#TEXT 17_O_M_Igor_anonim
[Respondent: Igor (pseudonym, anonymised), male, ~29, Gdańsk. Works in goods receiving at OBI DIY store. Vocational school (culinary/hotel), no further credentials. Moved out at 18 after conflict with stepfather. Father absent for first 14 years. Has a 9-month-old son with an ex-partner.]
[UPDATED v3: multi-framework codes — [B]=Bourdieu [H]=Honneth [M]=Masculinity Theory]

Tell us a little about yourself. What do you do? What are your interests?

#CODE 4. Work, low pay and dignity\Work as surveillance, exploitation or moral discomfort
I work in the goods receiving department at Obi DIY store. I do all sorts of work, from basic warehouse work to office work with supplier documents. Honestly, nothing interesting. It's a bit like that; at times it can seem boring and monotonous, but it still surprises me.
#ENDCODE

Tell me a little about your education.

#CODE 4. Work, low pay and dignity\Work as surveillance, exploitation or moral discomfort
working in a hotel for two years, where the pressure was incredibly intense, the workload was intense, and there were marathons of 16-hour days, I quickly tired out, and now I only cook at home. But still, the skills I learned at school and working in a hotel have never let anyone tell me I'm making bad food.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 2. Education as ambivalent promise of mobility\Education as injury, exclusion or disappointment && 2. Education as ambivalent promise of mobility\Failed conversion: education does not yield work, autonomy or confidence
I wanted to continue afterward because, obviously, I wouldn't have learned the profession that way at a technical school, as there were far fewer internships... And when I graduated from vocational school, they removed the technical school program, which complemented my profession. A few other issues also contributed, and I didn't continue my studies.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 3. Capital mismatch and blocked conversion\Cultural capital possessed but economically unconvertible && 2. Education as ambivalent promise of mobility\Instrumental education: diploma as piece of paper
If I were to continue my studies... the only field of study I'd like to pursue is Norwegian philology. Completely for myself, for the language. Not for the certificate.
#ENDCODE

Are you considering migrating there?

#CODE 7. Small place, restricted horizons and mobility\Emigration as resolution of field mismatch && 7. Small place, restricted horizons and mobility\Local horizon as socially naturalised limit
Someday, for sure. I'm very interested in Iceland. I already have friends there, so I have a starting point. But you know, I somehow can't bring myself to just drop everything and go to Iceland.
#ENDCODE

Tell me about your work history.

#CODE 4. Work, low pay and dignity\[H] Work as sphere of social recognition: esteem, dignity, acknowledgment && 4. Work, low pay and dignity\Job instability, frequent exits, precarious employment
I also bounced around incredibly, and quite often I quit because of the atmosphere, because the people around me were simply causing terrible tension. And one of the things that makes us such an amazing family is that we have no real problems. We're one nine-person brain.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 4. Work, low pay and dignity\[H] Work as sphere of social recognition: esteem, dignity, acknowledgment
I learned not to get stressed out at work. Because when I came there, I was incredibly nervous. For a moment, something just wouldn't work, and I'd explode, and that's where I learned to be calm and not pressure myself, because it wouldn't help anyone.
#ENDCODE

Tell me about your move from your family home.

#CODE 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\Adulthood as permanently deferred, regressed, or never felt && 6. Family care as protection and symbolic burden\Family as material safety net: housing, food, money
I had to embrace independence very quickly. Because, of course, at my age, you still live with your parents, because the fridge is always magically full, and dinner will be warm when you get home from school, work, or wherever, and then it'll be on the table, but here, that wasn't the case. I quickly had to adjust to not expecting my mom to cook.
#ENDCODE

About your housing situation and how you got the apartment.

#CODE 3. Capital mismatch and blocked conversion\Social capital as substitute for institutional access && 3. Capital mismatch and blocked conversion\Economic capital insufficiency and material precarity
Apartment rental prices before July were exorbitant. So I waited two months with a friend, and I managed to get one through a friend, too, because her father was renting the apartment, and one of the tenants had backed out. He wanted a friend, he didn't want a stranger. So I took it.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 3. Capital mismatch and blocked conversion\Cultural capital possessed but economically unconvertible
I have a rather large library that I've also moved with me every time. It's actually several large boxes of books, and that was also tiring, because sometimes I'd live somewhere for a shorter time, sometimes longer, but each time it was exhausting, moving it all.
#ENDCODE

What do you spend your money on?

#CODE 3. Capital mismatch and blocked conversion\Economic capital insufficiency and material precarity && 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\[M] Masculine adulthood expectations: provider, self-sufficient, responsible
And now I'm financially supporting Ola, because diapers aren't cheap either.
#ENDCODE

Do you feel like an adult?

