ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the ways that, in the context of Arab-Australian communities, it can be risky to have a creative passion. It shows how informants are torn by divergent logics and examines the balancing act that they feel they must do between their creative passions and communal ideals around particular professional titles as they try to 'hold it all together'. Creativity is understood as risky is in relation to familial social mobility aspirations. The chapter looks more closely at how creative identities are developed in light of the youth subcultural groups in high school, where creative young men are often ridiculed and bullied for their unorthodox interests. It challenges contemporary ways that risk has been conceptualised whereby it is argued that traditional communities offer stability and security, whereas individualistic lifestyles that are heavily shaped by the employment market leave people in a perpetual state of risk management.
