ABSTRACT
This chapter develops insight by engaging with J. I. Ross’ dynamic process model of street culture. Culture has simultaneously been focal and overlooked within the research on homelessness. It has been a focal point because there is a substantial body of research describing the “subculture” within particular homeless contexts. Citing it as a primary influence on the nature of street culture, the dynamic process model argues that the form street culture takes will depend on the location, the time period, and the participants. A focus on daily survival is an animating force in the experience of homelessness and is a key feature around which any street culture is likely to elaborate. The dynamic process model of street culture identifies a number of secondary or mediating influences on the structure and appearance of street culture. Sexuality is status position that stratifies people on the street and that appears to shape a person’s relationship to street culture.
