Subtle forms of povertyism

Just like with ableism, the most harmful and common forms of povertyism (classism or aporophobia) are often the subtle ones—what some researchers call "microaggressions" or embedded institutional maltreatment.

• These subtle forms often stem from the false belief in "meritocracy"—the idea that everyone succeeds based purely on effort and talent, which wrongly suggests poor people are poor simply due to a lack of effort or bad choices.
• Here are some subtle forms of povertyism across different areas:

🏛️ In Institutions and Systems (Structural Povertyism)

• These are less about individual malice and more about how systems are designed to favour the wealthy, making life harder for the poor.

• Financial Exclusion and Fees: Poor people often face a "poverty penalty"—they pay more for essential services.

  • Examples: Not having enough money to pay bank fees, leading to being unbanked or having to use high-cost payday loans. Being unable to afford the deposit for a good flat, forcing them into higher-cost, poorer-quality housing.

• "Benefits Sludge" and Humiliation: This is the administrative burden and feeling of indignity placed on those accessing social assistance.

  • Examples: Overly complex application forms, long waiting times, and frequent re-assessments that communicate an underlying suspicion or distrust that the applicant is trying to cheat the system. Many people prefer to go without benefits rather than face the humiliation.

• Educational Barriers: Policies that create hidden costs in supposedly "free" public education.

  • Examples: Requiring fees for school trips, uniforms, or specialised supplies that financially strain low-income families, causing their children to be excluded from peer activities or singled out for being unable to pay.

• Biased Decision-Making: Unconscious bias in service delivery.

  • Examples: Judges, social workers, or doctors making more negative assumptions about the stability or parenting ability of a person based on their socioeconomic status or address, leading to harsher judgements or less support.

🗣️ In Interpersonal Interactions (Microaggressions)

• These are brief, everyday exchanges that send demeaning messages to people because of their social class.

• Ascription of Deficit/Blame: Assuming that a person's lack of money is due to a personal flaw.

  • Examples: Saying things like, "If they just budgeted better," "They should stop buying junk food," or assuming they are lazy or irresponsible with money. This ignores systemic issues like low wages and high cost of living.

• Condescending Tone/Patronisation: Speaking to a poor person in a way that implies they are less capable or intelligent.

  • Examples: Using overly simple language when explaining a simple procedure, or being overly sympathetic in a way that makes the person feel like an object of pity rather than an equal human being.

• Exclusion through "Culture": Using cultural references, clothing, or communication styles that exclude those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

  • Examples: Social conversation that revolves around expensive holidays, private schools, or professional networking, which signals that a person who cannot participate in or relate to these things does not belong or is "Other."

• Assumptions of Criminality or Instability: Automatically viewing a person in low-cost, visible public housing or wearing inexpensive clothing with suspicion.

  • Examples: A shop employee following a customer who they perceive as poor, or a landlord rejecting a tenant based on their address or the fact they receive government benefits.

📰 In Media and Discourse (Societal Othering)

• This involves how people in poverty are talked about and framed by society, politicians, and the media.

• Use of Stigmatising Language: Using terms that dehumanise or create an "us versus them" mentality.

  • Examples: Terms like "the underclass," "scroungers," or "welfare cheats," which bundle diverse people into one negative, feared, and despised group.

• Poverty Porn: Media or charity appeals that rely on sensationalised, graphic, and undignified images of suffering to elicit pity, often stripping the person of their agency or focusing only on their distress, not their resilience.

• Focus on Individual Behaviour, Not Systemic Causes: When discussing poverty, the conversation almost always focuses on what poor people do (e.g., diet, spending), rather than the structural issues that cause and maintain poverty (e.g., stagnant wages, lack of affordable housing