Stronger than dirt - Public humiliation and status enhancement among panhandlers

Panhandlers or street beggars are a highly stigmatized collection of indivi duals. In addition to publicly displaying their homeless status, panhandler s suffer numerous other indignities while begging passersby for spare chang e. Despite these humiliations, many panhandlers enhance their self-regard a nd status by developing relationships with givers who become regular source s of support. These ongoing relationships are advanced by panhandlers who l earn to present themselves favorably by managing emotions and stigmatized i dentities. This study is based on a street ethnography of homeless panhandl ers living in Washington, D.C.