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Ethnography: Signature Assignment

Andrew Perkins
Anthropology 1010
May 3, 2020
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The subgroup of people of cultural group that I will be focusing my ethnography on is

people suffering and or recovering from drug addiction. I chose this group for a variety of

reasons. The first reason being that I am from a small town in Pennsylvania that was majorly

affected by the negative consequences of drug abuse. I moved here two years ago from a

Reading, Pennsylvania a small urban city that is surrounding by a vast rural area where drugs

unfortunately run rampant. Growing up in this area, I was exposed to drugs in a personal way

due to the fact that many people I grew up with either ended up on drugs or had relatives or

friends who had either passed away or suffered from an overdose from drugs at one point. It was

not until I moved away from this area that I realized how large of a problem this was, mainly

because it seemed so normal. From this experience I have not only gained compassion for those

suffering drug addiction, but also a passion to understand and help those struggling not to use

controlled substances. Another reason I want to focus on this particular culture is because I

believe it strongly ties into my major which is psychology. I think that getting more exposure

and gaining a deeper understanding of the people that fall within the cultural subgroup will

majorly benefit me later on in my career, especially if I end up working in the field of

rehabilitation. An extremely important quality of someone working in the field of psychology or

any field dealing with people is the ability to understand someone’s situation in order to have

empathy and a nonjudgmental perspective in order to best help someone and in my opinion this

comes from first hand experience. I would plan on gaining access to this group by going to

meeting and or drug clinics and seeing if anyone there would be willing to conversate with me a

about the subject. I don’t have any safety concerns, the only thing I would be concerned about it

that no one feels that I am disrespecting their personal journey or am in any way judging them.
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There are many methods I used in which to study this particular sub-group of culture.

One of the main research methods I did was interviewing and using also using personal

experience that has granted me a lot of knowledge on the subject. Due to the fact that I was

raised in a small town where drug addiction was a major problem myself and people that I know

have seen and experienced first hand the effects of drug and alcohol abuse. Another research

method that I used during the duration of this project was observation. I researched and also

asked around to find out where I would be able to witness the highest level of drug activity near

where I live. Unfortunately this ended up being public spaces like parks where there are high

levels of homeless people living along with crime.

The location that I chose to focus on for my map project is Pioneer Park in Salt

Lake City. There are several reasons that I chose this location, all having to due with the fact that

the park is surrounded by addiction, homelessness and drug crimes. I immediately found this

location intriguing when I first was able to visit. This was due to the fact that depending on what

time you go; you will be exposed to and see completely different types of people. From my visits

I was able to separate the people in the area into two categories. The first category, being those

who unfortunately suffer from substance abuse issues or have in the past. If I am being honest, I

did use stereotypes to help me put people into this category which may be illogical on my part

but seemed to be my best option without going up to people and asking straightforwardly

whether or not they are or have been on hard drugs. The people I put in this category were either

homeless, or those walking around the park with a more than suspicious demeanor. The second
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group of people consisted of individuals just visiting the park, seemingly enjoying their day.

These people were either families or joggers. Ultimately, I do think I will be visiting other

locations for better observations pertaining to my topic. This is because I really wasn’t able to

talk to many people because I felt uncomfortable. While I do think it is important to hear

everyone's stories and not judge someone because of the situation that they are in, I think it is

also important to make sure you are in a safe setting.

In many ways the way that those dealing with current or previous drug addictions handle

and function in the economy are completely the same as those who have never experienced some
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form of a drug problem. For instance, those dealing with drug addiction can get jobs like

majority or “norm” of the society, they can also support the local economy and work for a wage

like any other citizen. The main circumstance in which a difference may be noted is when

someone has yet to seek treatment for their addiction or they have let their drug problem spiral in

a direction that is too much for them to handle on their own while maintaining a norms and

healthy lifestyle. In these circumstances, people belonging in this subgroup definitely are outside

of the social norm in terms of how their economic system may work.

