnographer and her portrayal of homelessness in San Francisco successfully navigates the fine line of humanizing her subjects while still addressing the hard realities of their lives. She also integrates her narrative with larger context, showing the slow-moving crisis of American neoliberal housing policy and it’s enormous costs.
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December 19, 2024read for class
August 12, 2014
Life on the streets isn’t easy. Many of the inhabitants living on the streets are just simply trying to make ends meet with odd side jobs (the hustle) or recycling bottles/ cans. In the book called Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders, author Teresa Gowan writes about the life of an everyday hobo/ hustler living in the streets of San Francisco, CA.
The book begins with some deep background information about the life of the homeless. According to the book, homelessness has been around as early as the Great Depression. Many of the immigrants were homeless and thus they struggled to live on the streets.
They had to work hard to survive and make a living for themselves in a culture of poverty. The rate of homelessness increased overtime. Its most dramatic increase was during 1970s during the economic slump. In the economic slump, many inhabitants lost their jobs and homes. Thus, the problem is still running strong to this very day.
After the book’s brief history of homelessness, the author then describes the life of the homeless today through different subcultures. There are three different types of subcultures that were described. The subcultures are sick-talk (people who call for treatment), system-talk (recommends broader regulation, reform or era-transformation of an broader society), and sin-talk (summons up the twin- strategies of exclusion and punishment). The book breaks down these different systems and then describes the life of the homeless and hustlers.
The life of a homeless revolves around trying to survive. Many of the homeless suffer from all types of abuse from mental to physical. These types of abuse range from daily insults from local civilians to the sin of drug addiction. The majority of the homeless who live in a city are either mentally ill or addicted to some of sort of drug (crack/cocaine). The drug addicts in this book are what the author refers to as hustlers because they have to hustle in order to get their “fix.” In other words, to get their daily dosage and this is what makes this story very upsetting to me.
Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders is a very interesting but difficult read. The book is interesting because in between chapters, the author would add personal stories of civilians living on the street and their emotions come out in the pages. The book was a difficult read because when you read the stories, the struggles come out in reality.
I liked this book but it was really hard to finish because of the struggles and dense language. This book also has a huge touch on reality because there are many homeless people who are going through these struggles this very day. Being homeless is not easy because for some, it is part of everyday life.
The book begins with some deep background information about the life of the homeless. According to the book, homelessness has been around as early as the Great Depression. Many of the immigrants were homeless and thus they struggled to live on the streets.
They had to work hard to survive and make a living for themselves in a culture of poverty. The rate of homelessness increased overtime. Its most dramatic increase was during 1970s during the economic slump. In the economic slump, many inhabitants lost their jobs and homes. Thus, the problem is still running strong to this very day.
After the book’s brief history of homelessness, the author then describes the life of the homeless today through different subcultures. There are three different types of subcultures that were described. The subcultures are sick-talk (people who call for treatment), system-talk (recommends broader regulation, reform or era-transformation of an broader society), and sin-talk (summons up the twin- strategies of exclusion and punishment). The book breaks down these different systems and then describes the life of the homeless and hustlers.
The life of a homeless revolves around trying to survive. Many of the homeless suffer from all types of abuse from mental to physical. These types of abuse range from daily insults from local civilians to the sin of drug addiction. The majority of the homeless who live in a city are either mentally ill or addicted to some of sort of drug (crack/cocaine). The drug addicts in this book are what the author refers to as hustlers because they have to hustle in order to get their “fix.” In other words, to get their daily dosage and this is what makes this story very upsetting to me.
Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders is a very interesting but difficult read. The book is interesting because in between chapters, the author would add personal stories of civilians living on the street and their emotions come out in the pages. The book was a difficult read because when you read the stories, the struggles come out in reality.
I liked this book but it was really hard to finish because of the struggles and dense language. This book also has a huge touch on reality because there are many homeless people who are going through these struggles this very day. Being homeless is not easy because for some, it is part of everyday life.
October 30, 2012
If you've ever lived in San Francisco, or even if you haven't, you're probably aware of the - shall we say - complicated relationship the city has with its homeless. This book was incredibly enlightening to me in terms of understanding the situation in context of both SF's social policy history and how we've treated these issues nationwide over the last century. Gowan doesn't exactly offer solutions but she does a great job of highlighting the complexity of the problem - a system that doesn't really understand the diversity of the population it serves, emulates incarceration instead of provides support, and focuses on the temporary rather than the permanent. Really smart stuff, well-articulated.
May 29, 2013
A great study of homelessness in America, how the national discourse has retreated to sickness- and sin-talk rather than sticking to the subject: economic inequality.
Gowan's book is one part history, one part analysis, and one part ethnography, focusing on the predicament of the homeless in San Francisco--a kind of ground zero of the national crisis. She provides nuanced portraits of the Bay Area homeless population and develops the radical thesis that homeless Americans are...human. Perhaps even American.
One of the few books on contemporary homelessness that doesn't treat its subject with that dispassionate lab-coat analysis one would associate with a treatise on say, an urban septic mold epidemic.
Gowan's book is one part history, one part analysis, and one part ethnography, focusing on the predicament of the homeless in San Francisco--a kind of ground zero of the national crisis. She provides nuanced portraits of the Bay Area homeless population and develops the radical thesis that homeless Americans are...human. Perhaps even American.
One of the few books on contemporary homelessness that doesn't treat its subject with that dispassionate lab-coat analysis one would associate with a treatise on say, an urban septic mold epidemic.
June 12, 2011
The author offers tremendous insights into the causes of homelessness and the many different type of lives of those on the street (from recyclers to those living in shelters). After reading this book, I now have a different view on homelessness in San Francisco.
October 21, 2011
amazing book to read if you live in SF
March 9, 2013
Disappointed that Gowan's gendered approach ignores women almost completely.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews