Cruel optimism of waiting

Precarity experiences of young adults in Turkey

Bibliographic Data

ID6439495
AuthorsFatoş Gökşen (0000-0003-3510-0637, Koç University), Bermal Küçük (0000-0002-5481-7687, Koç University, corresponding author), Gözde Cöbek (0000-0003-4732-2077, Kadir Has University), Sidar Bayram (0000-0003-3192-5463, Koç University), Zeynep Cemalcılar (0000-0002-0886-7982, Koç University)
Year2023
Volume28
Issue4
Pages621-636
Publication date2023-12-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Youth Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1367-6261 • E-ISSN: 1469-9680
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13676261.2023.2294304
OpenAlexW4389639311
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited58

This paper examines young adults' everyday experiences of precarity. Defining precarity as a socioeconomic and affective condition, it offers waiting as an analytical tool to explore the intersection of precarity and the family as a locus of social security and dependency. Based on the in-depth interviews with young adults (N = 52), it investigates the affective and temporal dimensions of precarity that play out in the waiting practices of young adults in Turkey. Focusing on these practices, we show how conditions of precarity foster an entrepreneurial mindset and never-ending self-enterprise while establishing forms of cruel attachments and dependencies. Following Berlant's notion of cruel optimism, we demonstrate how young adults become paradoxically dependent on their familial bonds and temporary job market to become independent individuals. We conclude that the family as an agent of individualization and normalization of precarity (re-)emerges as the backbone of neoliberal restructuring. However, such familial bonds within the context of fragmented biographies reinforce cruel attachments in which sustaining the aspirations for independence makes precarious young adults more dependent on their families

Context (archaeology · Independence (probability theory · Optimism · Political science · Precarity · Restructuring · Sociology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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