One reason for this is because if someone's drug addiction has spiraled out of control,

they may be unable to hold a job or to get a job in the first place due to prior convictions or drug

charges. Due to this they may ultimately end up homeless and resort to begging, trading, or

bargaining in order to survive or get what they need. As far as trading goes, they are not really

able to trade with corporations or retail stores but instead trade amongst either homeless people

or those who are also addicted to drugs. Items that may be traded include but are not limited to

food, water, clothing, needles and drugs. Unfortunately, in many cases items are not the only

thing traded for drugs as some result to trading or selling their own tents or bodies in order to get

the drugs that they are looking for. When it comes to earning a working wage, it is very difficult

for people in this position to do so, so they often rely on some form of government assistance to

help them get the bare necessities.

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My sub-cultural group that I have been studying and researching is those who have had

or currently have a substance abuse problem. Due to the fact that addiction effects those of all

lifepaths and doesn’t discriminate based on culture, the way these people in this particular

subculture view and experience marriage is not too far out of the norm. The norm being that

many people practice marriage and relationships in a variety of ways. Just like the rest of the

society this group practices monogamy which is two people committed to each other and each

other alone and practice the opposite which is polyamory which is when both partners “share”

one other with multiple other partners. There are also multiple ways in which they may choose to

cohabitate with their partner such as one on one cohabitation, living with a parent of one of the

spouses and so on. One aspect that may be slightly different is parenting. This may be the case

unfortunately due to the fact that drug or alcohol use can have effects on one’s abilities to parent

which could result in the child or children being taken out of the care of their parent prior to the

individual’s recovery.

As far as economic practices go, this sub-group of people doesn’t differ much from the

rest of society. In some cultures, the parents of the bride pay for the wedding, where in others the

couple mutually pays for the ceremony by combining their funds. The way divorce is viewed is

something that is not different as well. This, depending on religious background, not whether or

not substance abuse is involved. As far as symbols used, wedding rings, wedding cakes, wedding

dresses and much more are used in a similar way to the rest of the culture to continue or uphold

traditions surrounding love and marriage. Altogether, the way those who have or are currently

dealing with substance abuse problems view and deal with marriage is not all that different

compared to the majority of society because these people come from all backgrounds and

different cultures.
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I was fortunate to know someone from my home town who had a family that

demonstrated the potential effects of drugs and alcohol on ones kinship diagram. The ego of this

diagram was my friends father David who had a family that was mixed and strained due to

alcoholism. To start of all of David’s grandparents are deceased, one due to alcoholism and two

due to natural causes. David’s father unfortunately passed away due to complications caused by

an accident when he was under the influence. His relationship with his father was quite strained

due to the way he treated his mother, who is still alive, and his drinking habits. David was

married three times and had four children, two from each of the first two wives. Out of David’s

three marriages, two ended in divorce and one wife passed due to cancer. Out of all the children

he has, three are alive but one unfortunately passed away due to losing his battle against drug

addiction. Lastly, David has two sisters. One of whom he has a good relationship with and one

who he is no longer in contact with due to personality changes she experienced after

experimenting and ultimately getting addicted to heroin. From this kinship diagram I was able to

see that it is not uncommon that a family with one person struggling with addiction often has

some sort of history in the family prior. It is truly devastating that this family had to go through

so much but ultimately for David things turned out okay because he has been sober for three

years now.
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In todays day and age gender is a topic that is constantly argued on and which public

opinion is everchanging. For instance, just a few decade ago the only genders considered as true

were male and female. Today, due to more education and open-mindedness people have

accepted that this is simply not the case. People identify with different genders than their

biological sex and there are now many more genders that people identify with besides just male

or female. Even with this social and cultural growth, there are still ways in which each gender

are “supposed” to act or rather gender roles that they are placed into due to societal pressures and

the culture of the society they live in. This is also the case with the sub-culture of those dealings

with those who have dealt with drug or alcohol dependence or abuse.
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For the most part the gender roles of those in the sub-group and those in the “norm” of

society are the same. To start off, for the most of people in the culture the two gender roles they

would adhere to is the either the feminine or masculine role with a minority of people acting in

fluidity between the two. A culturally “typical” man or woman in society do present differently.

