ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of historical and iconic images that have been used to represent poverty. It argues that each of the seven images of poverty fabricates assumptions and claims as to the origins of poverty, the conditions and significance of poverty and — most important — what actions, if any, should be taken in response to poverty. Attention to the role of such imagery is particularly important, given the major changes in the production and consumption of images in news production. What is apparent is that contemporary representations of poverty in the news have significant histories. However, it is the observer’s sometimes critical, sometimes benevolent — but rarely equivocal or consanguineous — gaze upon poverty that tends to be privileged and predominant. As such, this chapter raises critical questions as to if and how poverty is to be represented, by whom, to whom and for what purpose, both today and in the future.
