Righteous Dopefiend

Righteous Dopefiend by Philippe Bourgois and Jeffrey Schonberg, published in 2009, is a photo-ethnography on the lived experience of a marginalized population experiencing homelessness and drug addiction (primarily alcohol, crack, and heroin) in an area dubbed Edgewater Boulevard in San Francisco, California. Over 12 years, the anthropologists got to know the people who make up this population and what brought them to their current position. The work is in the field of applied anthropology, which aims to move anthropology beyond the world of theory into practical application in the real world. As this book was published, the US was reaping the outcomes of neoliberal policies and the socioeconomic consequences of globalization were becoming increasingly evident. The fieldwork started in 1994 and continued into the early period of the Great Recession in 2006. It closely follows the lives of its subjects while considering the systems and institutions that shape their lives. By juxtaposing the perspective of the unhoused population with anthropological theory, the work brings to life political and academic debates surrounding neoliberal ideals by revealing their human cost.

Written for a general audience, this book provides a bridge between academia and public discourse. Philippe Bourgois’ background in medical anthropology and research interests in HIV among urban indigent populations lends itself to the physical health aspects of addiction and poverty, while Jeffrey Schonberg, a graduate student under Bourgois during the research, brings the visual anthropology elements to the book. The combination of theory, field notes, ethnographic descriptions, recordings, and photography situates the reader close to the lives of the research subjects while providing the sociocultural, political, and economic background to understand how these people became unhoused. The book was well received, winning the 2010 Anthony Leeds Prize for Urban Anthropology, and furthered the movement toward humanizing those who experience homelessness and addiction, highlighting structural issues such as severe budget cuts to social services and the heavy hand of law enforcement. In addition to this theme of Politically and Institutionally Structured Violence, the work explores The Racialization of Poverty, Homelessness, and Addiction and Gender and Sexuality in Poverty, Homelessness, and Addiction.

Content Warning: Both the source material and this guide contain discussions of homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence and child abuse, racism, and anti-gay bias.

Plot Summary

In the Introduction, “A Theory of Abuse,” the authors explain the nature of their photo-ethnographic project and consider the complicated ethics of their work. Their position as researchers necessarily entails a lopsided power dynamic between themselves and their research subjects, and the use of photography risks further invasion of the subjects’ privacy. To mitigate these potential harms, the researchers adopt a practice they call “collaborative photo-ethnography”—enlisting the active participation of their subjects.

The researchers consider the personal struggles of their research subjects and collaborators as consequences of systemic inequality. In Chapter 1, “Intimate Apartheid,” they trace the racial fault lines that divide the Edgewater community, following several community members as they navigate the tensions between different racial groups. Despite this community’s isolation from the broader economy, the impacts of systemic racism are felt even here.

In Chapter 2, “Falling in Love,” the researchers explore what romantic relationships look like within this community. They interview Tina, whose sex work provides her with income and independence until her partner, Carter, pressures her to stop. Carter objects not only to the nature of Tina’s work but to the fact of her working at all. His desire to see himself as a traditionally masculine figure—one who provides for his female partner—puts him at odds with Tina’s desire for autonomy.

In Chapters 3 through 6, the authors consider how the unhoused people of Edgewater Boulevard interact with systems of health care and law enforcement, how they remember and process their often-difficult childhoods, and how they earn money. Each of these aspects of their lives enmeshes them in systems of oppression. Healthcare workers often stigmatize unhoused patients who deal with addiction, blaming them for their problems and offering them substandard care. Familial cycles of poverty and trauma lead many into patterns of addiction from which they struggle to break free. Opportunities for legal employment are scarce for Edgewater residents, but racist discrimination means that white residents are far more likely to be offered such opportunities, while Black and Latinx residents are often forced to rely on more dangerous and sometimes illegal actions to survive.

In Chapters 7-9, the authors turn their attention more directly to the systems of power that have given rise to the dire conditions in this community. Describing the intense homosocial bonds between “running partners” like Hank and Petey, they theorize that non-normative relationships of this kind serve as a vital source of support for people who cannot rely on the social support systems available to others. To underscore this lack of support, the authors explore the public hostility toward harm-reduction practices such as needle exchange programs and safe injection sites. These practices have been shown to reduce overdose deaths and the transmission of infectious diseases, but moralizing attitudes prevent their widespread adoption.

The authors conclude by returning to the question of the ethics of their work. They hope to alter public discourse around the problems of homelessness and drug addiction, but they are skeptical that their work will have any practical effect given the negative portrayals of unhoused people that are so prevalent in media.