Women are perceived by society to be “softer”, kinder, more feminine, more nurturing and more

accepting while men are sometimes perceived to be “harder”, less emotional, less accepting and

in some cases when older or more traditional cultural views are present, the bread winner of the

household. As far as physical appearance goes, women in society are expected to have more kept

hair, wear more “fashionable” or visually appealing clothing and present themselves in a way

that is feminine, beautiful or elegant. Men on the other hand tend to be able to get away with

putting less effort into their look, meaning they won’t get looked down upon for not having nice

jewelry, not wearing makeup or not making time to put a lot of effort into their look. This is not

to say that men in society don’t take pride in their appearance but rather there seems to be less

societal guidelines that they are expected to follow when it comes to “presenting” themselves

each day. The way men and women communicate is also slightly different, or at least is expected

to be especially in the workplace. The unfortunate fact is while men are praised for being

demanding and showing leadership qualities, and even sometimes get higher up in their jobs

because of doing so, women are still often chastised for the same qualities and are expected to be

more subtle in their workplace attitude. Although this has been the case for a long time in

society, there have fortunately been many cultural movements as of late that point to this

changing in the future. Overall, because the sub-group is still apart of and abides to the rest of

society, the way gender is expressed and treated seems to be the same. The only differences is
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extreme cases were the family or person lives in low economic areas due to their addiction.

Often times in these areas the traditional gender roles are amplified.

Due to the fact that addiction effects those of all life paths and doesn’t discriminate based

on culture, the way these people in this particular subculture view and experience religion is not

much different that the “norm” of society being that there are a variety of religions and a variety

of different ways people practice their faith. The only outlier my lay in the fact that some of

those who have recovered from addiction incorporate faith strongly into their recovery program.

There are copious amounts of religious symbols or markers used and shared by both the

sub-culture group that I am focusing on and the rest of society, excluding those who don’t

practice religion at all. One of the more prominent religious practiced in America is Christianity

which religious markers include crucifix paintings, jewelry, and symbols such as three doves the

represent the trinity or the holy spirit. Other prominent religions in America include Islam,

Judaism, and many more. Symbols that may be used in these religions are head coverings,

religious symbols on jewelry, head caps, and many pieces of art or symbolic statues. The only

difference that my subgroup may have in terms of how the view symbols of religion is dependent

on the route of recovery the choose or chose to do. For example, many of those who are treating

Alcohol addiction by going to AA or alcoholics anonymous meetings talk a lot about god and

faith with is heaving incorporated into the 12 step program and the conversations had in

meetings.

The arts that come out of the “norm of society” and the arts that have come out of my

particular subgroup are not so different. This is mainly due to fact that anyone no matter of

cultural, economic or social back round can experience both drug addiction and recovery. If there
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is a difference, it would have to be the content matter of the particular art in question or the way

the art is used.

As a culture we express creativity through multiple different ways. One of them being

visual arts such as paintings, calligraphy, drawing, sculpting and more. People use this art form

in way to express feeling, demonstrate a memory or just to create something aesthetically

pleasing to the eye. Among this art form is music. Music is used to express a variety of things

such as feelings, a way to tell a story or an effort made to show listeners how the individual was

feeling while they were writing their piece. Another way people amongst the majority of the

population and those including in the subgroup I am focusing on express themselves creatively is

through fashion. The way someone dresses and how they use different accessories can say a lot

about them and even more about how they wish to be perceived by others. Lastly, there is

tattoos, which may be different in the subgroup dealings with addiction for a few small reasons.

Most people get tattoos to express themselves through visual art, recall a memory or a person, or

to have something pleasing to look at on their body. Someone who is or was previously

struggling with addiction may have tattoos that symbolize their struggles with drugs or alcohol or

have the date they became sober tattooed. Globalization has definitely had an effect on how

creativity is expressed. Especially in the west where we have people coming from all over the

world and so many different cultures and art forms are being shared and exposed to the culture as

a whole. The main contrasting factor between how the most of the culture expresses creativity

and how the subgroup does is that the subgroup tends to lean heavily on creative expression due

to the fact that it majorly helps them during and after their recovery process.

I have learned quite a lot by completing this assignment but overall what I learned is that

the people in this sub-group are far to often generalized and put into a group when that is
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ultimately hurtful to people’s sobriety. So many people make assumptions of people who abuse

drugs and alcohol like where they are from, what race they are, how much money they make and

also about their upbringing. The fact is that drugs and alcohol can have a devastating effect on

someone’s life no matter their income, race or upbringing and that needs to be talked about more

in order to help those with the problem and prevent people from becoming addicted in the first

place. If I were to do something different I would do more research in clinics and talk first hand

to the people help treat the disorder.