#CODE 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\Adulthood as permanently deferred, regressed, or never felt && 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\[B] Doxa of normative adulthood: housing-work-family sequence naturalised as universal && 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\[M] Masculine adulthood expectations: provider, self-sufficient, responsible
I don't think so. I think there's always a child inside each of us, and we treat adulthood, at least by people like me, people of my generation, quite selectively. Sometimes we think of ourselves as mega-adults, but we turn out to be five-year-olds.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\Adulthood defined: financial independence, housing, responsibility
It's an immature decision to drink alcohol the day before going to work and then not show up. That's an immature decision. So, to answer, a mature decision is being responsible in everything.
#ENDCODE

Do you consider your life situation to be stable?

#CODE 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\Blocked adulthood: conditions for independence structurally unavailable
NO... For example, a rented apartment. Obviously, if you're self-employed, but then again, if you're self-employed but on a mortgage, you still might not feel that sense of stability, because of various situations. The concept of stability is very relative, in my opinion.
#ENDCODE

How do your parents evaluate your life choices?

#CODE 1. Difference misrecognised as deficiency\Institutional labelling as lazy / problematic / weird && 6. Family care as protection and symbolic burden\Father absence, relational failure, and absent paternal capital transmission
When it comes to education, they definitely rate it low. My mom always mentions to me that high school, college.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 1. Difference misrecognised as deficiency\Self-attributed incapacity and internalised deficit
from being a stupid teenager to being a stupid almost thirty-year-old.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 6. Family care as protection and symbolic burden\Father absence, relational failure, and absent paternal capital transmission
I don't know what my father wants, because I haven't spoken to him in years, my biological father.
#ENDCODE

Tell us about your relationship with your biological father.

#CODE 6. Family care as protection and symbolic burden\Father absence, relational failure, and absent paternal capital transmission
I kept reminding him that you were trying to be a father to me, and where were you for 14 years when I needed a father.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 6. Family care as protection and symbolic burden\Father absence, relational failure, and absent paternal capital transmission
I'd say the lack is divided in half with relief. I don't have to explain many things. I don't have the pressure he used to put on me, although at times the conversations were very constructive and always gave me something, so I miss that part, but not the rest.
#ENDCODE

What are the most important differences in becoming an adult between your generation and your parents'?

#CODE 2. Education as ambivalent promise of mobility\Credential inflation: degree as minimum threshold for adulthood && 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\Blocked adulthood: conditions for independence structurally unavailable
I think that in many respects, it's clear that there's been progress over the years... Here, there's pressure to study now, to get that certificate, whereas back then, you just went to a workplace, "I need a job, so come and work." Things were definitely better in that respect. Many things were different, too, like housing allowances. We don't have that anymore. We either have the option of winning the lottery, having wealthy parents, or taking out a loan, whereas back then, you could save for an apartment, and apartments were cheaper.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 8. Future as anticipated social judgment\Collective structural condition misrecognised as individual failure
I think it's an attempt to impress my parents' generation... many of my friends' parents used them to fulfill dreams they didn't achieve. And from a young age, my peers are actually, perhaps even a little bit, forced to do things that their fathers, for example, wanted to do when they were young.
#ENDCODE

What is a good life to you?

#CODE 3. Capital mismatch and blocked conversion\Economic capital insufficiency and material precarity && 8. Future as anticipated social judgment\Fear of the future and anticipated inadequacy
Having as few problems as possible... If you don't have to wonder if you can buy arrows for your bow because you won't have anything to eat in a week, that's not good. That is, if you don't have to think about it, that's already some semblance of a good life.
#ENDCODE

Do you generally plan your life?

#CODE 8. Future as anticipated social judgment\[B] Illusio withdrawal: non-planning as habitus adjustment to objective field probabilities
No, it changes like a kaleidoscope... I try to plan as little as possible, because if I plan or set my sights on something and it doesn't work out, then I'm disappointed. But if you don't plan or set your sights on anything, you're not surprised.
#ENDCODE

#CODE 8. Future as anticipated social judgment\[B] Illusio withdrawal: non-planning as habitus adjustment to objective field probabilities && 8. Future as anticipated social judgment\Structural constraints naturalised as personal limits
no matter what happens, I know I'll do everything I can to survive, so I still manage. So I think I'll always manage.
#ENDCODE

What would you like in a five-year timeframe?

#CODE 5. Blocked adulthood and symbolic shame\Symbolic shame about dependence and stagnation && 8. Future as anticipated social judgment\Fear of the future and anticipated inadequacy
I'll definitely finally get my act together and save up for a car... And I think that within five years, I think a car will appear. And that's what I'd like. Maybe I don't want it enough yet, but it's something I can say I want.
#ENDCODE

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