In the context of greater strains imposed by the post-2008 global financial crisis, it has become more commonplace for young people to live with their parents for extended periods. Beyond a domination of Anglophone research, far less is known about whether these experiences of living with parents vary in countries with different economic and cultural contexts. This article focuses on young women in contemporary Greece – a society undergoing radical social restructuring in the wake of the post-2008 economic crisis. Drawing on qualitative interviews with young university-educated women in urban Greece (n=36), the article argues that the current fiscal crisis alongside long-standing patriarchal norms place a significant burden on the lives of these young women. It concludes that evaluation of the impact of financial crisis on the living arrangements of young people should carefully assess the interaction of the gender and cultural aspects of family lives.
This study seeks to examine intimate relationships and attitudes towards such ties, among Greek young women (n = 36). In the wake of challenging structural situations surrounding the effects of economic austerity in Greece, the accounts of these young women are understood with reference to their options on finding and sustaining intimate relationships. It is argued that these accounts are filtered by the conditions of austerity, leading some women to question traditional ideas of patriarchy, gender norms and the desirability of maintaining ties with economically inactive men. However, the language through which the young women articulated experiences and attitudes towards intimate relations is highly individualising. These issues are assessed in the context of research on emerging adulthood focusing on how attitudes and practices relating to intimacy can be reshaped through economic contexts.
The global financial recession which began in 2008 has led to significant economic and social consequences for youth, with the case of Greece being a notable one in terms of severity. Repeated political-economic ‘shocks’ to the structure of Greek society have manifest in common situations of unemployment and underemployment. Although impacting heavily on the working classes, severe curtailments in medium-high-skilled labour have also been observed among the middle classes as well. Following these contexts, the article examines the experiences of highly educated young women in Greece ( n = 36) as they navigate precarious employment within the midst of the Greek economic crisis. It is argued that rather than their educated status offering opportunities to deploy resources to help withstand the crisis, their high education levels create frustrations and barriers towards achieving suitable employment. These perceived mismatches between high education and low status and/or poor-quality work conditions are assessed in the context of research on emerging adulthood.
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